herbfishy · metallic · herbal · earthy · pungent

Houttuynia root

Smells like a fish market before it tastes like anything else. Sichuan chops the root cold-dressed and dares you to finish the plate.

on its own

1.0sour

0.0sweet

1.0savoury

1.0bitter

1.0umami

order · canon first

1 of these 9 are wild — theory says yes, nobody has cooked them. why →

9 pairings for Houttuynia root.

classic

Heat and fat are the only thing that gets a genuinely fishy-tasting root onto most tables at all.

classic

A sharp cold dressing is the standard treatment, acid doing most of the work against the funk.

common

Raw sulfur against raw fish-note pungency; the two funks somehow read as one dish.

common

Numbing tingle distracts from a flavour some diners never get past.

common

Salt grounds a root that otherwise tastes like it wandered in from the seafood counter.

uncommon

Crushed and scattered over the cold-dressed root, fat and crunch soften the fishiness considerably.

uncommon

Two polarising herbs stacked; if you can eat one you can usually eat both.

rare

Leaning into the fishiness rather than fighting it, the pairing reads as consistent rather than strange.

wild

Funk against funk, barnyard dairy and a fish-scented root, an idea no tasting menu has plated yet.