Tag Archives: fermented foods

Savoring Small Town Cultures

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Small Town Cultures Sliced Red Onions are perfect on homemade pork burritos, and so many other dishes.
Small Town Cultures Sliced Red Onions are perfect on homemade pork burritos, and so many other dishes.

Sometimes I think I ought to be nicknamed “Condiment Carolyn.”

That’s because my fridge is usually filled with all manner of condiments. My husband even jokes that if I packed a hot dog or burger bun with condiments — and nothing but — I would be quite happy.

So, when samples of Small Town Cultures landed on my porch, I couldn’t wait to try these small-batch, fermented condiments.

Cori Deans started her company in the Adirondacks to manage her Crohn’s disease, after finding that symptoms of her autoimmune disease began to subside after changing her diet to include more fermented foods rich in prebiotics and probiotics.

I test drove the Sliced Red Onions and the Turmeric Kimchi, both sold in recyclable glass jars.
I test drove the Sliced Red Onions and the Turmeric Kimchi, both sold in recyclable glass jars.

She now has a whole line of raw, fermented foods made without preservatives, added sugar or added vinegar. They are also all gluten-free, vegan, and non-GMO.

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Memories of Childhood Chinese Chicken

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There's tofu in this. Can you believe it?

I remember the times of peeking into the refrigerator at home to find a big jellyroll pan laid out from one end to the other with marinating chicken.

And feeling the excitement of the dinner to come that night.

I remember how those plump drumsticks were arranged in two neat rows down the length of the pan.

I remember their terracotta color.

And the aroma of savoriness and something a little mysterious in the mix.

I remember waiting for my Mom to roast them in a hot oven until their color deepened and their skin crisped.

I’d pick up a drumstick with my fingers, the reddish sauce staining them deliciously as I took a big bite of joy.

As a kid, I never really knew what made this chicken so distinctive. All I knew was that it was something that came from a screw-top jar from Chinatown. And that my Mom referred to this dish as “fu-yee chicken.”

Thanks to my friend and most talented cookbook writer, Andrea Nguyen, I now know exactly what goes into the marinade that gives it such color and taste.

It’s tofu. Yes, cubes of soybean curd, but ones that have been allowed to age and ferment in a brine of red yeast rice or red wine, rice wine and water. It turns the tofu red and creamy with a flavor that’s salty, a little sweet, really savory, sort of musky and a tad funky.

Not that funky is a bad thing. After all, it’s what makes anchovies and runny cheeses so wonderful.

Like them, red fermented tofu may be a taste sensation that has to grow on you. It might seem strong and strange the first time, but the more you eat of it, the more you want.

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