XO Soused
XO Soused
XO Soused - The (r)evolution in Chinese desserts
0:00
-44:09

XO Soused - The (r)evolution in Chinese desserts

Why should dessert go at the end? Why have western and westernised restaurants embraced this structure of cooking and eating, while in some Asian cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes are served together? More importantly, why do western professional kitchens barely use sugars in their savoury dishes? Meanwhile chefs cooking some Asian foods use sugars - cane sugar, beet sugar, honey, and maltose - in equal quantities as savoury ingredients for taste, colour, viscosity, and depth and balance of flavour.

So where does that leave Chinese desserts? What are their levels of sweetness and creaminess? How does Andrew create desserts for A.Wong that navigate these Chinese norms and the expectations of his Chinese and non-Chinese diners?

A video and accompanying recipe for Dragon’s beard candy: https://www.tastemade.com/videos/dragons-beard/

An overhead shot of several Hong Kong restaurant menus open to their dessert pages featuring photos and text
A selection of menus open to their dessert pages from a number of restaurants in Hong Kong. Source: Andrew Wong’s research files

XO Soused is a fortnightly audio newsletter.

Intro and outro music: 遊子 [wanderer] by mafmadmaf.com

Leave a comment

0 Comments