Yin Jin’s wok fried seasoned nuts
Secrecy pervades in the air of many kitchens, particularly those in China. But, my friend, Yin Jin, was especially good at culinary espionage. This dish is named after her for these reasons:
Yin learned to cook in Shanghai during the 1980s from the last generation of the “old school” Chinese chefs who were notoriously secretive about their recipes and techniques. They believed that if others can do what they do, then their job was in jeopardy. Therefore, one of the tricks these chefs practiced was to intentionally leave out a couple of steps when explaining their recipes. Another trick was to make the dish either early in the morning or late at night when no one would be around. Sadly, many of the chefs from this generation have passed away, and so have their recipes.
Nevertheless, not all secrets were buried. One way in which secrecy was broken or revealed was through bribery. Money, alcohol, and/or cigarettes were common goods for barter. In the case when bribes were rejected, apprentices would resort to guerrilla tactics to gather the information needed, such as making a mental inventory of the ingredients in the kitchen before the chefs made the dish, then revisiting the pantry afterwards to deduce what was used. Another way to reconstruct a recipe was to dig through trash cans for scraps of ingredient or any direct evidence. Lastly, befriending the dish washer or prep cook could garner insider information.
Yin’s wok fried seasoned nuts is a seemingly simple dish with many layers of flavors and textures. In order to achieve a balance, the nuts are roasted a special way. Also, there is a particular visual cue to look for in order to ensure that the anchovies are toasted properly. Finally, the seaweed is sourced from a peculiar hole-in-the-wall locale in the San Gabriel Valley that imports ingredients from Shanghai.
That’s Yin’s recipe! You didn’t think that I’d tell you the recipe – did you?