Secrets of Shanghai cookery--revealed!

[muckefuck]

I ran into a Chinese coworker in the break room today and she showed me a mug whose bottom was covered with wrinkly red fruits. I nearly squeeed--these were the same ones that were in our lovely fish dish last Saturday! She calls them 枸杞子 gǒuqǐzǐ, which the wisdom of Wikipedia tells me is Chinese for "wolfberry".

The Chinese wolfberry plant (Lycium chinense) is one of those damn foreign species with way too many common names: (Chinese) matrimony vine, goji, Chinese teaplant, etc. I've seen it used to scent teas before in the same way as lychees or jasmine flowers, but I don't recall seeing anyone else actually steep the fruits, which are also used to flavour baekseju. They've got a pleasant flavour which Wikipedia calls "tomato-y" but to me is more reminiscent of haws or hibiscus.

Comments

[kutsuwamushi.livejournal.com]

The goji berry seems to be the NEXT BIG TREND!!! among the ANTI-AGING POWER OF ANTI-OXIDANTS!!! crowd.

I can find them dried at the supermarket with that type of copy on the packaging. But yet I can't seem to find jujubes (fresh or dried) anywhere in Columbia, and I thought they were a lot less obscure.

[muckefuck.livejournal.com]

Clearly, the Lao Shanghai team haven't cottoned to this yet or the translation of "松仁魚丁" on our menu would've been a lot more colourful than "fish with nuts".

Strange about the jujubes. You do know that they're often mistakenly referred to as "dates", don't you?

[kutsuwamushi.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've tried looking for them as jujubes, red dates, chinese dates, 대추 (at the Korean market)... either I'm completely missing them, or none of the places I've looked sell them.

Maybe they'll be the next big hit among the health food crowd and then I can find them.

[darkphuque.livejournal.com]

My partner, Jeff, makes a sweet soup with white Tree Ears, wolf berries, and jujubis (often referred to as Chinese dates). Its delicious cold, at room temperature, or hot.

If you want the recipe, I'll ask him. Its one of those recipes with just ingredients so I would have to describe it to you.

And you are right... it has an almost hibuscus-like flavour.

[richardthinks.livejournal.com]

Vosges chocolates make a nice Goji Berry bar, which owes its distinction more to the salt partnered with milk chocolate, which is fantastic.

I've had them on fancy restaurant dishes and been a bit nonplussed: the ones I've had have had a really delicate flavour, which needs careful handling. I bet a goji sorbet would be great.