Arthur and I have had the privilege
of being close friends with Sid for over 40 years. We first met when Sid moved
to Baltimore in the early 70's to develop the anthropology department at Johns
Hopkins and were neighbors at the Gardens of Guilford.
We soon became friends through of our
common interest in cooking and eating, sharing years of wonderful times
celebrating holidays and birthdays. We cooked together a lot, we ate out a lot,
exploring new restaurants, including frequent trips to D.C. to try such things
as Myanmar cuisine or discovering a tiny Chinese restaurant with incredible
fare.
There was a lot of good wine shared:
Sid would always offer a dram of peaty scotch when we gathered for dinner
followed by a selection from his (he said later, triple-encrypted) cellar.
Sid was a passionate story-teller...
I think we all looked forward to his ability to weave some narrative into the
conversation that became a story revealing some of his global knowledge of
culinary and social customs. He was always an involved, thoughtful
friend. We loved him dearly.
I'm going to share a recipe that was
one of the first meals he served us: I remember it clearly because at that time
I had never tasted cilantro. It was a revelation.
STEAMED PORK WITH SALTED FISH (咸鱼蒸肉饼)
1
12 ounces of fatty ground pork
2
½ teaspoon sesame oil
3
½ teaspoon salt
4
1/8 teaspoon fresh ground white
pepper
5
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
6
1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
7
2 tablespoons water
8
2 teaspoons cornstarch
9
½ teaspoon grated ginger
10
1 teaspoon finely minced
scallion, the white portion only
11
1/3 cup chopped water chestnuts
(optional)
12
4 to 6 thin slices of fermented,
salted fish (about 2 ounces total)
13
1 tablespoon finely julienned fresh
ginger
14
1 scallion, finely chopped
15
Fresh Cilantro for garnish
Preparation
Chop the ground pork finely with
knife or cleaver and transfer to a bowl.
Add sesame oil, salt, white pepper,
baking soda, Shaoxing wine, water, cornstarch, grated ginger,
minced scallion, and water chestnuts (if using) to the meat
Use a fork and mix everything
together vigorously until the pork mixture becomes sticky and
smooth––almost like a paste. Set aside to marinate for 1 hour or more.
Transfer the meat to a deep dish
plate, forming a kind of thin patty. You must use a deep dish because liquid
will pool in the bowl.
Distribute the slices of salted
fish on top of the meat. If you put a lot of fish on top, then you may
want to eliminate or reduce the salt from the ground meat in the previous step.
If you put only a few slices of salted fish, then the fish will likely provide
enough salt for the dish.
Spread the julienned ginger across
the top of the meat and salted fish and then sprinkle the chopped scallion
evenly over the top.
Steam for 10 minutes starting with a
pre-heated steamer. You’ll see quite a bit of liquid in the plate after
cooking. Turn off the heat and let the dish rest for 2 to 3 minutes. Some
of that tasty liquid will be reabsorbed into the meat. Spoon the sauce over the
top of your pork before serving and top with generous sprigs of cilantro.
Sid at
a wedding, 1998
Sidney
Mintz – graphite on polymer – (Nancy Valk)
Photo
interpretation of Sidney Mintz (Arthur Valk)
