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Liquid Gold: LE PONT Golden Flaked Shallot

◎English translation: Peng Hsin-yi
◎Photos: Lin Yu-en

     Opening a jar of LE PONT Golden Flaked Shallot is like embarking on a journey of flavors. Locally grown shallots are thinly sliced and fried in rendered goose oil to golden perfection, then sealed in a glass jar as soon as they cool down. The flakes are so crispy they make a pleasant jingling sound when the jar is shaken. A Taiwanese culinary tradition with a French twist, these delicious flakes took off in the local market soon after they were launched, and they have gone on to make an impact in overseas markets such as Hong Kong.

     The man behind LE PONT's Golden Flaked Shallot and its many other goose oil products is Mr. Chen Liang-shi, who grew up in a family of professional restaurateurs. Mr. Chen says his mother used to be an executive chef running a banqueting business, and since his mom insisted on making every meal from scratch, everyone in the family grew up eating dishes made with the freshest and best ingredients, prepared in the most creative way possible. When Mr. Chen studied in Boudreaux, France, he found that the cuisines there are almost all based on goose oil. As his family owned a Taiwanese-style goose meat restaurant, Mr. Chen quickly realized the potential of making fried shallot - a must-have ingredient for many Taiwanese - with goose oil. The experience of living in France enriched his vision for this signature product. Each batch is made with fresh ingredients, in small quantities, and entirely by hand. Thanks to Mr. Chen's vigilant quality control, each batch tastes perfect. Mr. Chen has involved himself in every stage of the product's development, even making sure the packaging is as enticing as the food inside.

     Mr. Chen points out that goose oil is capable of absorbing the aroma released from shallots as they fry, and sealing in the fragrance. The mouthwatering golden color of the final product comes in part from the frying, but also from the natural color of goose oil. The oil used in LE PONT's products is special in its own right; Mr. Chen uses only the glob of fat located in the goose's inner thigh, harvested from an 110-day goose that weighs about 7 catties (4.2 kilos or 9.5lbs). Each goose yields just 150 grams of fat. The process of rendering goose fat is a sight to behold: a whole caldron of yellow, solid fat turns translucent, and then completely transparent, when heat is properly applied. This clear liquid is suitable for frying. Mr. Chen also puts a lot of effort into selecting the most suitable shallots for his product. He finally decided on a Taiwanese original species grown in Tainan near the coast. The bulbs are left in the field for two days to dry under the sun, then collected and delivered. Each bulb is succulent and firm to the touch. Mr. Chen cuts the shallot bulbs into slices thinner than 2mm and fries the whole batch in his goose oil. The crisps are ready when they turn from their natural light purple color to a mild yellow. They have to be fished out of the oil with a sieve at that point because the retained heat in the crisps would continue to fry even after they leave the fryer. The crisps turn golden as they cool, and throughout the process the air in Mr. Chen's kitchen is filled with a mixture of sharp, fresh shallot and the seductive smell of fried crisps. The experienced chefs are there the whole time, adjusting the heat or the oil-to-shallot ratio depending on each batch's conditions. Their hard work ensures the quality of the crisps, every single one appearing a uniformed golden tone, and not one piece carrying brown burn marks. LE PONT's Golden Flaked Shallot is an ultimate culinary experience, the satisfaction coming from its appearance, its smell and its taste, not to mention the moment you combine the different elements to take them all in. The perfume of LE PONT's goose oil and shallot is now traveling to dining tables in different countries, and Mr. Chen is proud that his product has charmed the stomachs of many, and added pleasure to people's dining experiences.

LE PONT 黃金鵝油香蔥

◎文／侯雅婷　
◎攝影／林育恩

     打開一罐LE PONT黃金鵝油香蔥，就像展開一場味道的旅行。以法式鵝油料理作法為繆思，選用台灣原生種的紅蔥頭，純手工製作的金黃色紅蔥頭和鵝油，熟悉的台灣味嶄新登場，上下搖晃著玻璃瓶時，竟可聽見金黃色油蔥酥脆的聲音，這樣的新鮮品質在台灣打開了知名度，更打進了香港市場。

     LE PONT黃金鵝油香蔥背後的靈魂人物陳良士表示，吃是件大事，他提起母親是總鋪師，對吃 ，一家人講究食材和作法。對吃的印象源自於母親從廚房裏端出的料理，現煮現吃的新鮮，讓一道道從廚房端出的料理豐富精彩。巧合的是，陳良士法國西南部波爾多求學時，當地人普遍以鵝油為料理基調，加上陳良士家裏經營鵝肉店，讓他興起在鵝油中加入台灣味的紅蔥頭料理，並以新鮮、小工坊純手工製作為原則，從食材風味，乃至於視覺美感，嚴謹地講究每道環節。

     陳良士說，鵝油會將金黃色蔥香的味道吸住。金黃色澤的鵝油取材自飼養110天重達7台斤(4.2公斤）的鵝大腿內側兩團白裏透紅的油脂，每隻鵝只能取出150克的油脂，提煉時整鍋油脂會轉為金色清透的鵝油。而陳良士選用的紅蔥頭取材自台南安南靠海邊的台灣原生種紅蔥頭，先在田野晒蔥2天，紅蔥頭壓起來非常硬實，以不到2mm的薄度側切，完整呈現一顆蔥從頭到尾的風味，放入鵝油中油炸，只見淡紫色的蔥頭轉變成淡黃色，打撈起在杓子中又繼續轉變為金黃色，空氣中滿溢清新蔥香酥炸的香氣，那是新鮮的味道。從鵝油的提煉到炸紅蔥頭，掌廚的都是豐富經驗的大廚，隨時調整鍋裏的狀況，帶著金黃色香酥的紅蔥頭到裝瓶時，不允許有一點點的燒焦黑點，要讓整瓶鵝油香蔥從視覺、味覺和口感達到無可挑剃的完美。一縷飄香的黃金鵝油香蔥跨越國界，幻化出餐桌上的無限驚喜，「好好地吃頓飯！」陳良士如此說