Foodjianese |
Food is not my life but it makes me feel alive. I was born in Fujian, in southeast China, and somehow got dragged onto a plane to New York at the turn of my teenage years. (Thanks mom!) I inhaled 3 plates of roast pork and cabbage on rice after sneaking my way out of summer tutoring school (I'm Asian) during lunchtime to gorge on Indian Mee Goreng and Indian pancakes when I was in junior high, so there is no doubt that I LOVE to eat. Cooking, on the other hand, is a recent obsession. I generally do not rely on recipes except for baking because I feel constrained by the scientific preciseness of most recipes. I like to improvise. The lingering taste of a sweet and spicy lamb tagine from a recent restaurant meal prompts me to turn on my stove. The smell of sweet cardamom and rose water gracefully peeking their way out of an Indian bakery seduces me to invite them to my kitchen. Ok, enough about me, let's cook, eat, and share, which is what food is all about. |
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The Pig and the Egg
CHINESE SALTED EGG AND GRILLED PORK SALAD
I found a bag of about a dozen brown eggs sitting on my desk at work yesterday. They were from my coworker Mr. Fang. Instead of the homemade cookies and banana breads that coworkers exchange at “regular” offices, we share homemade white-wine marinated chicken feet, pickled radish, and of course salted chicken eggs.
Salted eggs are prevalent throughout East and Southeast Asia. Salt was used to preserve eggs in hot climates before the invention of and access to refrigeration. Duck eggs are usually preferred over chicken eggs for salting because of the yolk’s higher oil content and the resulting texture of the egg white. The yolk of a well-preserved salted duck eggs is bright orange-red, in contrast to the yellow yolk of salted chicken eggs. The egg white of salted duck eggs are firmer than that of salted chicken eggs. A common salting method is to soak the eggs in a brine and store them indoors in a cool area for a minimum of 12 days. Mr. Fang’s chicken eggs were salted for 30 days. Salted eggs are sold in most Chinese and Southeast Asian markets.
In Fujian and many other Chinese areas, salted eggs usually accompany congee (rice porridge) in the morning. The high salt content of the eggs makes it almost impossible to eat a whole one or even half of one in a sitting. Thus it is very economical for struggling families because “one salted egg can feed a village,” as my father likes to remind me. In other regions such as Canton, glimmers of white and orange salted egg pieces adorn sauteed and steamed vegetable dishes.
I wanted to use the salted eggs in a dish but was not in the mood to cook so I looked to the leftovers in my fridge to “assemble” a salad. The saltiness of the egg was yearning for a sweet and sour companion. The grilled cherry juice-marinated pork chop and the Trader Joe’s Raspberry Vinaigrette that, until now, had only seen the light of day once, seemed like perfect matches. I grilled some red onions (for a ‘lil kick) while I tossed the fricassee and green leaf lettuce with the raspberry vinaigrette. I sprinkled in feta cheese after adding in the sliced pork chop, salted egg, and grilled onions. I enjoyed my salad with half of a salted egg while contemplating how it can feed half of a village.
INGREDIENTS
Grilled Cherry Juice-marinated Pork Chop
Salted Egg
Grilled Red Onions
Lettuce
Feta Cheese
Raspberry Vinaigrette
