Sea bass, bak choy: What’s on the menu at state dinner honouring China President Xi Jinping

• The state dinner hosted by US President Trump honoured China President Xi Jinping with a menu blending American ingredients and subtle Chinese influences, featuring sesame-crusted sea bass and baby bok choy.
• The dining room was decorated with red linens and blossoms, symbolising warmth and Chinese cultural significance, while guests toasted with Schramsberg sparkling wine, recalling Nixon's 1972 Beijing visit.
• Entertainment included opera singer Christopher Macchio and performances by US Army and Marine Corps musicians, highlighting a celebration of both nations' cultures and diplomatic ties.

WASHINGTON - US President Trump and the first lady, Melania Trump, hosted China President Xi Jinping for a state dinner in the East Room of the White House on Sept 24.

According to the three-course menu released by the White House, the dishes were chosen to emphasise American ingredients with a “subtle Chinese influence”.

Chefs served Trump, Xi and other guests a main course of sesame-crusted sea bass and crisp baby bok choy.

The yellow squash appetiser was drizzled with scallion oil. According to the White House, the dishes bring “the culinary traditions of both nations together”.

The East Room tables were laid with red linens and its urns filled with red blossoms, which the administration said was a reference to the colour’s significance in China. “The décor for the evening is an expression of warmth and celebration,” it said.

Diners began their meal by toasting with a glass of Schramsberg. That is the California sparkling wine that President Richard M. Nixon drank in 1972 during his visit to Beijing, which heralded a historic thaw in US-Chinese relations.

First course

Yellow squash velouté

Wild mushroom fricassee

Crispy pancetta

Scallion oil

Second course

Sesame-crusted sea bass

Braised baby bok choy

Roasted garden eggplant

Sauce verte

Dessert

Vanilla crémeux and White House honey ice cream

Walnut frangipane

Sour cherry confit

Entertainment

The opera singer Christopher Macchio, who performed in September at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas, headlined the evening’s musical lineup.

Musicians from the US Army and Marine Corps also performed. NYTIMES

• This article originally appeared in The New York Times.