松仁玉米 Corn with Pine Nuts

Pinyin: sōng rén yù mǐ

Pine nuts aren’t something I’d want to have every day. I don’t think I had them before coming to China, but that’s not terribly surprising since they aren’t found in American cuisine too often. Different geography’s harvest different pine nuts since several varieties are edible, in China and Asia it’s mostly Korean Pine that is harvested, but in Europe it’s Stone Pine. Interestingly enough Korean Pines are on the threatened species list due to over harvesting, so it’s anybody’s guess how long we’ll have pine nuts.

The dish above is simple to the extreme but it’s still nice. Corn, peas, carrots and pine nuts plus a little salt and the dish is made. The pine nuts add crunch and a unique mild metallic nutty flavor. It should come as no surprise that pine nuts remind me slightly of gin and I’m of the general opinion that a few pine nuts go a long way in the flavor department.