liuzhou

I know I haven’t duly recovered from my recent spell in hospital – I keep making uncharacteristic errors of judgement. Today I fancied a salad and, like an idiot, decided to search my delivery app. The alarms screaming “China doesn’t do salads!” went unheeded. I searched high and low through the western-type salads they had on offer, trying to find just one that didn’t include c@rn. I was just about to give up, when I spotted one. I ordered it. The salad consisted of (in order I found the ingredients as I dug through) some rather nice roast chicken surprisingly free of bones, skin and gristle; a boiled egg (halved); shredded carrot, kidney beans, wood ear fungus, raw broccoli, rice noodles and C@RN! This was not shown in the image or listed in the ingredients. I should have known some donkey in the kitchen would ‘improve' destroy the salad. Everything was unseasoned and undressed (if you pardon the expression!) However, when ordering, I was given my choice of dressing – 1000 island, ‘salad dressing’, zephyr vinaigrette, baked tahini, Caesar salad dressing, Korean hot sauce, mustard salad dressing, millet chutney, Low calorie orange tahini sauce or low calorie yoghurt blueberry sauce. I had no idea what zephyr vinaigrette was so I ordered that – seems ‘zephyr’ is a Chinese synonym for ‘sickly sweet’. Apparently this sauce is a thing, but the only reference I can find is of a Chinese company pretending claiming it’s Japanese. It's in the bottom left of my image I dressed it instead with some Sriracha I happen to have and ate around the dreaded yellow pellets from purgatory. I also added some 'sea grass' which I also ordered and they threw in for 1 元 （i.e. free). It's top left. Best part of the meal. Never again. Get well soon my poor me!

4. 黄豆酸笋闷鱼仔 Another gift from the rice paddies is this anonymous species. I’ve only ever seen them referred to as 小鱼 (xiǎo yú) meaning ‘small fish’ or 鱼仔 (yú zǐ) meaning ‘baby fish’. I guess the subsistence farmers' pescatarian Latin terminology isn't up to par! Very occasionally, these names may be prefixed by 田 (tián), an abbreviation of 水田 (shuǐ tián). literally 'water field', meaning rice paddy. I tend to survive by calling the fish ‘minnows’, another non-specific species which forms shoals in fresh water. Despite their individual limited size, these Chinese fish are an important economic and gastronomic asset to the rice growers. This dish I am about to describe is common among the Zhuang and other ethnic minority peasantry throughout Guangxi. I’ve eaten it in Miao villages as well as in Dong stockades. I’ve eaten it at home. As recently as last night! As a dish 黄豆酸笋闷鱼仔 (huáng dòu suān sǔn mēn yú zǐ), Yellow Bean Pickled Bamboo Braised Fish is a true reflection of the local food culture, using only what can be found to hand. The fish from the paddies is braised with yellow soy beans grown by the same farmers and bamboo shoots pickled by the same farmers. Add some garlic, ginger, chilli and a little tomato grown by the same farmers and you are good to go. What fish you can't immediately eat can be dried. Dried or fresh, the fish are consumed whole - guts, bones and all. The dried fish are also sold in the local supermarkets, farmers' markets and by itinerant street vendors. One of my favourite top three local dishes. But this is not the only treatment for these fish. Here is another dish I ate in a Miao village north of Liuzhou city. The same rice paddy fish, deep fried in camellia tree seed oil with wild mountain herbs. These fish seemed to be slightly more mature specimens. But we always return to the favourite. Here is a Dong version, eaten on a tea plantation in the heart of Dong territory.

The former.

Yes, I know figs are delicate, but the supermarkets stock other fruits which are equally delicate and perishable. I think the main problem is that the supply is extremely low and no one can satisfy the supermarkets' requirements. I see this with other produce, too. I know dried figs are OK. What I meant was that I don't know how the locals use them. That, I will try to find out.

Yes. Indeed. The last meal I cooked before being hospitalised included such potatoes. This, I hasten to add, had no bearing on WHY I was hospitalised. My siblings and I fought over spuds. I was the eldest (still am) so usually won!

Given that some of the paddies are hundreds of years old, it is difficult to be certain what happened originally. The famous Dragon's Backbone paddies near Guilin were built between the 13th and early 17th centuries, for example. I'd suggest that the antiquity also rules out any serious aquaculture. The paddies were, in all probability, irrigated by diverting streams, rivers, ponds etc all of which would have been rich sources of life. The rice raising peasants of course weren't complaining. The fish (some of them at least) help control insects as well as providing protein. Frogs found their way to the paddies,too again helping with insects Today, a certain amount of aquaculture goes on, but given that most paddies are worked by near-subsistence farmers, most are still naturally stocked.

