Quick Read
Summary
Takeaways
- ❖Lily created an Osso Buco Gua Bao, incorporating polenta into the bao dough and a gremolata.
- ❖Josh made a Mapo Tofu Scallion Pancake Pizza, featuring a chili oil crust and chili oil ranch dressing.
- ❖The hosts debated the historical and geographical origins of 'Italian' dishes like Osso Buco.
- ❖Sichuan peppercorns provide the 'Ma' (numbing) sensation in Mapo Tofu, distinct from 'La' (capsaicin spice).
- ❖The audience voted Josh's Mapo Tofu pizza as the winning fusion dish.
Insights
1Osso Buco as a Northern Italian/Alpine Dish
The host, Josh, highlights that Osso Buco is an Alpine or Northern Italian dish, not representative of all Italian cuisine, especially compared to Southern Italian dishes like caponata, which has Arab influences. He argues that the concept of a unified 'Italian' cuisine is relatively recent, post-dating the unification of Italy in the late 19th century.
Josh states, 'That's German, dude. That's Austrian. That's an Alpine dish. That's a northern Italian dish. Has nothing to do with like you go down to like Sicily, you see like caponata, which is just like that is so Arabin inflicted.'
2The 'Ma La' Sensation in Sichuan Cuisine
Josh explains the 'Ma La' flavor profile, where 'Ma' signifies the numbing spice from Sichuan peppercorns (due to zanthylum chemicals) and 'La' refers to the capsicum spice from chilies. This combination creates a unique mouthfeel described as 'electrocuted,' which alters the perception of other flavors.
Josh details, 'Ma la. Ma means like numbing spice and then la means like a capsason spice. The la comes from or the ma comes from a chemical called zanthylum that you find in things like Sichuan peppercorn.'
3Polenta Integration into Bao Dough
Lily incorporates finely ground polenta into her bao dough for the Osso Buco Gua Bao. This technique aims to infuse the bao with a flavor base often associated with Osso Buco, creating a unique Italian-Chinese textural and flavor combination.
Lily explains, 'This is a bow dough. And you might be like, why is it yellow? And it's because I put palenta in it. I finally ground palenta, which is the base to a lot of ooco or bone hole.'
4Chili Oil Solids as a Ranch Dressing Ingredient
Josh innovates by adding chili oil solids, infused with Sichuan chili, ginger, garlic, star anise, and cinnamon, directly into homemade ranch dressing. This creates a spicy, aromatic, and visually distinct ranch, intended to complement the Mapo Tofu Pizza.
Josh states, 'We're going to go ahead and take a big old scoop of those chili oil solids. Drop those right in there.'
Bottom Line
Using Mapo Tofu as a pizza topping, especially on a scallion pancake-inspired crust, creates a bold flavor profile that challenges traditional pizza constructs.
This fusion pushes the boundaries of 'pizza' beyond Italian-American norms, introducing complex Sichuan flavors and textures to a familiar format.
Explore other non-traditional stew or braise toppings for flatbreads, focusing on global flavor combinations and unique textural contrasts.
Incorporating fermented broccoli rabe as a pickled mustard green substitute in a Gua Bao offers an Italian twist to a traditional Chinese condiment.
This substitution demonstrates how fermentation techniques can bridge culinary gaps, introducing familiar Italian bitter notes into a Chinese context.
Experiment with lacto-fermenting other regional vegetables to create unique, culturally blended condiments for various cuisines.
Key Concepts
Culinary Fusion as Cultural Commentary
The act of combining distinct food cultures serves as a lens to discuss broader themes of identity, heritage, and the fluid nature of national cuisines, often revealing complex historical and geopolitical influences.
The 'Ma La' Flavor Profile
This model explains the unique numbing and spicy sensation found in Sichuan cuisine. 'Ma' refers to the numbing effect from zanthylum chemicals in Sichuan peppercorns, while 'La' refers to the capsaicin spice from chilies, creating a distinctive and complex flavor experience.
Lessons
- When braising, sear meat thoroughly and caramelize tomato paste or bean paste on the bottom of the pan to build deep, robust flavors.
- To achieve the 'Ma La' sensation, combine Sichuan peppercorns (for numbing) with Sichuan chilies (for spice) in your cooking.
- For rich sauces, use a cornstarch slurry to thicken, ensuring a smooth and desired consistency without over-reducing.
Notable Moments
Josh's humorous and complex explanation of his heritage, clarifying he is not Chinese but Jewish-African, after Lily's playful mischaracterizations.
This moment adds personal context to the culinary exploration, highlighting the hosts' diverse backgrounds and the often-complicated nature of identity, even in casual conversation.
The hosts' debate on the historical origins of 'Italian' cuisine, particularly Osso Buco, and the political unification of Italy.
This discussion provides an educational interlude, challenging simplistic notions of national food identities and emphasizing the fluid, historically contingent nature of culinary traditions.
Quotes
"I want to explore the deeper cultural and culinary nuance the only way I know how. By mashing together two relatively unrelated food cultures into one delicious dish and seeing what deeper stories about the world and ourselves we can tell within that."
"Ma la. Ma means like numbing spice and then la means like a capsason spice. The la comes from or the ma comes from a chemical called zanthylum that you find in things like Sichuan peppercorn."
"Italy didn't exist until Mussolini. We can say it. The Republic of Italy did not exist. It was united by Gabaldi's ride in the 1890s."
Q&A
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