01x09 - Chaozhou Mandarin Oranges

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An average annual temperature
of 20 degrees Celsius,

1,500-millimeter annual rainfall...

and a three-year growing period
contribute to its juicy sweetness.

It has developed
over a span of 1,000 years,

into the sweetest wintertime flavor
for Chaoshan locals.

CHAOSHAN

LINXI TOWN, CHAOZHOU CITY

As the New Year approaches,

various religious worshiping events
take place throughout Chaoshan.

LUCK, PEACE AND PROSPERITY

Preserved fruit is an essential
traditional local food during New Year's,

and comes in wide varieties.

Even the same kind of fruit
can have very different flavors.

One kind of preserved fruit
is exclusive to the Chaoshan region.

Linxi Town,
located in southeastern Chaozhou City,

has mild weather conditions
and plenty rainfall all year round.

The fertile soil provides abundant humus
for plants to grow.

This natural hybrid citrus species
called "tankan"

is one of the most common fruits
in Chaoshan.

TANKAN

Tankans are harvested in the winter.

The first crop of tankans
have turned ripe after snowfall.

56-year-old Huifang Zeng
prepares to pick the fresh fruit.

Mandarin oranges have grown in Chaozhou
for over 1,300 years.

In Chaoshan local dialect,

the pronunciation
sounds similar to "good fortunes."

Therefore, tankans especially appeal to

Chaoshan locals
who wish to bring good luck.

The Chaoshan region's
subtropical sea-land monsoon climate

provides a warm and humid environment
for tankans to grow in.

Tankans produced here
grow to be very large.

They are sweet and juicy,
containing up to 11 percent sugar.

In recent years,
a spike in foreign fruit imports

has led to fewer and fewer
mandarin orange farmers in Chaozhou.

But Huifang Zeng won't give up
the orchard she's tended for many years.

During every harvest season,

her niece, Shujiang Zeng,
comes over to help out.

New Year is around the corner.

Shujiang Zeng plans to use
these fresh mandarin oranges

to make a Chaozhou specialty.

The mandarin oranges are processed
in the front yard of their old house.

Lots of flavanone glycoside
is found in mandarin orange peels,

which gives it a bitter taste.

But this bitter substance
can dissolve in water.

After it's soaked for a long period,
bitterness gradually fades away.

Chaozhou mandarin orange peels
dried or roasted for a long time

become the dried mandarin peels
commonly seen on the market.

Chefs use them for seasoning

to give a delicate aftertaste to dishes.

STEAMED OYSTER WITH DRIED MANDARIN PEEL

STEAMED FISH WITH DRIED MANDARIN PEEL

After soaking it for 24 hours,

the mandarin orange is basically rid of
sourness and bitterness.

Slicing the mandarin orange open

makes it absorb flavor more easily
in later processes.

Making four cuts across the sides
and squeezing out the juice

facilitates processing
and preserving later,

but also creates
the foundation of the final texture.

After 20 minutes of steaming,
the flesh and fibers gradually tighten.

The mandarin oranges
are turned over every five minutes

to ensure they're heated evenly.

After setting it aside for six hours,
its flesh becomes soft and silky.

Chaozhou was once the largest producer
of cane sugar in China.

Their love of sweets
and custom of cooking with sugar

have remained to this day.

After tankans are steamed,
they go back into the pot for processing,

before transformation from fresh
to preserved fruit is complete.

The ratio between fruit and white sugar
is five to one,

simmered directly without adding water.

Simmering releases
any remaining water content.

Sugar and water react with each other
on low fire.
The mandarin orange is now undergoing
a magical transformation.

The Chaozhou mandarin orange
has completely changed in form.

This kind of preserved fruit
with a golden-yellow silky texture

is the Chaozhou mandarin orange cake,
which locals can't get enough of.

CHAOZHOU MANDARIN ORANGE CAKE

Not only eaten fresh
and made into preserved fruit,

it is also a common ingredient
in Chaozhou cooking,

and even the main ingredient
in some snacks that go with tea.

For many years,
Jiazhe Xiao has been devoted to

passing down authentic Chaozhou cooking.

A famous traditional dish
in danger of becoming lost

is related to Chaozhou mandarin orange.

He also soaks the mandarin orange
to get rid of the sourness in its flesh,

all the while
retaining the sweetness of the fruit.

The way of cutting it is crucial.

He separates the segments in the middle
with a knife without cutting through them.

When spread open,
they resemble the shape of a coin.

The sweet fresh fruit

is mixed with candied wax gourd,
candied mandarin, and fat meat,

then covered in starch to deep-fry

and taken out once they are golden-yellow.

This coin-shaped mandarin pastry

is renowned for its crisp and soft texture
and traditional coin shape.

It is best enjoyed hot out of the pot,
ideally within half an hour.

Basically,
no one really makes this dish anymore.

In order to pass on Chaozhou cooking,

I hope that my students
will continue to make it.

From dried mandarin peels
and preserved fruit to mandarin pastries,

the Chaozhou mandarin orange has developed
in the hands of Chaoshan locals

into flavors
distinctly different from the fruit.

Over the ages,
these inventive transformations

have become the sweetest memories
and flavors of Chaoshan locals.