Seems like the standard British method to me. See Delia Smith's almost identical method. I didn't know there was another way. Even my French mother used that method. I may sub dripping or duck fat for the vegetable oil though.

Very. very few. Medium well is considered brave! Most of these places are aimed at visiting business people from overseas. Even most Chinese who have travelled in the West balk at bloody steaks. (Although they are happy to eat congealed pig, chicken and duck blood without blinking. Strange.)

No chance of that!!!

黄豆酸笋闷鱼仔 (huáng dòu suān sǔn mēn yú zǎi）- Braised Rice Paddy Fish with Pickled Bamboo Shoot and Yellow Soy Beans. Served with rice.

Although we get fresh figs in season from street vendors, I've never seen them in a fruit store or supermarket, though. Strange. The supermarkets do, however, all stock unappealing-looking dried figs year round. No idea what anyone does with them, though. Must find out.

I've been using Delia's recipe since 1979. Wouldn't change it, at all. https://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/type-of-dish/vegetarian-recipes/jacket-potatoes

3. 黄鳝 (huáng shàn) This young lady is looking out over a lush rice paddy in Liuzhou, just prior to the harvest. Rice is rightfully held in high esteem and respect in China. Wasting rice is seen as a sign of depravity and of cruel indifference to the peasants who toil relentlessly to bring it to the table. But those rice paddies supply much more than just rice, as we will see. Today features just one example. Rice Paddy and Home to Eels? Monopterus albus, aka Asian swamp eel, rice eel, rice-field eel, or rice paddy eel is known in Chinese as 黄鳝 (huáng shàn) which literally means ‘yellow eel’. Note, this is not what is NOT what is known as yellow eel in the west – a different species. Swamp Eels These eels live in the rice paddies, as well as ditches etc. They are happiest at home in shallow muddy freshwater. Unusually, they have both gills and are able to breath air directly. They are also hermaphrodites, all being born female, but with some changing to male when required! They are native to a swathe of Asia from India across China and down into SE Asia , Malaysia and Indonesia. The are also important food animals in many of these countries, especially in Thailand. They are also farmed extensively in China, Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar/Burma. It seems that Japan is about the only country to have them, but not eat them! They have also been introduced in Florida as recently as the 1990s. Whether that is a problem is yet to be determined. Will we ever learn? The eels are usually sold live and are often served with the rice they cohabit with in the paddies. Swamp Eel and Rice This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic license Although common across rice-eating southern China, swamp eels are particularly prized and reach their culinary apogee in the area known as Jiangnan. Jiangnan means south of the river, the river being what is known in English as the Yangtze, a name unknown to most Chinese. It is the 长江 (cháng jiāng – literally ‘River Chang’). The area of the south-eastern reaches includes some of China’s culinary giants, including Yangzhou (home of Yangzhou* Fried Rice, Shaoxing (of wine fame), Hangzhou, Wuxi, Suzhou, Ningbo (seafood central) and Shanghai. Famous dishes from this part of the world include Dongpo Pork, Lion’s Head Meatballs, Shrimp with Dragon’s Well Tea, Drunken Chicken, Water Shield Soup and many more. In her study of exhaustive study of Jiangnan cuisine, Land of Fish and Rice (eG-friendly Amazon.com link), Fuchsia Dunlop mentions that swamp eel is popular and cites some dishes: ‘hissing-oil eels’ from Suzhou, Ningbo eels cooked with yellow chives and fava beans and Wuxi crisp deep-fried eels. She does not however give any recipes, saying “”paddy eels are hard to find outside China”. Pity. * Yangzhou is actually just north of the river, but gets an honourable inclusion!

All steak restaurants in China use the same scale for measuring temperature / doneness, but sometimes different terminology. Here it is again, this time illustrated: The pictures could be better - the medium rare and medium look the same to me - so, I've also translated what it was intended to be. Chinese Pinyin Literal Translation English 一分熟 yī fēn shú One point cooked Rare 三分熟 sān fēn shú Three point cooked Medium Rare 五分熟 wǔ fēn shú Five Point Cooked Medium 七分熟 qī fēn shú Seven Point Cooked Medium Well 全熟 quán shú Fully Cooked Well Done I hope that is useful and you can at least order what you want. I can't guarantee what will turn up, though. (Don't mess with them and order an even number!)

