Da Cong Zhan Jiang (Raw Scallions with Soybean Paste)
Leeks are vegetable sticks! Shandong's Excessive Daily Eating
Description
An everyday dining habit in Northern China (esp. Shandong). Diners take massive, sweet 'Shandong Scallions' (often as tall as a person), dip the raw white stalks directly into soybean paste, and crunch on them loudly during meals.
Restaurants serving Da Cong Zhan Jiang (Raw Scallions with Soybean Paste)
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On this site you can check dictionary details and, later, places to buy or eat related items.
The Recipe section below is a general reference, not a recipe from the listed shops.
Recipe
Ingredients
- Shandong Scallion(Giant leeks)
- Huang Jiang or Sweet bean paste
Instructions
- [Authentic Eating Ritual]
- Wash premium 'Shandong Scallions'—famous for being highly juicy and fruit-like sweet—and chop the white stalks into massive 20cm lengths.
- Fill a small dish with 'Huang Jiang' (salty soybean paste) or Tianmianjiang.
- Grab the scallion by hand, dunk it heavily into the paste.
- Take a massive bite, crunching loudly to release the vivid spicy sting, the gushing sweet onion juice, and the rich paste all at once.
- Eat alternately with staple carbs like Mantou (steamed buns) or Jianbing (crepes).
Learn more Spice, substitutes, tips
Key spices
Intense volatile oils and sweetness of raw scallion
Substitutes at Japanese supermarkets
Japanese thick Fukaya scallions
Pairing
Mantou / Baijiu
Trivia
[Trivia] To Northern Chinese, scallions are not a garnish, but a 'main vegetable (salad)'. The catastrophic post-meal breath is ignored because everyone else is eating it too.
Eating tips & etiquette
[Unique Eating] Many middle-aged men don't even chop them; they hold the full 1-meter-long scallion and aggressively chomp their way down from the tip.
Allergen
Wheat, Soybeans (Miso)