Ingredient Spotlight: Chinese Pine Nuts
I bought these pine nuts because Susanna Foo’s recipe was beckoning to me (coming soon), but after making a batch of her “Honeyed” Pine Nuts I still have half the bag leftover — one of the advantages (?) of shopping in bulk. So here I go looking for ways to use this up so they don’t go rancid on me. I suppose I could stick them in the freezer until the mood for honeyed pine nuts hits again, but browsing for other ideas on the ‘net is so much fun. I’ve found two possibilities already!
Two-Minute Calamari from Foodatista, not exactly Asian but I’m already thinking of some twist that would make it so….
And ah, this Sea Bass at Dessert First just looks heavenly. No recipe included but it doesn’t look that difficult to replicate, is it? That picture is enough to make one’s mouth water, even at 3:43 a.m.
There’s also a Korean recipe for Chatjuk (Pine Nut and Rice Porridge) that I’ve been wanting to try. Hmmm…. something special for breakfast!
And here’s one from DrWeil.com: Spicy Garlic Broccoli with Pine Nuts — the recipe is from one of my favorite Asian cookbooks: Nina Simonds’ A Spoonful of Ginger!
Pine nuts, a.k.a. pignoli or pinion, are the edible seeds of certain pine trees (the most known being “stone pine”). The nuts come from inside the pinecones, making harvesting labor-intensive, hence the cost. The Chinese pine nut has a stronger flavor compared to the Italian pine nut, but both varieties are delicious. In Korea, pine nuts have been called “Wizard’s Elixir” because of its nutritious content. Korean pine nuts (Pinus koraiensis), incidentally, have received much attention lately due to its appetite-suppressing properties. Hmm…. so does that mean, if you eat those delicious Korean pine nuts, you can actually stop at one handful? Or two?
Nutritional composition of the pine nut: 6% water, 31% protein, 47% oil, 12% carbohydrates
More Information from Goods From The Woods (pinenut.com).
I have pine trees in my yard but I have yet to determine if they would produce anything edible. If not, I’m thinking of replacing them with trees from Rhora’s Nursery.
