Recipes

Live shrimp swim briefly in yellow rice wine, then soak for mere minutes in a sweet-savory ginger-soy marinade. A daring raw delicacy with a boozy, briny kick.

Mild red peppers stand in for fiery ones here, chopped with garlic and kept raw for gentle sweetness. Even heat-sensitive eaters can enjoy this fermented relish.

Cabbage quartered and salted overnight at the root, rinsed, then bound with glutinous rice porridge, fruit puree, and chili. A from-scratch kimchi worth the ten-hour wait.

Red chilies are hand-chopped and folded into a pungent mash of garlic, onion, liquor, and salt, then left to ferment. This homemade chopped-chili sauce is the backbone of countless Hunan dishes.

White radish takes on a striking rouge color from bayberry juice, its vinegar and sugar brine doubling as a natural preservative against oxidation.

A sticky rice ball mixed with seaweed pork floss and filled with banana, finished with mayonnaise for an unusual sweet-savory snack.

Thin young ginger slices are briefly blanched, then bathed in a warm sweet vinegar that blushes them a delicate pink, the perfect partner for sushi.

Sun-dried chilies are chopped by gloved hands and tossed with garlic, ginger, black beans, salt and liquor, a versatile fresh-ground chili relish for everyday cooking.

An instant dessert made by pouring boiling water over kudzu starch and stirring to a translucent gel, then sweetened with honey or jam and topped with goji or nuts.

White and green radishes are salted half a day, then sealed with honey, vinegar, and seasonings in the fridge. A few days later, sweet-tangy crunch awaits.

Hand-rolled pork elbow roulades are marinated overnight, tied with string and sliced thin, served with a rustic mortar-pounded dip of garlic, cilantro and ten aromatics for dipping.

Salt-cured cucumber chunks are rinsed and marinated in a garlicky vinegar-soy brine with fresh chilies for a crisp, refreshing bite.