Memories of Autumn

Delicate fish balls, crafted from minced fish, are simmered together with tea leaves to form a refined soup. The tea buds offer a gentle bitterness while the fish balls lend a subtle sweetness. At first glance, the soup appears modest and unassuming, but a careful sip reveals a faint, lingering note of autumn that stays on the palate.

This soup traces its origins to Mengzhou, where it was initially made with an entirely different aquatic ingredient, one far fresher than tea leaves. When the recipe made its way here, however, that original ingredient was nowhere to be found, and the locals had no choice but to substitute it with tea. And so, as the soup meets the tongue—poised somewhere between the familiar and the foreign—it stirs a flood of memories all the way back home.

• Cooking