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ince the topic of aphrodisiac food seems to have attracted quite a bit of attention here, I will write more about these magic tablets. Although not technically food, they are pure herbs.
While in the West Viagra brings short-term benefits without addressing the root of the problem, the Chinese have taken a more holistic approach. Nan bao (男宝), meaning 'male treasure', is a mix of herbs that fixes your whole system so that you have more sexual drive. It takes two weeks to finish the treatment course, but its benefits lasts long.
Nan bao can be bought in most Chinese pharmacies. It is not covered by most basic insurance policies but then again you do not need a prescription for it.
n the olden days, this spicy Korean condiment was left for half a year outside to ferment in large earthen pots. As a food purist as I am, I don't even dream of going to such lengths in quest of authenticity. All I need to do is to go to a Korean store, although quite a few Chinese and Japanese shops these days carry gochujang too.
It is made from chilli paste, bean powder and ground glutinous rice, which distinguishes it from Chinese doubanjian made in a very similar fashion but from chillies and beans. Gochujang's deliciously pungent aroma is essential for such trademark Korean dishes as bibimbap and naengmeyon.
According to Mrs. Che Cheun Suni, my first Japanese teacher, who also happens to be of a very noble Korean lineage, gochujang does possess certain aphrodisiac qualities, making men as hot and fiery as its taste. I welcome your comments on that, should you have a first-hand experience.
Long before people in Korea and Japan started calling themselves Korean and Japanese, people in Nagasaki and Pusan knew that culturally they had more in common with each other than with their respective political capitals in Edo (Tokyo) and Seoul. One of the things they shared was this dish, jjambong or champon. It is served as soup that comes in a multitude of flavours and accompanying goodies.
I fix it the Korean way. It takes exactly 15 minutes and costs under 1 quid to fix a flavourful, healthy and delicious lunch. This is how it goes.
- Slice thinly a couple of pre-soaked shiitake. I normally keep some soaked shiitake in the fridge so that I always have it handy. Feel free to follow my suit.
- Next thing is to soak black kikurage, white kikurage and golden needles 20 g each in water for at least 20 minutes. I f you can't get hold of those, just skip this step.
- Then peel and slice a few cloves of garlic.
- Heat a frying pan, add 1 tbsp odourless vegetable oil. Sprinkle some black and white sesame (third a teaspoonful each), wait until it starts sizzling.
- Fry the garlic in the pan until fragrant (light yellow in colour), then add 3 very finely sliced medium onions. When those are nice and fragrant too, add the sliced shiitake. Fry until the mushrooms are fragrant too.
- In the meantime, bring to boil exactly how much water you need for your udon. I use the bowl you can see on the picture as the measure.
- When the water boils, add one pack of udon. Bring to boil again, reduce the heat and simmer for a couple of minutes.
- Tip the frying pan into the sauce pan and add the kikurage, golden needles, and half a handful of whatever leafy vegetables you have: spinach, pakchoi, kangkong, Chinese broccoli. Dissolve 1 tbsp gochujang in the broth. You will need to find this delicious chilli paste as it is defines the taste of the whole dish.
- Let boil for a minute or so. Mind that the udon does not get overdone, it should be cooked just one notch beyond al dente.
- Serve with a sprinkle of chopped spring onions.
This spicy dish, also known as jjam-bong (짬뽕
) if cooked with thinner noodles, when consumed regularly is known to boost your sexual drive.
ruly, truly, one man's food, another man's poison. I remember how I scared my Moscow friends when I brought a bag of bean sprouts to fix some Chinese food for them. They decided they were in for a feast of creepy Asian worms.
Bean sprouts are widely used in Pacific Asian cuisines. They are known as moyashi (もやし) in Japan, dou ya (豆芽) in China, kongnamul (콩나물
) in Korea, tauge in Indonesia (and Holland), thua ngok (ถั่วงอก) in Thailand. In Iran, they are traditionally prepared for the New Year's festival Navrooz. There they symbolize the power of new life.
In Thailand, folk wisdom has it that bean sprouts, when consumed raw, increase sexual drive. It come as no surprise if you consider all the life energy of enzymes and vitamines of freshly sprouting seeds!
I use them for a number of dishes: from Indonesian gado-gado to Chinese mapo-dofu. I can chew them raw much to the consternation of my friends. But I don't mind as it defo gives me a huge perk once in between the sheets! +wink wink+
Or should it rather be afrodisiac with an 'f'?
Never mind that mannish water, the Jamaican goat soup, looks a bit like chunky Thames water, it tastes quite alright! I fixed it with potatoes, okra and garden eggs (which are, in fact, eggplants) but as the recipe varies from household to household any other veggies are fine too.
It is supposed to increase male sexual drive (women are excluded from this) but I don't know if it had much effect on me. It is hard to notice with my depressed serotonin levels. At any rate, mannish water, hearty and spicy, proved great comfort food on a gloomy February afternoon.
So there you go:
- Wash well a goat's head or an equal amount of goat's meat.
- Put in a large pot and cover with cold water. Add a few cloves of garlic, bring to boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for a couple of hours.
- Add all or a few of the following, chopped into bite-size chunks: green plantains, yams, taro root (a.k.a. cocoyam), carrot, seeded and peeled chayotes, garden eggs, okra.
- Add some chopped habanero pepper to taste, a few sprigs of thyme and salt. Simmer another 20 minutes.
ince the topic of aphrodisiac food seems to have attracted quite a bit of attention here, I will write more about these magic tablets. Although not technically food, they are pure herbs.
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