World Culinary Odyssey - Beyond The Great Wall

Last Monday evening marked our third World Culinary Odyssey event for this year's Vermont Festival of the Arts. The itinerary was China, and we named the event "Beyond The Great Wall" as a tribute to the spectacular recipe and travel book by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid of the same name. Featured this evening were recipes from China's ethnic minorities, proving that there is much more to Chinese cuisine than Szechuan Chicken, Kung Pao Beef and Dim Sum! Thanks again to Gaylord Farm for this week's outstanding CSA basket used in the preparation of this menu!

Without further ado, here's the evening's menu:

Soup Course

Dai Chili-Fish Soup: The Dai live in Southern Yunnan Province, near the fertile valleys of the Mekong River along the borders of Laos and Myanmar (Burma); for this dish, we used fresh rainbow trout in an heirloom tomato base with ginger, garlic, spring onion and cilantro; lively, aromatic and refreshing...

Salad Course

Dai Carrot Salad: Lightly steamed carrots in a dressing of pickled chilies, spring onion, soy sauce, rice vinegar and roasted sesame oil; served on a bed of shredded cabbage

Main Course

Miao Red Sauce Fish: The Miao primarily reside near Xijiang in the Guizhou Province, with a small enclave near the Vietnam border - they are related to the Hmong of Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar and Laos; for this dish, fresh swai (Mekong catfish) was poached in a tomato broth seasoned with garlic, pickled red chilies, Sichuan pepper and chili bean paste; very fragrant and heaty...

Lamb with Sprouts and Pak Choi: This recipe is Muslim Uigher and hails from Turpan Zheng, an oasis stop along the northern Silk Road to Kazakstan, in Xinjiang Province; boneless lamb chunks are stir-fried with mung bean sprouts and pak choi; seasoned with cumin, garlic, soy sauce and Jinjiang (black rice) vinegar; a very interesting blend of Far East and Middle East...

Braised Aubergine and Zucchini: A typical veggie dish of the Hui, descendants of Muslim Silk Road travelers, now widely dispersed throughout China; fresh eggplant and zucchini stir-fried with fermented black beans and soy sauce; dark and rich flavors...

Black Rice Congee: A ubiquitous dish in the southern provinces of Guangxi and Guizhou; a blend of Thai purple sticky rice and jasmine rice which has been boiled for several hours, like risotto; wolfberries (aka goji berries) are added for color, fruitiness and "health benefits" (ask a Chinese herbalist for details...); a rich and creamy comfort food...

Dessert Course

Asian-style Fruit Platter: Watermelon, Asian pear, starfruit, kiwifruit, tangerines and coconut biscuits; freshly-brewed coffee or tea

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Stay tuned for our next adventure!