Fermented Green Chili Pumpkin Soup
About Green Chili
When we think of chili peppers, we react differently depending on our eating habits; some people will immediately shake their heads and stay away, while others will feel excited. The capsaicin in chili peppers is like fire that burns the sensation. Some people like it, some people don’t.
There are many food cultures in the world where spicy food is popular, such as Thai cuisine, Mexican cuisine, Sichuan cuisine, Korean cuisine… Different spicy dishes use different varieties of chili peppers, and the subtle differences combined with the combination of different ingredients give birth to the unique flavor of spicy cuisine in each country.
The spicy flavor of chili peppers comes from capsaicin, which is present in large quantities in the part of the plant which holds the seeds, and to a lesser extent in the flesh.
Although spiciness highlights spicy cuisine, it is not a sense of taste but a painful sensation that affects the brain neurologically through the nerve endings (trigeminal nerve). To avoid this pain, it leads to the secretion of endorphins, so capsaicin can be said to be a hormone that can create a sense of happiness.
For example, chili peppers are rarely used in French cuisine. But sometimes a little cayenne pepper or Espelette pepper is sometimes added to color the dish and to improve other flavors due to the sensitivity of the spicy taste buds.
Chili peppers are rich in vitamins B, C, carotenoids, potassium, magnesium, iron, and other micronutrition, making them a nutritious vegetable. How to balance the stimulation of spicy food with chili pepper intake? Spicy dishes are usually balanced with sour and sweet flavors. Such as tomato, tamarind, lemon, vinegar, coconut sugar….
Fermenting the chili is a wonderful way to balance the spiciness. The acid produced by the lactic acid during the fermentation process has softened the spiciness, and the fermentation helps to release the sweetness from the chili, which will allow the next dishes to be made without adding acidity or even sugar.
Fermented Kumquat Green Chili
Preparation: 20 minutes + Fermentation: 3 to 4 weeks
Ingredients:
10pcs Green chili
10 pieces Kumquat
10g Honey
510ml Water
27g Salt
1. Prepare a 1-liter canning jar, sterilized and dried.
2. Wash and dry the green pepper and kumquat.
3. Cut a line through the green pepper from head to end and remove the placental tissue, internal membranes, and seeds.
4. Halve the kumquat
5. Combine green chilies and kumquats, honey, water, and salt in the canning jar.
6. Press the green chilies and kumquats under water, then place a baking paper to cover the liquid surface.
7. After sealing the lid, place in a cool place and let ferment for 3 to 4 weeks.
*Note: Please wear gloves when cutting peppers.
Fermented Green Chili Pumpkin Soup (4 Servings)
Preparation: 15 minutes + Cooking: 20~30 minutes
Ingredients:
3 Fermented green chilies
4 Fermented kumquats
108g Shallots
360g Pumpkin
310g Potatoes
30ml Olive oil
650ml Water
30g Gewurztraminer wine
1. Peel and thinly slice the shallots. Cut the fermented green chilies into small pieces.
2. Peel the pumpkin and potatoes and then cut into small pieces.
3. Heat the cooking pot, add the olive oil and the shallots and fry the shallots on medium heat.
4. Add the gewurztraminer wine to do deglazing.
5. Add the pumpkin, potatoes, fermented green chilies and kumquats and stir-fry until soft on the surface.
6. Add the water and simmer the ingredients over a medium heat until tender.
7. Add salt and serve directly or continue to simmer until the ingredients are ready to be crushed with a spoon.
8. Place the ingredients in a blender and mix
9. Add the mixed soup to the pot again, heat over low heat and season as desired.
Michelle Chang was born in Taiwan in 1967. In 2012, she moved to France, and in 2017, opened her restaurant, La 5ème Saveur. Her cuisine is a revisitation of French cuisine through fermentation. She is also a writer and columnist for a Taiwanese health magazine. www.cheffemichellechang.com