Jren Olive Paste with Young Ginger and Fermented Bean Sauce (Ren Nian Jiang)

Why people make this paste

Jren olives (ren nian) are a seasonal stone fruit found in Guangdong and Hong Kong markets, distinctly different from Mediterranean olives in flavour and texture — slightly astringent and fragrant, with a firm bite. They appear only in summer and for a relatively short window, which makes them a seasonal treat worth making the most of. In Cantonese cooking tradition, combining the jren olive with young ginger and fermented bean sauce creates a condiment that is simultaneously fragrant, savoury, slightly sweet, and very appetite-awakening. It is the sort of preserve that turns a plain bowl of rice or congee into something you genuinely look forward to.

Traditional food therapy considers jren olives and young ginger together to be helpful for stagnant digestion — the kind of heavy, blocked feeling after a rich meal, or a general lack of appetite in the summer heat. A small spoonful of this paste can do what a whole pot of mild soup might struggle to achieve.

Method

1. Rinse the jren olives. Using the back of a knife or a rolling pin, crack each olive flat and remove the pit. Finely chop the olive flesh.
2. Peel the young ginger and mince finely. De-seed the red chilli and mince finely.
3. Heat a little oil in a wok over medium heat. Add the minced olive, ginger, and chilli. Stir-fry briefly until fragrant.
4. Add the fermented bean paste and stir to combine evenly.
5. Pour in 1/1.2 L of water and add the crushed rock sugar. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes until the liquid has evaporated and the paste thickens.
6. Allow to cool completely before transferring to a clean glass jar. Store in the refrigerator.

Nourilo’s Tips

Once you have this paste in the fridge, try stir-frying some of it with minced pork (about half fat, half lean) to make “jren olive paste pork” (ren nian jiang rou) — an intensely savoury topping that works beautifully over congee, noodles, or plain rice. Because the pork version is cooked, keep it for no more than 3 to 4 days. The paste itself (without added meat) keeps longer in the fridge in a sealed jar.