The culinary canon is surprisingly philosophical, none more so than David Zilber and Rene Redzepi¡¯s 2018 ¡°The Noma Guide to Fermentation.¡± So when an existential crisis or mono no aware (¡°awareness of things¡±) pathos strikes, fermentation provides a ray of hope. Or, at least, a temporary distraction.
With fermentation, we can use time to our advantage by isolating the variables we can control to encourage desired outcomes. And while the ¡°Noma Guide¡± is not a ¡°Julie & Julia¡± sort of book you will cook cover to cover, everyone can find something within its pages that inspires them to experiment.
My portal was lacto-fermented porcini and the byproduct elixir they leach. This simplest of essences set my mind in motion with mushrooms, here used as both filling and soy surrogate in a ²µ²â¨³ú²¹ dumpling stuffing. The little smoky char put on the ginger and garlic adds volumes. And the chicken? It¡¯s my nod to hen-of-the-woods (maitake) mushrooms, even if I didn¡¯t go full ¡°New Nordic¡± and forage the maitake myself.
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