Kombucha is a sweetened tea beverage fermented by a composite colony of acetic acid bacteria, yeast, and lactic acid bacteria. Rich in a complex blend of sweetness, acidity, and natural carbonation, and paired with the flavours of various teas, it is guaranteed to provide a delightful sensory experience for the…
At the end of 2020, I left the non-profit organisation where I had worked for over seven years. I wanted to explore a way of working that didn’t depend on an institution—one that could bring a relative balance to my mind, body, and spirit—while seeking a lifestyle suited for the…
Departing from Beijing Chaoyang Station, a high-speed rail journey of just over an hour brought us to Pingquan North Station in Chengde, Hebei, where Ren Yingying, the proprietress of Lianxiang Farm, was already waiting for us. Petite with her hair swept back, Yingying looked sharp and energetic, with a relaxed…
Perhaps you have already heard of homemade pickles, kimchi, or kombucha; they seem to have become the latest craze among young people. In reality, you may never have considered that fermented foods are actually staples in our kitchens—be it soy sauce, vinegar, wine, cheese, miso, or fermented bean curd, they…
I. The word ‘fermentation’ always evokes a sensory longing for foods with rich, mellow textures. Yet, rather than being a culinary art, fermentation is more akin to a gift from nature. As experience and knowledge accumulated, humanity learned to make slight adjustments to external factors, such as ambient temperature, working…
In the first instalment of the Foodie Philosophy of Villain’s Valley series, I mentioned that a single pot of White Dew soup requires ten ingredients, nine of which are home-grown. I viewed “self-sufficiency” as the ideal for life in Villain’s Valley; on the surface, the self-sufficiency rate reached a staggering…
Before starting my internship at Letian Bay Farm, I had imagined that the customers here were all fervent environmentalists; otherwise, there was no way to explain why these urbanites would travel to the countryside. In an age where everyone is flocking to the cities, taking a path in the opposite…
Early autumn finally brought the first self-reliant harvest since the inception of Evil Valley. I particularly want to stress the “self-reliant” part: from transplanting the seedlings to the final harvest, I handled every step myself, taking complete charge of the whole operation single-handedly. Having moved into Evil Valley in…
In Yunnan, every mushroom season brings a collective frenzy akin to a mass ‘poisoning’ (and yes, we mean that in the literal sense of wild mushroom toxicity). In recent years, as wild mushrooms have gained popularity beyond the province and broken into the mainstream, every season seems to bring some…
Taking the high-speed rail from the south exit of Xizhimen, we crossed the peaks of the Yanshan Mountains and arrived at the Huailai Basin. Though it had been less than an hour since leaving Beijing, the scenery had already completely transformed—into wide, flat plains and stretches of maize fields and…
