Tsaoko
Tsaoko, also called red cardamom or Chinese black cardamom, is the spice produced from the fruit pods and seeds of Lanxangia tsao-ko, a subtropical evergreen herb in the ginger family.
REGION OF ORIGIN
Tsaoko is native to the cool mountain forests of southern China's Yunnan and Guangxi provinces and the northern highlands of Vietnam and Laos, where it grows in deep shade beneath tall trees. It's still grown largely in these same forests.
PART & COLOR
The pods are large, oval capsules, often even bigger than black cardamom, with three blunt ridges and deep lengthwise furrows that make them look like a ridged whole nutmeg. They ripen to bright red on the plant and dry to grayish to reddish-brown. Inside, three chambers hold about 8-10 seeds each: large, hard, angular, brown seeds wrapped in a thin membrane.
PRODUCTION
Lanxangia tsao-ko is an evergreen that grows about 6-10 ft. (2-3 m) tall under a natural forest canopy, and it begins bearing about 4-5 years after planting. In autumn, harvesters cut the ripe red clusters with sickles, separate the pods, and dry them over gentle wood fires for three to four days, often in kilns built right in the forest. Traders tend to pay more for fire-dried pods than sun-dried ones.
FLAVOR & AROMA
Tsaoko's aroma is bold and layered. Like black cardamom, smoke and a cool, camphor-like freshness come first. But then tsaoko adds its own bright twist of lemon peel and pine. Perfumers who have studied its oil also pick up notes of leather and a surprising hint of dill.
On the palate, it's pungent and slightly bitter, with a warm, gingery heat. In a long-simmered broth, that intensity mellows into a deep, resinous backbone that tames the gaminess of beef and lamb and ties any other complementary warm spices together.
CULINARY USES
Tsaoko is a staple of Yunnan cuisine and long-cooked dishes across China. A pod or two goes into braised beef and lamb, Sichuan master stocks, and the broths of hot pot and Lanzhou beef noodle soup. In Vietnam, where it's called thảo quả, it's a popular addition to the soul-warming broth of phở.
To use it, crack the pod lightly with the flat of a knife or toast it briefly in a dry pan, then simmer it whole, often tied into a spice bag. The seeds are so rock-hard that some chefs choose to only use the empty husk. But you can powder the seeds pretty easily with a powerful electric spice grinder.
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