Pears in plum wine

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 3 small pears, firm but ripe
• 200 ml plum wine, Japanese
• 1 tsp chicken broth powder
• 1 tsp honey
• 5 slice(s) ginger root, fresh
• 1 pinch(s) of Szechuan pepper

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Rest time approx. 12 hours; Cooking/baking time approx. 10 minutes; Total time approx. 12 hours 30 minutes

hearty Asian recipe, good for a cold buffet

Peel and slice the ginger. Heat it in the plum wine with honey, stock, or salt to taste. The broth shouldn’t be boiling for long. Peel and core the pears, and cut them into bite-sized pieces. Drop the pear pieces into the broth and reduce the heat. Once everything is warm, remove the pot from the heat. Let the pear pieces soak in the broth overnight or for two to three days in the refrigerator. Remove the pear pieces, arrange them, and sprinkle with Sichuan peppercorns to taste. This isn’t a sweet dish; it’s a tangy, salty, yet fragrant dish, and it’s perfect as one of many dishes on a cold buffet, for example, alongside roast beef, sushi, or spicy cheese. Instead of Sichuan peppercorn, you could also use Japanese sanso peppercorns, which also have a lemony fragrance but are much milder. Or black pepper if you just want a little heat. Or omit the peppercorns altogether.