{"id":2762,"date":"2017-04-13T14:20:05","date_gmt":"2017-04-13T18:20:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/?p=2762"},"modified":"2018-12-25T11:47:14","modified_gmt":"2018-12-25T16:47:14","slug":"reverse-engineering-legend-of-tastes-smoked-pork-with-garlic-leaf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/?p=2762","title":{"rendered":"Reverse Engineering Legend of Taste’s Smoked Pork with Garlic Leaf"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nLegend of Taste, located at 2002 Utopia Parkway in Whitestone, Queens, is fast becoming a legend in its own right. Arguably the most original Szechuan restaurant in New York City, finicky foodies have been flocking here to check out the hype (yes, it\u2019s completely deserved) and enjoy the chef\u2019s skillful spin on Szechuan classics.<\/p>\n

As to my modest role in supporting this establishment (whose only drawback is its location: you need to drive there since it\u2019s not near a subway line), I\u2019ve brought several groups of food writers and photographers, restaurant reviewers, chefs, and Szechuan cuisine enthusiasts to sample as much of the \u201cLegend Special\u201d and \u201cChef\u2019s Special\u201d sections of the menu as we could and still fit through the door on the way out. You can see some of what we’ve sampled here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It turns out that among the many amazing offerings we tasted (like the unimaginably delicious \u2013 may I say transcendent? \u2013 Szechuan Style Crispy Eggplant), the relatively simple Smoked Pork with Garlic Leaf never failed to garner tremendous approbation from the throng. As a matter of fact, a few folks asked if I had a recipe so they could try their hand at reproducing it. Although I discovered some similar dishes in my research, I couldn\u2019t track down a proper recipe so I had no choice but to try to create one myself. I was fortunate that on one visit I had been able to carry out a bit for an A\/B comparison while I was inventing my own take on it. (Sure, try and convince people that sacrificing a morsel of the dish for me to bring home and deconstruct would ultimately accrue to their benefit.)<\/p>\n

What follows is my modest proposal for just such a recipe. (Actually, it\u2019s more of an algorithm than a formal recipe, but you\u2019ll get the idea.) The limited number of ingredients made the task seem less daunting. The real key is finding a version of smoked Chinese bacon that resonates for you. (No, I don\u2019t have a favorite since I always buy a different one: it\u2019s the best way to learn.) Now, I suspect that Legend of Taste smokes their own pork belly so you won\u2019t be able to find a perfect match in Chinatown, but you can approximate it. In the market, you\u2019re likely to find Chinese style bacon available in two forms, either Cryovac packaged or hanging by a string alongside other dried meats like lap cheong<\/em> (Chinese sausage) and assorted types of poultry (see photos). Either one will work in this dish. The packaged versions differ from each other considerably \u2013 some are richer than others, some have added seasonings like cinnamon, soy sauce, wine, and there’s even a Szechuan style spicy m\u00e1 l\u00e0<\/em> version; it\u2019s all a matter of taste. Note that these are not refrigerated in the market.
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For the greens, head to the produce section. English names for this vegetable vary widely from \u201cgarlic leaf\u201d to \u201cgreen garlic\u201d to “Chinese leeks”; in Szechuan province it\u2019s known as suan miao,<\/em>\u00a0\u849c\u82d7. You\u2019re looking for a vegetable that has flat leaves and a purplish tinge to the outermost layer of the bulbs. The photo here (left) shows what you\u2019re after. That shiny silver disk is a quarter placed there for the sake of size comparison; you can see that they\u2019re much longer and thinner than garden variety American leeks. They\u2019re more tender than regular leeks as well so they cook up much faster.
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The only other significant ingredient that I could discern is dried salted black bean; you\u2019ll find it packaged in plastic bags near the other dried items like lentils, starches, nuts, dried mushrooms, black and white fungus – things you’d cook with, not snack on.<\/p>\n

Preparation: Steam the Chinese bacon over boiling water for 15 minutes; doing so will cook and soften it so that it can be worked with. Slice off a little of the fat and render it for use in the stir frying process later. As soon as it\u2019s cool enough to handle, lay it on its side (or whatever technique works best for you) and carve thin slices (photo on the right). Don\u2019t worry if your slices aren\u2019t as thin and translucent as what you see here; do the best you can and it will be just fine.<\/p>\n

The main difference between this and the pork in the dish from Legend of Taste is the sublime smokiness. (As a matter of fact, Legend of Taste\u2019s outstanding Special Smoked Ribs and Tea Smoked Duck are so redolent of smoky goodness that, if you\u2019re lucky and your timing is right, the aroma will seduce you as you enter the establishment.) Since I don\u2019t have a smoker, I tried to come up with a process for enhancing my expeditious ersatz rendition. My first try involved adding a few tablespoons of liquid smoke to the steaming water; that helped a bit, but it needed more encouragement since the smokiness couldn\u2019t really permeate the large hunks of bacon (although it most decidedly permeated my kitchen). A few tests later, I settled on a method of mixing a tiny amount of liquid smoke in a bowl with a little water, sugar, and smoked sea salt and briefly tossing the slices of pork all at once in the mixture, then steaming them again for a few minutes. Perfect? Of course not. And there are those among us who eschew liquid smoke at all costs; I can appreciate that. But if you don\u2019t overdo it, my method will get you close. Incidentally, if you try this technique, I recommend that you not use a variety of Chinese bacon that has additional seasonings added.<\/p>\n

As to the garlic leaf, remove the roots and wash it thoroughly. Cut off the bulb and quarter it so it will cook at the same rate as the leaves and stalk. You\u2019ll get the best results working with the sturdier leaves just below the tips down through the stalk just above the bulb. The very ends can be wilted and in any event are too delicate for use in this dish; they get a little stringy and don\u2019t hold up under stir-fry conditions. Save them for soup stock if you like. Or to use as ribbon on tiny Christmas presents. (Just wanted to see if you were paying attention.) Make one slice lengthwise through the stalk, then slice it and the firm leaves into 1\u00bd-inch pieces on the diagonal.<\/p>\n

Rinse a small amount (perhaps a tablespoon or so) of the black beans and chop them coarsely.<\/p>\n

The precise amounts of the components are up to you. Have a look at the photos and balance them as you wish.<\/p>\n

Assembly: Heat a wok or a cast iron skillet until it gets impossibly hot. Add a little of the rendered pork fat \u2013 you won\u2019t need much. Stir fry the sliced greens until almost tender (it won\u2019t take long), and add the pork strips, black beans, a pinch of white pepper, a pinch of salt (depends upon how salty the bacon is), a pinch of sugar, and a big pinch of MSG. (Yes, really. You wanna make something of it?) Stir fry for a minute or two, just enough to introduce the ingredients to each other and until they develop a happy relationship. Serve with rice.
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Remember that this is merely my take (bottom photo) on reverse engineering the dish so wonderfully crafted at Legend of Taste (top photo). If you have a recipe for it that you\u2019d like to share, use the area below to send a comment. I\u2019m eager to hear from you!<\/p>\n

PS: I think it came out rather well!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Check out my latest post in which I attempt to deconstruct and recreate Legend of Taste’s amazing Smoked Pork with Garlic Leaf! Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3336,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31,7],"tags":[35,55,44],"class_list":["post-2762","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-home-cookin","category-stories","tag-chinese","tag-sichuan","tag-szechuan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2762","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3336"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2762"}],"version-history":[{"count":30,"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2762\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3460,"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2762\/revisions\/3460"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2762"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2762"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2762"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}