Sunday 28 June 2009

The Star of the Show

Humey and Clare took me out for dinner last Tuesday, as part of my seemingly neverending birthday celebrations. They took me to Tai Pan. It is on Upper Brook Street, on the edge of Manchester University's Campus, right next to W.H.Lung, which is a Chinese Supermarket.

The place has never appealed to me from the outside because it's housed in an exterior which could easily be the goods delivery warehouse part of W. H. Lung, and I have never read anything about its food- nor have I tried- so it was a good job it was recommended to me.

I had the Kung Po Duck. The pieces of meat came in a sticky dark red sauce with pieces of bamboo shoot, carrot, green capsicum, ample cashew nuts and little cross section slices of red chilli. It was very sweet and spicy hot without being sweet and sour. I started to wonder what type of sweetener they had used for the dish. The duck meat was very salty and chewy, and had its skin on. It almost reminded me of bacon somehow.

Having scoffed too much starter, my own as well as sampling pieces of Humey's and Clare's, I barely made a dent in the main, and it was hauled away and returned in a foil carton with cardboard lid. I stopped short at making yesterday's dinner into the next day's breakfast and saved it for lunch.

An overnight stint in the fridge really does let the flavours develop. It didn't taste as sweet yesterday and the heat of the chilli had worn off somewhat. The duck was as salty as the day before, but this time my taste receptors detected a new flavour: star anise! What a trip for my tastebuds. It must have contributed to the mystery sweetness which I couldn't put my finger on the night before.

One of my kitchen's cupboards is healthily stocked with spices - not so much herbs and neither do I get them fresh to my shame) but one thing I do lack -well two things: Chinese five-spice, and one of its principle ingredients, star anise.

It's not for want of trying, albeit the type which is the opposite of persistent. I last had Chinese five-spice in my cupboard four years ago, and the dish I made with it was disappointing and far from the Chinese food I was trying to recreate.

This is also not my first encounter with star anise. I have seen old sweet jars filled with it, for it is an ingredient of garam masala. My mother grinds her own blend in a manually operated stainless steel machine which, along with the recipe for this spice mix, I hope to inherit some day.

Going back to the duck, I was fascinated with it. I have only ever eaten it twice before the meal at Tai Pan; once ten years ago in an average-tasting dish at a Chinese restaurant, and shredded on a cheese-and- tomato-free pizza along with hoisin sauce and cucumber at a time some nine years ago when it was very in vogue. I wonder if it is still the case. The duck was quite dry, chewy and salty, I left the skin, but not without sucking as much of its sticky anise-y flavour as I could. But it dawned upon me how well the duck took to being spiced and seasoned despite having a very distinct taste of its own. Fighting fire with fire sometimes does work.

I am discovering meat, having not really eaten any flesh apart from fish and seafood for about eight years, and it's taking a while. I'm convinced that duck can be more tender and melty. I'm not desperate to confirm that, but when I do, I hope it will be with gusto, care and consideration.

No comments:

Post a Comment