liuzhou

Donkey is similar to horse but even more tender. It has that same slightly sweet flavour, too. Both horse and donkey are common meats in parts of China. Not so much where I live, but I can get both. Donkey is definitely my favourite red meat, though. How is zebra?

I’ve eaten the meat many times and cooked it even more, but this is a northern China thing which I ate almost thirty years ago in Beijing. It’s been mentioned on a few topics before and recent mentions sent me towards this. I wanted to see how a local restaurant in the south makes a northern classic and how it compares, although an interval of thirty years may have dulled my memories a little. Of course, I’m talking about 驴肉火烧 (lǘ ròu huǒ shāo), in which 驴肉 (lǘ ròu) is ‘donkey meat’, while 火烧 (huǒ shāo) means ‘set on fire’ but in this context refers to a baked wheaten roll. However, the whole thing is usually referred to as a ‘donkey burger’, often by the very shops selling them. This example, as their literature goes out of its way to make clear, is enhanced with some spicy green chillies which I don’t recall from Beijing, but they are notorious wimps up there. And that was pretty much it. It was delicious. Tender meat and still al dente chilli. There was a minimum order of two, which is what I got and ate, but I would have been happy with a third, if I could cram it in. They are deceptively filling. ¥13.8 / $1.90 USD each. Definitely one to revisit.

Sorry. That I can't answer. I can buy it in China. I just did.

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This is a BSBLT ©2024 liuzhou! Blood Sausage, Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato. BSB Mise Awaiting Lid

Yes, I remember that travelogue you did on your Beijing trip. I'm now thinking that a Donkey Roujiamo might be on the cards soon. Never tried that but see no reason why not. First, I'll need to clear out the freezer a bit though; I can only buy the asinine meat in packs of 1 kg and freezer real estate isn't up to it at the moment.

My mother would have agreed on that!

You're welcome. Sounds very strange indeed. If it was intestines then it wasn't tripe. Not that I mind intestines, either. Anyway, thanks for the posts. Interesting reads, even though it's highly unlikely I'll ever get to San Diego.

Here, for your edification, is what they call a 'donkey burger' around these parts, as mentioned above. Looks more like a bánh mì lừa (donkey banh mi) to me. Image: Meituan Food Delivery App

Shrimp and clam fried hand-pulled noodles with crab roe sauce.

US avocado inspectors stop work in Mexican state over ‘security situation’

Unfortunately the link goes to a page reading "Private Site - This site is currently private. If you’re the owner or contributor, log in." I never liked tripe (despite my mother's many attempts to convert me) until I ate it in China. I've since eaten it in Japan and Vietnam; maybe Thailand. I don't know how or why, but East Asia seems to do something else entirely with it.

No. They sit where you see them sitting. Wait staff bring them bowls of noodles in broth* and then they add ingredients of their choice from the dishes in the centre of the long table. These are repeated along the length of the table and are replenished as required. More broth is available on request. * The women in the striped apron top right of the image is bringing some one a bowl of noodles.

For example?

Is it? I can think of several things it wouldn't dice. How would that dice a potato? It works with onions because, as The Incredible String Band pointed out, onions have a layered structure, meaning they don't need cutting in three directions like potatoes etc. Potatoes need peeling, slicing, cutting into batons then making the cubes. That machine can't do at least one of these. Also, you need to cut the onion with a knife first anyway! I can do all the steps wiith a knife. Also again, with a knife, I have as many dice sizes as I need, not just two. And there is enough junk in my kitchen already, thanks. Pass.

I'm putting this here as it seems to fit and doesn't belong anywhere else. