While I consider Chinese as my native language and English as my second language, my opportunities to use Chinese on the daily basis are rather limited.

Still, I am very grateful that I can read and write Chinese. It becomes especially handy when I discover a delicious authentic Chinese recipe and it only exists in Chinese

One fascinating aspect about Chinese language is that some of the oldest characters used today are pictogram which were once drawn or inscribed on hard objects such as bones and rocks to convey meanings.

For instance, the word鹵 (pronounced lǔ) means a bag of salt. The ancient symbol of this word is precisely represented by a drawing of a bag of salt. Then after a few thousands later, the character became what is known Traditional Chinese.

From left to right: pictogram symbol, the form found on seal, the modern traditional character

Image Source: Wikitionary

Now if you combine the water with a bag of salt, you’ll get the word滷 (still pronounced lǔ), a noun and verb. Guess what this word means?

Bingo! Just as you expected, adding some water to the salt will give you brine (滷) and cooking food in the brine will yield something like 滷味(pronounced lu wei in Mandarin) or deliciously braised protein ingredients in aromatically spiced “brine”. Doesn’t this just make you want to learn Chinese? I think I just secretly discovered my teaching talent J

In a nutshell, the verb lu means is to slowly braise different kinds of ingredients in a brine that’s made with soup stock, soy sauce, and many aromatic spices. The food prepared this way is called 滷味 (lu wei)

Obviously the real reason I am bringing up these words is that not only lu wei is one of the greatest Chinese cooking techniques in the history yielding countless regional variations;  but it is also one of the must-served dishes in Chinese festival meals.

As I mentioned last week that Chinese New Year is just one week away, there is nothing better to serve some delicious lu wei or what I called food braised in aromatic brine (some translation calls it red cooking but I feel the translation doesn’t convey the essence of the dish) as an appetizer.

Given the rich history and extensive regional variation, this recipe is as simple as it can be. As the name suggests, not only the brine is salty and savory but it is also aromatic. The aroma therefore is the key and differentiating factor separates the good lu wei from bad one.

The aroma is achieved using a mix of various spices / dry herbs such as the more well known five spices. However this recipe calls for a lot more than just five spices. Below you’ll find a list of spices/ dry herbs commonly used and you can totally think this as the Chinese version of Ras El Hanout. (I’ve seen recipes call for over 30 spices/herbs with most of them unheard of).

Depends on your culinary culture and background, you might or might not recognize some of the spices. Chinese supermarkets sell the per-packaged spices for this dish. Get the individual spices  to experiment around if you already know the basics.

Chinese Ras El Hanout.

• A – Cinnamon Stick (桂皮)
• B – Star Anise (八角)
• C – Sand Ginger (山柰 or沙薑)
• D – Black Cardamom (草果)
• E – Green Cardamon (豆蔻)
• F – Allspice (多香果)
• G – Clove (丁香)
• H – Sichuan Peppercorn (花椒)
• I – Fennel Seed (小茴香)
• J – Liquorice (甘草)
• K – Bay Leaf (月桂葉)

Once you have found these spices (or some of them), you are 70% through the making of this dish. The rest is just to simply follow the remainder of the recipe. You can be flexible and creative with the kind of protein you want to braise. I have listed the common used ingredients in the recipe.

Step-by-Step Illustrations

Blanch the protein in boiling water for about 5 minutes.

Fry the scallion, ginger, and garlic and fry until aromatic.

Add the rest of the brine ingredients to make the brine.

Once it boils reduce the heat to simmer.

Soak the ingredients in the brine over night to get the best result.

Last thing, just in case you will be too busy celebrating Chinese New Year next week and skipping my last part of the Chinese New Year special post (but I suggest you still visit), I wish you all a Happy Year of Dragon!

Step 1:

 

On a lightly floured surface, roll a piece of puff pastry into a thin, 8” square. Now cut pastry into 1/2" strips. (Puff pastry is sold in our Frozen Foods aisle; thaw before using.)

Step 2:

 

Wrap 2 or 3 pastry strips around each hot dog you wish to wrap, leaving a 3/4-inch space for the mummy’s eyes. (When wrapping, don’t overly stretch pastry or it may crack when baked.) Set hot dogs on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and refrigerate until ready to bake.

Step 3:

 

Make eyes by cutting thin slices of mozzarella or similar cheese into small, 1/4" or so rounds. Create an eyeball by pushing a peppercorn or tiny piece of bell pepper into each round of cheese. To finish, bake hot dogs in a 450˚F oven for 12 to 13 minutes, until pastry is puffed and light golden. Now place two cheese eyes in the place you made for them. Put the hot dogs back in oven 1 minute, to slightly melt the cheese and help it adhere. Serve hot dogs with salsa or mustard for dipping.

https://www.thriftyfoods.com/cooking-tips/snacking/how-to-make-mummy-hot-dogs