Pliny the Elder: You have received some exotic gifts. What is XO Sauce?
Me: It's a spicy fish sauce very popular in Hong Kong. It's called XO after 'Extra Old' Cognac, which is not one of the ingredients, but makes it sound posh.
Pliny the Elder: What are the ingredients of this delicacy?
Me: According to Li Feng's hand written label: Scallops, Prawns, Mushrooms, Some Garlics, Onions, Chillis, Vegetable Oil and Salt a Little.
Pliny the Elder: Very nice. I used to like fish sauce back in the old days. We Romans made a good one with anchovies, herbs and salt, called garum. We used to put it on everything. It smelled terrible but we couldn't get enough of it. We used it as an unguent for wounds as well.....
Me: Really, how fascinating. Would you like a Green Tea biscuit?
Pliny the Elder: Well, only if you're going to open the XO Sauce. Have you got a knife?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment