Blended family

Opposites make for great pairings

July 22, 2001|By William Rice.

As is all too normal for me, I was spending some between-meals time thinking about food. Why do most of us shake salt and pepper over our food, frequently before we have tasted it? Why do we bite into a chili pepper, knowing it will cause pain? Why do we put heaping spoonfuls of sugar into iced tea, then add sour lemon juice?

Because eating merely for subsistence, eating to live, if you will, is not pleasing or even satisfying for very long. Scientists recognize four taste sensations--sweet, salty, bitter and sour--and we crave them all in varying combinations and intensities.

Almost forever, cooks have factored flavor contrasts into their cooking. The most highly developed expression of this comes in Chinese cooking, with the philosophy of yin and yang. Great cooking, whatever the cook's nationality, begins with this search for complementary pairs. Or, as Barbara Tropp puts it in her landmark book, "The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking," "a purposeful pairing of opposites." She cites, among other examples, sugar and vinegar (sweet and sour), soy sauce and rice wine, ginger and scallion, and points out that this pairing occurs in the cooking of both peasants and chefs and can be conscious or unconscious.

"Each of them plans a meal," she writes, "where flavors, textures, colors, food types and cooking methods are presented in conspicuous juxtaposition."

An easily prepared and timely experiment is to make Tropp's salt and Szechwan pepper mix and use it to season buttered steamed corn. The contrasts include salt and sweet, salt and bitter. At the same meal, consider making crisp fried shrimp with garlic from Nina Simonds' "Classic Chinese Cuisine." Here you will contrast bitter and sweet, salt and sweet, crisp and soft.



Makes 1/2 cup

1/2 cup coarse kosher salt

1/4 cup Szechwan brown peppercorns, available in Chinese markets and gourmet food shops

1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns, Tellicherry recommended, optional

1. Combine the salt and peppercorns in a dry, heavy skillet. Stir over moderate heat until the salt turns off-white and the peppercorns are fragrant, about 5 minutes. The peppercorns will smoke. Do not let them scorch.

2. Scrape the hot mixture into the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade, then process for 1 minute until fine.

3. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve to remove the peppercorn husks, then store in an airtight bottle away from light, heat and moisture.

4. Use sparingly. A mere pinch or sprinkle is the right approach, as the mixture is very pungent. Sprinkle on foods just before serving them or pass a dip dish at the table. Use with deep-fried foods, vegetables, salads.

--Adapted from "The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking" by Barbara Tropp


Six servings

2 pounds medium-size raw shrimp in their shells

2 sliced gingerroot, smashed with the flat side of a cleaver

2 tablespoons rice wine*

2-1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

8 cups peanut, safflower or corn oil

2-1/2 teaspoons salt**

3 tablespoons minced garlic

*Available in Asian markets and some supermarkets

**Substitute roasted Szechwan pepper-salt, if desired, but use sparingly

1. Cut away the legs and antennae of the shrimp, if remaining. Rinse the shrimp thoroughly. Pat them dry and place them in a mixing bowl. Let the gingerroot steep in the rice wine for several minutes; add to the bowl, toss lightly and let the shrimp marinate for 20 minutes. Discard the gingerroot. Add the cornstarch to the shrimp and toss lightly.

2. Heat a wok, add the oil and heat the oil to 425 degrees. Add the shrimp and deep fry over high heat for about 2-1/2 minutes, turning constantly until golden brown and crisp. Remove with a strainer and drain. Remove the oil from the wok.

3. Reheat the wok until very hot. Add the fried shrimp and the salt and garlic. Toss lightly over high heat for about 20 seconds, until fragrant. Transfer the mixture to a platter and serve immediately.

--Adapted from "Classic Chinese Cuisine" by Nina Simonds