Dried shrimp roe ✦

Œufs de crevette séchés (xiazi)

What it is

Scraped from freshwater river shrimp and dried to a dark grit, xiazi is one of three separate parts a Suzhou kitchen takes from the same animal — meat, roe and head fat all go into san xia mian, three-shrimp noodles, as distinct ingredients. Drying shrinks the eggs smaller still and concentrates them, so the roe alone is sold as a seasoning rather than as seafood.

In the kitchen

It is already salty — season the dish after adding it, never before. Bloom a teaspoon in warm oil or lard for ten seconds to wake the aroma, then toss it through noodles off the heat; scorched, it goes acrid.

Goes with

Chinese light soy sauce (sheng chou) Lard Spring onion Silken tofu (kinugoshi) Shaoxing wine Ginger

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