Interesting (?) recipe for squash risotto with chestnut chilli oil in the Guardian today.

Pretty much what I do but I don't do 400. I'm metric.

2. 凉拌海蜇丝 (liáng bàn hǎi zhé sī) Rhopilema esculentum Image by Bill Abbott - This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license. In the south, Guangxi shares a border with Vietnam and lies on the Gulf of Tonkin, giving the region a sea port area. This includes the important cities of Beihai, Qinzhou and Fangchenggang. The first two are heavily involved in a fishing and aquaculture, especially Beihai. So, the region is not short of seafood as are so many of China’s provinces, most of which are land-locked. However, today’s foodstuff has its origin far away in northern China, in the eastern province of Liaoning. Here, every year, millions of young Rhopilema esculentum larvae are raised to a sustainable size, then released into the oceans around China where they drift with the tides and winds as they grow to around 2.5 kilograms (5.5 lb). They are then harvested wherever they have drifted to and, after processing, end up on our tables. Note: of the 4000+ species of jellyfish, only around a dozen are edible and they must be processed properly to be safe to eat. Don't be trying to eat what you come across at your local beach! 海蜇 (hǎi zhé), Rhopilema esculentum is the most important type of edible jellyfish, a popular food item here and across China, as well as much of East and south-east Asia. Processing involves removing the tentacles (and sting) then the dome-like head and body is salted before being shredded and sold as a snack food or in prepared cold salads known as 凉拌海蜇丝 (liáng bàn hǎi zhé sī) – Cold Dressed Jellyfish Strips in supermarkets and restaurants. It can also be pickled or dehydrated. Jellyfish Salad It is always served raw at room temperature and has a very fine flavour (some say tasteless), but it is refreshingly gelatinous but crisp.

It's just a random brand name. No venison is involved.

广西壮族自治区 Guǎngxī Zhuàngzú Zìzhìqū Gvangjsih Bouxeungh Swcigih Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region It has often been said that where I live in China, the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, has no distinct cuisine of its own. While that is partly true, it is an over-simplification. Yes, the south is largely Cantonese whereas the north leans more to the robust, chill-laden flavours of Hunan and Guizhou provinces. However, that is to ignore the cuisine of the region’s ethnic minorities, including, but not limited to the Zhuang (壮族), China’s largest minority most of whom live here. Also, there is an influence from the Hakka (客家) people who are displaced members of the majority Han Chinese. A significant number of Hakka also live in Guangxi. So, I thought I’d take the opportunity to introduce some of the things I find in my local supermarkets, markets and other stores which you may not find in yours. I’m not planning on going looking for deliberate oddness or exotica, but instead just everyday food here. I’ll start with 酿豆腐 (niàng dòu fu) - Stuffed Tofu Cubes or Balls. Carolyn Phillips in her All Under Heaven (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) covers this as Zhuang-Style Stuffed Bean Curd Balls. However, although the Zhuang have certainly embraced the concept, I believe it is originally a Hakka preparation. Cubes or balls of firm tofu are hollowed out and stuffed with a spiced pork paste. Fish is sometimes added or the pork completely replaced by a fish paste. These turn up at family meals and family celebrations – less often at formal banquets. Stuffed Tofu Cubes (酿豆腐) In recent years, instead of using tofu, all sorts of things get the stuffing treatment. Shiitake, bitter melon, eggplant / aubergine and chilli peppers (see illustration). A selection of stuffed vegetables Stuffed Green Chilli Peppers Pork and Shiitake Stuffed Bitter Melon These are made at home, but also ready prepared and sold in many supermarkets to be steamed or fried at home.

Yes. Same thing. 瓜 can be translated as melon, gourd, squash etc. Everything from cucumber to watermelon is a 瓜 in Chinese. Bitter melon is a 瓜. All 瓜.

er, yes. sometimes.

I bought it here in China. It's a meat tenderiser tool. Available from Walmart etc. See here.

Can I clarify something? When you guys talk about winter squash, you mean any of the squashes which fruit in winter, yes? I'm just a little confused as round these parts we have a specific squash known as 冬瓜 (dōng guā), which literally means "winter squash". It is also known as the wax gourd (Benincasa hispida). Do you get them? 冬瓜- Winter Squash Often served in soup.

Lunch 藕芽炒牛肉 (ǒu yá chǎo niú ròu) - Lotus Sprout Fried Beef. Rice. The lotus was pickled. I prefer fresh, but wrong time of year.

I stab my spuds with this. It is sprung so that the spikes retract safely for storage. One stab - 24 holes.