Drinking Cold Plate 酒碟

How it is made

A Tianshui food feature carried by China Gansu Net (中国甘肃网) names three base vegetables, each prepared on its own. The carrot is shredded and cured with a little salt until it is crisp yet supple; the mung bean sprouts are passed briefly through boiling water so they stay white and tender; the spinach is blanched, squeezed dry and cut into lengths of about an inch.

The vegetables are joined by shredded pig ear, pig tongue and sliced liver. The feature says an authentic plate adds braised pig ear, pig liver and boiled meat stripped from the bone. The flavour comes last: shredded scallion whites and minced fresh ginger go on top, and hot flaxseed oil (胡麻油) or rapeseed oil is poured over them to release their aroma.

Flavour and texture

The plate is bright to look at and mildly sour, easy on the palate between drinks. The feature's writer likens the three vegetables to a face, the carrot red as lips, the sprouts white as skin and the spinach green as painted brows, and reaches for West Lake and the beauty Xi Shi (西施) to describe the effect.

Where it comes from

As the Chinese name suggests, Drinking Cold Plate belongs with alcohol, and in Tianshui it is counted as the best dish to eat while drinking. Its ingredients are easy to come by and it is easy to mix, and the feature says that on a Tianshui drinking table other dishes may be missing but this one cannot be. It appears in ordinary homes and in star-rated hotels alike.

A popular story links it to the Guangxu Emperor. In the Boxer year of 1900 (庚子年), when he fled west to Xi'an with the Empress Dowager Cixi, he is said to have lost his appetite until the palace cooks served him the Tianshui plate, which he then praised.