The culinary canon is surprisingly philosophical, none more so than David Zilber and Rene Redzepi’s 2018 “The Noma Guide to Fermentation.” So when an existential crisis or mono no aware (“awareness of things”) pathos strikes, fermentation provides a ray of hope. Or, at least, a temporary distraction.
With fermentation, we can use time to our advantage by isolating the variables we can control to encourage desired outcomes. And while the “Noma Guide” is not a “Julie & Julia” sort of book you will cook cover to cover, everyone can find something within its pages that inspires them to experiment.
My portal was lacto-fermented porcini and the byproduct elixir they leach. This simplest of essences set my mind in motion with mushrooms, here used as both filling and soy surrogate in a gyōza dumpling stuffing. The little smoky char put on the ginger and garlic adds volumes. And the chicken? It’s my nod to hen-of-the-woods (maitake) mushrooms, even if I didn’t go full “New Nordic” and forage the maitake myself.