Ramps and pancetta frittata, and ume sake or vodka: two seasonal fruit and vegetable recipes
When seasonal gems turn up in the wet markets, it's best to stock up. Susan Jung shares some recipes for her recent finds: ramps and ume
While I love the idea of food foraging - searching mountains and forests for wild ingredients - I'd probably hate it if I were forced to do it, especially if I had to depend on it for survival. Instead, I 'forage' through the wet markets, knowing that some of my favourite vendors occasionally get very limited supplies of local, seasonal fruit and vegetables.
In the past month, I've been thrilled to find ramps (also known as wild onion or wild garlic), ume (almost always identified as green plums, although there's a compelling argument that they're actually green apricots - in fact they resemble apricots, too), mulberries (which look like blackberries) and the tiniest (gumball-sized) new potatoes. Over the next month or so I expect to also find yang mei (Chinese bayberries), spring ginger and ripe apricots. When I find these ingredients, I buy them immediately, knowing from past experience that if I wait, I will probably miss out.
Ramps and pancetta frittata (pictured)
I had an e-mail conversation with a friend living in New York City, who wrote about finding ramps at the Union Square Greenmarket. I told her I'd bought some as well, from a wet market vendor in Quarry Bay. We compared prices: she paid US$3 for 170 grams of ramps, while I paid only HK$7 for 500 grams. If you're lucky enough to find ramps, make sure you wash them well because they're a wild vegetable.
Oil, for the skillet
125 grams thickly sliced (about 3mm thick) pancetta
