CHINESE MASTER STOCK: BUILDING AND MAINTAINING

Master stock cooking is particularly associated with the Cantonese and Shanghainese traditions, though versions exist across China. The five-spice aromatic profile of the classic master stock (soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, rock sugar, star anise, cassia, cloves, dried tangerine peel, and ginger) is the *lu wei* (braised flavour) profile that defines an entire category of Chinese preparations — *lu rou* (braised spiced meat), *lu dan* (braised eggs), *lu wei* duck.

The Chinese master stock — lǔ shuǐ — is a seasoned, spiced liquid used to poach proteins that is never fully discarded. After each use, it is strained, corrected for seasoning, and brought back to the boil before being stored. Over months and years, the stock accumulates extraordinary complexity from the proteins cooked in it — each chicken, each pork belly, each duck adds to the depth of the liquid. The great lǔ shuǐ stocks of famous Chinese restaurants have been maintained continuously for decades, even generations.

• - French *court-bouillon* maintained and reused across a week of fish cookery follows the same principle of accumulating depth through successive cooking - Cantonese *jian shui* (alkaline water) maint

Master stock preparations — *lu wei* — are served cold or at room temperature as appetiser dishes in the Chinese tradition: sliced pork belly on a cold dish platter, halved spiced eggs, duck wings. The flavour is intense and complex enough to stand alone with minimal accompaniment. These cold preparations are served at the beginning of a meal to stimulate appetite before the hot courses arrive.