liuzhou

Nothing better than a good game of 'chase the cherries' to get you going in the morning. Stunning sandwich.

Dinner tonight was late and unusual for me. A couple of burgers. The burgers were a mix of approximately 40% beef, 40% pork and 20% bacon. I didn't measure anything; just eyeballed it. Seasoned with sea salt and chilli flakes. Served on Chinese flat bread with tomato and shredded lettuce. More sea salt. I'd say the burgers were the best I've ever made. Juicy and flavourful without being over-complicated. Just a couple of quick cellphone snaps tonight. Burger No. 1. That patty was 12 cm / 4¾ inches in diameter. Burger No 2 - Same size

@TropicalseniorI'll address that by Private Message rather than here.

Spoons are nearly always supplied automatically; if not it's perfectly acceptable to request one.

I'm sorry, but that article is nonsensical. Medlars were common when I was growing up in the 50s and 60s. My grandparents had them growing their large garden. Medlars are still commonly grown. I saw them in England in 2019. both growing and the fruit one of the supermarkets selling them, although the article says no supermarkets sell them! Nor were either Shakespeare or Henry VIII 'medieval' as the article states.

Sure, although I can only think of one myth that may not be a myth at all. I'll deal with that first. Most etymologies will tell you that the 'chop' in 'chopsticks' means 'quick', as in the expression 'chop-chop' and came into being through a Pidgin English spoken in China in colonial times. I'm not so sure. 快 (kuài) means quick and 筷子 (kuài zi) means 'chopsticks'. The kuài pronunciation in both are the same but not the characters. They are homophones, but have different meanings as well as being written differently, a common feature of Chinese. There are thousands of such examples. Also, I can't find any evidence of any Chinese dialect or other source pronouncing kuài anything like 'chop'. Nor can I think of any reason why the pronunciation would have changed so dramatically It may be possible that the 筷 character used in chopsticks was introduced later, but again I can find no evidence of that in any of my Chinese sources. I'll leave that one open until I can delve further, but even my favourite source, the OED, gets in a complete tangle with this. Note: this meaning of chop is unrelated to that in 'chop-suey'. As to superstitions and etiquette, I'd say they overlap. The most serious chopstick faux pas is to plant your chopsticks upright in your rice bowl and leave them there. This is a symbol of death as it resembles incense being burned in honour of the departed. If you need to put your chopsticks down, use the chopstick rests supplied, if any. If not, lay them flat across the rim of your bowl, but not pointing at anyone (see below). Dropping a chopstick is also considered unlucky, but happens all the time. Not serious at all. Stabbing or piercing food to pick it up is a no-no. If it's difficult to catch hold something, use your chopsticks to slide the food into a spoon, then convey that to your bowl. Using your chopsticks as drum sticks is very rude, as is pointing at anyone with them. Playing with them is strongly discouraged in children; unthinkable for adults. Don't dig around in a plate of food to find the choice bits. This is referred to as 'grave digging' and again bad luck (as well as bad manners). Don't lick your chopsticks. I'm sure there are more, but those are what come to mind immediately. Neither taboo or superstition, but the mistake most chopstick neophytes make is to hold the chopsticks too near the points. They should be held near the top. It seems counter-intuitive to many people, but they are much easier to control that way. You will see guides on how to hold chopsticks 'correctly'. Ignore most of them. I've seen Chinese people hold them in many different ways. The trick is to hold to hold one steady and move the other one. If you try to move both, you will go hungry!

