爆炒腰花配Château Léoville Las Cases
腰花就是花刀切出来的动物肾脏，鲁菜善用猪腰花烹饪，爆炒腰花是其中最有代表性的菜肴，也是鲁菜酒家必备的看家菜之一。做好的腰花不但造型美观，口感丰腴且不肥腻，鲜嫩可口。烹制时必须要选取最新鲜的猪肾，花刀切好后，放入酱油中腌制入味。为了提鲜，烹饪时往往搭配笋片、木耳等山珍。腰花贵在鲜嫩，炒制的工艺最为关键。需要先用热油爆炒，迅即出锅。然后文火烹饪料酒、淀粉、盐、酱油调成的芡汁，再将预制好的腰花颠翻入味即可出锅。鲁菜往往与波尔多葡萄酒是绝配，这道鲁菜最有代表性的腰花，选用左岸名庄雄狮庄最好不过。雄狮被罗伯特帕克评为超二级庄，视为最有能力挑战一级庄的不二之选，以其如雄狮般霸道粗旷的酒体著称。霸气的雄狮，搭配细腻爽口的腰花，可以算是鲁菜与波尔多葡萄酒的完美联姻。乙未秋日，张翛翰。

Stir-fired Kidney and Château Léoville Las Cases
In Chinese dishes, kidneys are often prepared with elaborate crisscross cut to give the offal a beautiful appearance, transforming them into yaohua, literally ‘kidney flowers’. Shandong cuisine makes frequent use of pork kidneys and this dish is one of the most representative of the region’s fare, which is a must have in every Shandong restaurants. Kidneys prepared in this manner are not only delicate, but also extremely tender, moist and not greasy at all. The freshest pork kidneys must be selected to make this dish. After crisscross cutting the kidney surfaces, they are then marinated with soy sauce. Bamboo shoots and black mushrooms are often added as accompaniment to enrich the flavour. The succulent texture of the kidneys is the soul of this dish, therefore ingenious stir-frying skills are essential. Usually kidneys are quickly stir-fried in hot oil, then swiftly removed from the heat and sautéed again in a sauce slowly cooked from cooking wine, starch, salt and soy sauce to boost the flavour. Shandong cuisine is often best paired with Bordeaux wines. This typical kidney dish goes extremely well with the famous Château Léoville Las Cases of the Bordeaux left bank. Château Léoville Las Cases is classed by Robert Parker as a Super Second Bordeaux winemaker, and is widely considered a certain choice to challenge Premier Cru vineyards. The wine produced by the Château is known for its powerful structure and full body, reminiscent of the strength of a lion. The majestic lion and the delicate, crispy kidney is a match made in heaven between Bordeaux wine and Shandong cuisine. Autumn 2015. Austin Zhang