The Land of the Five Flavors: A Cultural History of Chinese Cuisine (Arts and Traditions of the Table: Perspectives on Culinary History) by Thomas O. Höllmann

Author:Thomas O. Höllmann
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Food & Wine, Cookbooks
ISBN: 9780231161862
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Published: 2013-11-26T00:00:00+00:00

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H e a v e n l y D e w

earlier-known distillation methods from West Asia, because the terms alaji and yalaji , which appeared at that time, derive from the Arabian word ‘ araq (“sweat”), which has survived into the present as the Middle Eastern word for anise-fl avored liquors, and in the names arak and raki that are familiar to some Western consumers. One of the sources for the phonetic loan is the Yinshan zhenyao , compiled in 1330: Chapter 3 mentions “the dew that is obtained during the vaporization of good alcohol and forms the alaji .”

The best-known types of clear alcohol, aside from maotai , include gao-liang , which normally has an alcohol content of more than 60 percent and may smell slightly moldy, and erguotou , which is lighter, and drunk mainly by ordinary people in the region around Beijing. At least theoretically, both these types are made exclusively from sorghum, whereas wuliangye is based on four additional cereal varieties: rice, glutinous rice, wheat, and corn. In fact, we could call China, rather than Germany, the land of Doppelkorn (strong corn liquor). There is also a large selection of herbal liqueurs whose additives and fl avor often make them diffi cult to distinguish from medicine. The more palatable varieties include zhuye-qing , whose fragrant taste comes partly from bamboo leaves. Although wines are still made today from a large variety of fruits aside from grapes—notably plums and lychees—fruit liqueurs hardly feature at all.

SINGAPORE SLING

Ingredients

1 oz (30 ml) gin

0.5 oz (15 ml) cherry brandy

0.3 oz (7.5 ml) Cointreau

0.3 oz (7.5 ml) Benedictine

4 oz (120 ml) pineapple juice

0.5 oz (15 ml) lime juice

0.3 oz (10 ml) grenadine

A dash of angostura

1 slice of pineapple

1 cocktail cherry

Preparation method

1. Put all the liquids into a shaker and shake on ice.

2. Strain, and garnish with the pineapple slice and cherry.

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6/6/13 12:50 PM

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