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Shrimp Ball Fu Yong (Fu Rong Xia Qiu)
January 09, 2006 EST | Food & Drink
There are many ways to cook the "Fu Rong" of the Shrimp Ball Fu Rong dish in different places. People generally use the traditional cooking methods from Beijing and Jiangsu cuisines which is well known for being fastidious about making this dish look white and tender. The dish resembles hibiscus rising out of water (Fu Rong out of water) after it is freshly and beautifully cooked. The colorful embellishment is gorgeous, and the taste is scrumptious. [More...]
Sauted Eggs with Pork (Mu Xu Rou)
December 28, 2005 EST | Food & Drink
Mu Xu Pork is a kind of dish served by rolling it into very thin pancakes (Mu Xu pancakes) after frying eggs, pork and other Chinese vegetables. This is a very tasty Northern dish in China and favored by most families. It tastes the best when served with pancakes along with the special sweet seafood sauce (known as Hoysing (Cantonese) sauce in America, though it really should be called Hai Xian sauce you meant to say it in Chinese); it is also favored by many people as a side dish when eating with rice or congee. It is full of unique fragrance. Adding enough chopped raw scallions when you eat can bring out the best flavor.
Of course, depending on your preference, you may replace the pork with other meats like shrimps, chicken, beef, etc., or cook it without any meat to make it a vegetable Mu Xu. But traditionally when we talk about Mu Xu Rou in China, pork is always the king. [More...]
Braised Assorted Vegetables (Luo Han Zhai)
December 27, 2005 EST | Food & Drink
"Luo Han Zhai" (Luo Han means arhat in Buddhism) has become a regular vegetable dish on every Guangzhou family's dinner table since it served as the "food for monks" in Song dynasty. Not only does it carry the delicate fragrance of Buddhism, but also has the joy of the mortal world.
Guangzhou's Luo Han Zhai is known by the "Eighteen Disciples of Buddha Zhai", or the "18 Luo Han Zhai". It wins the reputation from people being fastidious about the rich ingredients, but this dish is rarely seen today. It is too luxurious and does not carry on any spirit of Buddhism, and it simply cannot stand well with the intense competitions under the current Chinese market economic principles. [More...]
He Bao Eggs (Small Bag Eggs)
December 26, 2005 EST | Food & Drink
He Bao egg - or small bag egg, must look like a small bag or wallet just as its name implies. Of course, it is not like the wallet we have today. It is referred as the kind of bag sewed with fabric and embroidered outside in the old days.
Cooking He Bao eggs requires solid skills. You may start from learning fried eggs first. The duration and degree of heating is the biggest test when cooking fried eggs. It gets burned easily when over heated, but the white part would be too soft if the fire is adjusted too low. You simply have to practice till you get it.
Once you feel comfortable with cooking fried eggs, you are ready to cook He Bao eggs. [More...]
China Culture: Beijing Hutong
November 18, 2005 EST | Culture
By Jacklyn Chen
Entering the modernized Beijing, what interest people the most often are not those row upon row of sky rises, nor are the wide streets extending in all directions. What really attract travelers are the deep and quiet winding Hutongs full of warm, beautiful Siheyuan, or quadrangles. Therefore, the ancient capital culture has been named as "Hutong culture" and "Siheyuan culture", this indeed is not over said.
In the past, Beijing was largely formed by tens of thousands of Siheyuan that were aligned back-to-back, face-to-face, and side by side. For the convenience of coming in and out, a walking passage must be kept between each row of Siheyuan, this is what we call Hutong. [More...]
The Badaling Great Wall
November 16, 2005 EST | Travel
By Jacklyn Chen
Located in the south of Yanqing county, the Badaling Great Wall is a distance of 75 kilometers northwest of the center of Beijing. The Badaling Great Wall is part of the Great Wall which symbolizes China's ancient civilization as one of the world's most renowned projects for defense. Construction of the Wall initially began during the period of the Warring States (476 - 221 BC). Walls were built by different kingdoms to protect their northern territories. After the first Emperor of the Qin Dynasty unified China in 221 BC, he decided to have the walls linked up and extended. The Badaling Great Wall was constructed during Hongzhi 18 years (in 1505) in Ming Dynasty, it was rebuilt during Ming's Jia Jing and Wanli years. The topography of this section of the Wall is precipitous, occupying a commanding position, and was the important military mountain pass and the capital Beijing's critical barrier. [More...]
The Temple of Heaven
November 14, 2005 EST | Travel
By Jacklyn Chen
The Temple of Heaven was initially built in Yongle year 18 of the Ming Dynasty (in 1420). Situated in the southern part of the city, it covers the total area of 273 hectares. With the additions and rebuild during the Ming, Qing and other Dynasties, this grand set of structures look magnificent and glorious, the dignified environment appears solemn and respectful, it is the place for both Ming and Qing Dynasty's Emperors to worship Heaven and pray for good harvest. The northern part of the Temple is circular while the southern part is square, implies "sky is round and earth is square" to better symbolize heaven and earth. The whole compound is enclosed by two walls, dividing the whole Temple into inner and outer areas, with the main structures enclosed in the inner area. The most important constructions are the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest, the Circular Mound Altar, Imperial Heaven, The Imperial Vault of Heaven, Heaven Kitchen, Long Corridor and so on, as well as the Echo Wall, the Triple-Sound Stone, the Seven-Star Stone and others of historic interest and scenic beauty. The Temple of Heaven is a comprehensive expression of the unique construction techniques from Ming and Qing Dynasties, it is China's most treasured ancient architecture, it is also the world's largest architectural complex for worship heaven. In 1998, it was included in the "list of the world heritages" by the United Nation's Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. [More...]
Entertaining in Beijing
November 13, 2005 EST | Travel
By Jacklyn Chen
Today's Beijing is truly a "capital city of exhibitions and folk custom festivals", and a metropolis that is full of characteristics and styles of its ancient customs and modern vigor. In addition to the celebrations of the traditional festivals every year, there are also many national or even international exhibitions held here. For instance, the once a year Beijing international books exhibition, automobile exhibition, communication exhibition and so on, as well as performances and displays put on by the world's top level artists. [More...]
Beijing Shi Du (Ten Ferry)
November 12, 2005 EST | Travel
By Jacklyn Chen
The Shi Du (Ten Ferry) scenic spot is the most typical canyon full of karst, ridges and peaks and is the closest to the capital city, unique in the northern part, and the biggest in Huabei region. The canyon features 12 marvelous geological sites such as natural "Stone Buddha", "Flied over Stone", "One Line Sky", "Buddha" character of the dragon mountain, "Water Flowing Up", "Stone in the Stone" and so forth. It has enjoyed the fine reputation of being the "green mountain and wild ferry, decorated corridors of hundred miles" for years. The Juma river is just like a piece of jade ribbon winding circuitously, passing through the mountains, complementing each other with the peaks and forests. The scenery has North China's imposing character, it also carries the elegance of South of Yangtzi River. In 1986, Shi Du was evaluated as one of the new 16 sceneries of Beijing, and it was included in Beijing's first batch of scenic spots in 1999. [More...]
Ma Po Tou Fu
September 06, 2005 EST | Food & Drink
By Jacklyn Chen
Ma Po Tou Fu is Sichuan's well known characteristic dish. Tradition has it that during the Tongzhi years of Qing Dynasty, there is a small inn at the WanFu (Innumerable Blessings) bridge outside the north gate of Chengdu, Sichuan. The woman owner Chen is pretty good at cooking. She uses bean curd, tiny sliced beef, hot pepper, Chinese prickly ash, thick bean sauce and other ingredients to cook. The dish tastes hemp (a unique flavor from the Chinese prickly ash), spicy, fresh, fragrant, and it is delicious, it is extremely well received by the people around the town. At that time there was no official name for this dish. Because Chen has pockmarked face ("ma" face with "ma" happens to be the same character as the "ma" or "hemp" flavor from the Chinese prickly ash), people then started calling it "Ma Po To Fu". "Po" in this case means woman, wife. So to translate accurately it means "wife of pockmarked face Tou Fu". From then on it became well-known around the entire nation. It is now a world-renowned Chinese cuisine 100 years later. All the Sichuan restaurants must have this dish. Along with the development of Sichuan cuisine, most of the overseas Chinese restaurants (Sichuan style or not) all carry this famous dish. Not too long ago, the Japanese merchants even imitated Sichuan "Ma Po Tou Fu" and produced canned "Ma Po Tou Fu" which sell quite well around the world.
Characteristics of the dish: light yellow, tender with gloss, tastes hemp, spicy, fragrant, fresh, and hot. The surface of bean curd is covered with a layer of light red spicy oil, which keeps the heat inside the bean curd so it won't get quickly lost. It always tastes better when you eat it hot, the unique hemp smell comes from the Chinese prickly ash greets the nostrils and that enhances the overall flavor. It is considered the best delicacy for cold winter season. [More...]
Sauted Family Bean Curd
September 05, 2005 EST | Food & Drink
By Jacklyn Chen
Family bean curd is Sichuan's famous characteristic dish. Its main ingredient is bean curd.
Bean curd began in Xi (West) Han Dynasty, became widely spread in Bei (North) Song Dynasty, and it is one of the Chinese most popular traditional food. Bean curd has four main merits: 1. It is fine and of excellent quality. Bean curd contains lots of protein, the nutritional value is pretty high, specially it is rich in calcium which is the essential element during a child normal growth. 2. It is moderately priced. Bean curd costs less than fish, meat, and fresh vegetables. 3. It does not contain cholesterol. Generally animalistic foods that contain high protein also have high cholesterol, only bean curd contains one without the other. This indicates great advantages and is highly regarded by those who cannot eat much meat due to the high cholesterol in their body. 4. It is available all season long and it is easy to prepare and consume. There are many easy ways to make bean curd a delicacy. Bean curd was first passed on to Japan, it then spread to the European and American countries. Now the "bean curd fever", " soybean milk fever" is on the rise. Some people predict that the most successful product with the most market potential for the next ten years by no means will be automobile, television and electronic products, it will be China's bean curd. [More...]
Chinese Cooking: Sauces & Spices
August 06, 2005 EST | Food & Drink
By Jacklyn Chen
Sauces
Bean Curd Sauce (Dou Fu Ru):
Fermented bean curd, rish in proteins. May be kept for fairly long time. Comes in two types - red and white. Red is typically used to cook Braised Pork. White tastes spicy and is normally used as a side dish along with noodles, buns, or congee. Some like to serve with soy sauce and vinegar for meat dumplings, hot pot dishes, and others. Favored by north and west of China. [More...]
