Five-Finger Fig Root (Wu Zhi Mao Tao)
お肉を煮込むとなぜかココナッツの匂い！？広東スープの最強シークレット
Description
Dried roots of the mulberry family, hailed as 'Guangdong's Ginseng', a medicinal spice unique to Cantonese cuisine. Looks like mere tree roots or twine, but boiling it for hours with pork or chicken explosively spreads a 'sweet, milky aroma like coconut milk' throughout the soup. A magical ingredient.
Classification: Everyone, Spice, Medicinal, Guangdong Cuisine, For Soup, Lao Huo Tang, Coconut Aroma
Shops selling Five-Finger Fig Root (Wu Zhi Mao Tao)
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The How to use section below is a general reference, not instructions from the listed shops.
How to use
Ingredients
- Dried roots of Ficus hirta(Five-Finger Fig)
Instructions
- [Typical Uses]
- [Wu Zhi Mao Tao Bao Ji Tang (Coconut-Aroma Medicinal Chicken Soup)]: Simmer a few of these roots for 2-
- hours with a whole chicken, pork bones, corn, and carrots. Completes the sweet-smelling, premium health soup Cantonese people love endlessly.
- Add to pork sparerib soup.
Learn more Substitutes, pairings, tips
Key spices
Highly sweet、creamy aroma resembling coconut or milk、with earthy notes
Substitutes at Japanese supermarkets
(Irreplaceable. Adding coconut milk changes the flavor profile entirely)
Pairing
Whole Chicken Soup / Pork Bone/Sparerib Soup
Trivia
In Guangdong homes, soup using this root is drunk daily. It's an absolutely essential spice for experiencing Guangdong's 'gentle, nourishing soup culture' (Lao Huo Tang), which fundamentally overturns the JP stereotype of 'Chinese food = greasy/salty'.
Eating tips & etiquette
Named 'Five-Finger Hairy Peach' because the leaves look like 5 fingers and the fruit like a hairy peach, but it is not a peach tree. Wash well before use, and remove/discard with chopsticks once the dish is done.
Allergen
None