The earliest archaeological evidence dates to around 1200 BCE, yes in China. They were originally longer and used in cooking rather than for eating. Spoons were used for eating. Eating chopsticks seem to have come in during the Han Dynasty (206 BCE to 220 AD). They quickly spread throughout eastern and south-eastern Asia, where they are used to this day. It is worth noticing that most, if not all, of those cultures favour family style eating, in which chopsticks are much more practical. Spoons are still used for some dishes in China (see fried rice above). In Thailand, Malaysia, Laos, Singapore and some other countries most dishes are eaten with a fork and spoon, except noodles for which chopsticks are used. Forks are rarely used in China. Cooking chopsticks are also still used. I use mine almost every day – at least once. Square or round? Just style. No functional difference. Just like there are many variations in western cutlery. One real difference is that Chinese chopsticks are nearly always blunt ended; whereas Japanese and Korean tend to be pointed. I have both. Top left to bottom right: Japanese eating chopsticks; Chinese cooking chopsticks; Chinese eating chopsticks. The cooking chopsticks are 42 cm / 16½ inches long; the Japanese 23 cm / 9 inches; and the Chinese 25 cm / 9¾ inches.

Another 'noodle' dish from Xi'an. 驴蹄子面 (lǘ tí zi miàn) - Donkey Hoof Noodles. Also known as 偷懒的面 (tōu lǎn de miàn) - Lazy Noodles, as this is what people make when they are too lazy to roll or pull noodles properly! The dough is cut into shapes resembling donkey hooves, or so they say. No donkey is involved here.

I don't recall ever having wheat dosa, although I know they exist. What does your local place use for dosa; the traditional lentils and rice?

Yes. Same here. The washing up liquid is soapier. Detergent for clothes washing is also a different formulation. Washing machines are all cold water. Automatic dishwashers are very rare. I only know one person who has one and she is a returnee from America with new American husband in tow. Most dishwashers, including mine, look like this.

I don't. It's not mine. The apartment is rented and it was there when I arrived. That said, many people here have them. I think they are a hangover from a time when few kitchens had a hot water supply. Many still don't. People washed dishes in cold water, then sterilized them in these. I have hot water. Most restaurants still have these.

Turn north-west at Hong Kong!

Thai-style red curry shrimp.

I'd say both are true. It is widely accepted that the fuel theory is behind the invention of stir-frying as the main cooking technique to this day. It requires that the food be cut into small pieces by the cook in order for it to cook rapidly. (It also has the side effect of being easier to eat with chopsticks.) At the same there is also still a strong taboo about knives being brought to the table. Doing so is seen as an aggressive, potentially treacherous act. I've seen people visibly anxious in western retaurants in China.

