Fascinating World - CHINA: At the Table in Hainan with Fiori Picco

 

Fascinating World

 

CHINA: At the Table in Hainan with Fiori Picco

 

Sinologist, Author, Publisher

 

Interview by Maria Teresa De Donato

 

 

Dear friends,

 

Today, I have the pleasure of reintroducing my colleague and friend, Fiori Picco, a sinologist, author, and editor who has been my guest on several occasions. In the past, Fiori and I have organized interviews, both written and video, to present her novels set in China, specifically in Yunnan, where she lived and worked for eight years.

 

This time, however, we'll be talking about cuisine and moving to Hainan Island.

 

Fiori and I wish you all a good read!

 

 

MTDD: Hello, Fiori, and welcome back to my Virtual Cultural Salon.

FP: Hello, Maria Teresa, thank you for the invitation. It's a pleasure to be your guest.

 

 

MTDD: Fiori, as I mentioned, today we won’t be discussing novels, but rather Chinese cuisine.

Many years ago, when I was still in Italy, I befriended a family from Shanghai whose parents were both chefs. I was invited to their home several times for lunch or dinner, and on one occasion, they explained to me that what we ate at the Chinese restaurant wasn’t really ‘Chinese,’ but instead a cuisine adapted to Italian tastes. This was because, if the restaurants had offered authentic Chinese cuisine, the Italian public—unused to certain foods and, especially, certain flavors—wouldn’t have appreciated it.

 

Having lived in China for many years, have you noticed these differences?

 

FP: Yes, I have. That’s true. The Chinese cuisine we’re accustomed to in Italy is adapted to our tastes and limited, whereas the original Chinese cuisine is rich and varies depending on the region and province.

 

 

MTDD: Due to a lack of time, we obviously can’t examine typical local dishes from every city or village.

 

Could you provide some examples, perhaps by dividing China into specific regions?

 

FP: China can be divided into various regions with distinct cuisines and gastronomic traditions.

 

In the southwest, which includes Yunnan, Hunan, and Sichuan, we find dishes that are often overly spicy, with generous doses of chili peppers.

 

In one of my books, I describe the soups as “volcanic magma” because they are a deep red, and chili peppers can be seen floating on the surface.

 

Then we have the Canton area in Guangdong Province, where the cuisine is rich in shellfish, seafood, and sweet dishes.

 

Moving east, in the cities of Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Suzhou, the cuisine is characterized by a sweet and sour flavor profile, with sauces often based on a combination of sugar and vinegar.

 

Finally, there is the imperial cuisine of Beijing, famous for its glazed duck, strips of beef with Peking sauce, and eight-treasure rice cake, much loved by Empress Cixi.

 

Every meal is accompanied by hot tea, which can be served in various flavors, including red, green, chrysanthemum, eight-treasure, or sticky rice.

 

 

MTDD: Really interesting. Thank you for sharing this information with us.

 

FP: Sharing is a pleasure.

 

 

MTDD: Fiori, in your novel YAO, you mentioned grasshoppers as a typical food for both the eponymous ethnic group and its protagonist.

 

What can you tell us about this?

 

FP: In YAO, the novel’s leitmotif is grasshoppers, which symbolically represent the stages of the protagonist Yang Sen's life: his childhood in the village of Dragon’s Tail, his affection for his ailing father, his discovery of love, his arrival in Kunming, his dreams, and finally his recognized talent.

Fried grasshoppers are a typical dish for many ethnic groups living in Yunnan.

 

 

MTDD: Can I ask if you've eaten them, and if so, what they taste like?

 

FP: Yes, I’ve. They’re crunchy. Personally, I prefer bee-shaped ones because they’re sweeter.

 

In Yunnan, various insects are used in cooking and in traditional Chinese medicine. Among these is the caterpillar grass, a plant that envelops the caterpillar larva until it becomes one with itself. Restaurants offer these insects as delicacies.

In pharmacology, they are often mixed with other invertebrates, herbs, roots, and mushrooms.

 

 

MTDD: Traditional Chinese Medicine is the oldest medical system after Ayurveda, and is also thousands of years old. Many of the ingredients used to prepare remedies are also used in the preparation of homeopathic products, which are equally effective.

 

Shall we conclude with a typical dish from Hainan Island, the island we mentioned in our previous interview? And if so, what recipe would you suggest?

 

FP: I’d love to. I propose the Hainan Coconut Chicken Recipe.

 

For its preparation, you will need the following:

 

Ingredients:

 

For the chicken:

Coconut milk and coconut meat; one chicken; water chestnuts or turnips; fresh ginger; Chinese dates; goji berries; salt to taste.

 

For the sauce:

Garlic, spring onions, parsley, fresh chili pepper, lime, sugar, light soy sauce, and fish sauce.

Pour the coconut milk into a clay pot. Cut the coconut meat into strips. Slice the water chestnuts or, alternatively, a turnip into rounds. Cut the chicken into small pieces, wash it, and add it to the clay pot along with the shredded coconut meat, the turnip rounds, and the sliced ​​fresh ginger. Cover and bring to a boil. Skim off any excess foam and cook for thirty minutes. After half an hour, add the Chinese red dates and goji berries. Cover and cook for an additional 10 minutes. Add salt to taste at the end.

Meanwhile, prepare small bowls based on the number of guests. In each place, chopped spring onions and garlic, diced fresh red chili pepper, and chopped parsley. Squeeze a few drops of lime juice over the top. Add a teaspoon of sugar, light soy sauce, and fish sauce (optional).

When the chicken is cooked, dip the pieces into the sauce.

 

 

MTDD: Thank you, Fiori, for this fascinating overview of Chinese cuisine and for this recipe, which I'm sure many readers will appreciate and try.

I look forward to meeting you again in the future to continue discovering this great and ancient country about which, in reality, we Westerners still know very little.

 

FP: Thank you, Maria Teresa, for the invitation. It will be a pleasure to continue participating in your Fascinating World column, where we can share your experiences and knowledge with our readers.