an Americanish life in backwater China

Category Eating

Smokin’ pot outside everyone’s home (wait, that sounds wrong)

If you’ve ever learned anything about Chinese New Year, I’m guessing you were told that Chinese families gather together at Spring Festival to bao jiaozi (stuff dumplings.) While that seems to be true in much of China, it isn’t so… Continue Reading →

Waffles, darts, and Valentine’s Day

Here in China, Valentine’s Day is an imported holiday. It’s celebrated only by 1) young couples who aren’t yet married, 2) any restaurant, flower shop, or bar that can make money off of said young couples, and 3) laowai. Since… Continue Reading →

What in the Middle Kingdom? Dr. Seuss fruit #2 – fire dragon fruit

Today I’m continuing the fanciful trip through the market with another fruit that looks like it’s straight outta the Jungle of Nool. It’s 火龙果 huo3long2guo3, literally ‘fire dragon fruit,’ but usually just called “dragon fruit” in English. (Personally, I think… Continue Reading →

What in the Middle Kingdom? Dr. Seuss fruit #1 – rambutan

If Dr. Seuss had been a horticulturist instead of an author, I’m pretty sure he’d come up with a few of the fruits and vegetables that we have here in the Middle Kingdom. Let’s take a look at these strange… Continue Reading →

What in the Middle Kingdom? Meat pellets

  Do not be fooled. Despite the shiny foil wrappers and cutesy hearts on the package, these are not candy. They’re 肉粒, “meat pellets.” Wow, that really doesn’t sound appetizing. Let me try for a better translation: How about “meat granules”?… Continue Reading →

7 more awesome recipe hacks using jiaozi and wonton wrappers (饺子皮,混沌皮)

My original post on using jiaozi wrappers to make life easier got an enthusiastic response, including creative ideas from you, friends. There’s so many great ways to use these wonder circles of dough. It seemed like a good idea to… Continue Reading →

7 awesome recipe hacks using jiaozi wrappers (饺子皮)

I don’t know about you, but any recipe that requires dough to be rolled out raises a great big mafan flag for me. For one thing, I don’t have a lot of counter space in my kitchen. For another, I… Continue Reading →

Waiter, there’s a tooth in my soup

There have been, on occasion, bags of soup bones for sale in the butcher area of our supermarket here in rural China. I love using bones for soup – bones make the broth. So, on a fateful day not that… Continue Reading →

A week at our table – Day 1

So, what do we eat here in China? We get asked this all the time by people here, who assume we eat nothing but this, all night, all day. If I had to eat these “Western” dishes every day, it… Continue Reading →

Taquito daydreams

Every once in a while, I get a food daydream. Not a food craving, but a daydream, where just for a split-second, I am suddenly imagining myself eating something I could never get here in rural China. Today’s dream was… Continue Reading →

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