21. "the Chinese home cook crouched over a wok on a brazier fed with twigs and cow chips" When I first came to live in China in 1996, it was said that 80% of the population was rural and 20% lived in cities. Today, we are told it’s the opposite, but while certainly many people, especially the younger generations, have moved to cities, it is often only temporarily. Many have become migratory workers, travelling to wherever the work is and moving on when the work moves on. Most of these end up working in the coastal areas in the east and south-east of the country. Also, many of these, men and women, have children whom they leave behind with the grandparents while sending money back. Many of these people fully intend returning home; many already have. As China’s economy has grown incredibly over the last couple of decades, its reputation as a source of cheap labour has correspondingly diminished and the large foreign companies are looking for other places to exploit instead. The Chinese government has thrown billions of hard cash into developing the interior and western regions, so reducing people’s dependence on migratory work. But for sure the number of city dwellers has risen considerably and, in general, people are more affluent. This new affluence has, of course, led to a rise in living standards and a new middle class. They demand everything new. There is very little demand for second-hand cars and I have never seen the type of second-hand shops which are common elsewhere. I can only think of one second-hand store here in town and that is a second-hand cell phone outlet. And it’s the same with housing. The new middle class only want newly built homes. These they buy unfinished and then arrange to have builders in to finish the interior layout to their own specifications. Even those who do buy pre-owned homes do the same, ripping out interior walls, plumbing etc and rebuilding the interior. They call this ‘decorating’. And of course, this extends to the kitchens. Chinese domestic kitchens tend to be on the small side and have little storage space compared to western kitchens. Most people cook on one of these. So, do I. I’ve never seen anything resembling a western stove. They may have a microwave, but that is mostly used for heating up dishes that have cooled down a bit. A rice cooker, for sure. And often a pressure cooker. No oven. This is my kitchen as it was on the day I moved in. There is another counter and more storage space on the other wall, too. I didn't rebuild anything. The thing on the left of the counter near the window is an infra-red or UV steriliser for bowls and plates etc. I moved it. This is not the most luxurious, but better than many. So, although the kitchens may be more modern looking, they still generally contain the same limited equipment. Not that the Chinese consider there to be any limitations. They have what they need. Out in the countryside, in many places, the “wok on a brazier fed with twigs and cow chips” tradition lingers but is becoming rarer and rarer. Except it wouldn’t just be twigs. And no cow chips. There aren’t that many cows in China. (I had to look up ‘cow chips’; not an expression I’ve heard, though I did guess the meaning.) That said, yak dung is used for fuel in Tibetan areas. Most of these home cooks would use wood, which they gather throughout the year and store for future use. Firewood stack The hut is firewood too I think! This old lady was cooking her lunch over a pile of firewood in a metal bucket in a sort of outhouse. As to what people cook, I don't think the new-found affluence has changed much, other than people eat more of the same. More meat, for sure, but still prepared in the traditional ways. Despite the oft-repeated claims that the Chinese eat everything (another myth), I find most people to be rather on the conservative side in terms of what they will eat and, especially, cook. I’d estimate that 90% of the restaurants here in Liuzhou are serving either local cuisine or dishes which have been well-known all over China for a very long time. When I lived in Hunan, it was the same. Restaurants did Hunan food. We do have a few restaurants serving other region’s cuisines in town, but I don’t think many people would be cooking those dishes at home. I know my friends never do. Even in places like Beijing and, even more so, Shanghai, which have restaurants serving food from all over China and the world, few people will be making that at home. For a general idea of what people cook at home I can recommend Fuchsia Dunlop’s Every Grain of Rice: Simple Chinese Home Cooking (eG-friendly Amazon.com link), which covers many of the dishes cooked regularly across China. Regional cookbooks are hard to find, even in Chinese. I have a couple on Sichuan cuisine, but that’s it. I suspect this reply to @Tropicalsenior's question may raise even more questions. If so, please fire away!

Good question which merits a good answer. It's complicated. I'll try to answer fully in the morning. Bedtime here in the land of the rice eaters.

Sounds about right

Indeed. most of the frozen seafood is actually water, priced at seafood prices. The frozen dumplings are, at best, average. Why would anyone buy frozen shrimp in water, when they can walk 5 minutes away and buy the things live for less?

Well, I'm in the tropics and can only answer from there. But, as far as I remember, supermarkets in Beijing and Jilin in the frozen north were the same. Freezers in homes are relatively new here. And people don't know how to use them. Even much of the stuff in the supermarkets is hopelessly freezer-burned because they just throw in the fresh stuff they haven't sold that day! No wrapping. "Freezer-burn? Never heard"of it!" I'll try to show you tomorrow. If the temperature drops below 40℃ / 104℉ for 15 minutes!

I guess people just prefer fresh food. Freezing is similarly, rare. Only really fish and sea food; some sliced meats for hot pots. Maybe some dumplings. I'll take some pics next time in the supermarket. I can promise you 90% of freezer compartments in fridge-freezers are empty.

I'd be interested in any reactions you care to share. She was very kind in acknowledging me in her last book All Under Heaven (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) for a miniscule contribution I made in answer to a question she asked. I have that book here. But English language books are not easy to find here and I can't pop home to pick a copy up!

One preservation method that is very seldom used here is commercial canning. This is the entire canned food section in the largest city centre supermarket. The botton three shelves are full of canned fish of various types - mackerel, mostly. Next shelf up, on the left, four cans of sardines in tomato sauce and above them some Spam-alike luncheon meat, or as I call it, dog food! And that's it!

Yes.