Dalian Delights: Seafood and the Wine Scene off China¡¯s North-East Coast(2)
Dalian is a good place to be fed to death. Our local Beijing market boasts fresh seafood from Dalian ‡° fresh because, as in all proper Chinese markets and restaurants, everything is still alive before purchase. So we were keen to see how local Dalian folk treat their seafood and other fish on their own turf.
Fresh off our morning plane, lunch was served (the Chinese generally rise early, eat lunch around 11.30-1 p.m. and consume dinner between 5.30-8 p.m., something Mediterranean visitors find intolerable). Fongyee’s cousin had already been to the main Dalian fish market at 5 a.m. that morning and was, I’m not kidding, plating up the following feast, ingeniously prepared from one of the smallest kitchens I have ever seen (even by domestic Chinese standards). The French talk about mise-en-place, the Chinese invented it:
steamed crabs (two types ‡° see below)
steamed abalone
steamed scallops
steamed razor clams
poached flat-fish: of Chinese origin (similar to a meaty version of sole or plaice)
stir-fried prawns with green onion and garlic
stir-fried squid with carrot, green onion, garlic and chilli
deep-fried oysters (in a very delicate batter dipped in white pepper and salt at table)
deep-fried fish in a chilli glaze: the fish was of Chinese origin (similar to perch)
braised red-cooked pork spare ribs (simmered in rice wine, dark and light soy sauce, ginger, star anise, green onion)
preserved pork gelatine salad (flavoured with star-anise and garlic)
salad of preserved pork with julienned cucumber, carrot and green onion in a garlic-soy sauce dressing
prawn soup in a delicate broth (de-shelled prawns, shaped into ovals a bit like French quenelles, with Chinese chives in a clear soup ‡° i.e. not fish stock)
fried buns with pork and onion filling (known as xia bing)
The two types of crab were ‘flower crab’ (hua xie), seen on the right above, with flower-like patterns on their shells, and ‘flying crab’ (fei xie), the bigger beasts to the above left whose shells look something like sting-rays.
Each crab was eaten with a special dipping sauce ‡° see middle above ‡° comprised of minced garlic, soy sauce and ginger. But there was plentiful pickled garlic on hand just in case anyone felt their daily intake of the herb was lacking. Fortunately, we eat everything and just about anything. And who could have trouble tucking into this?
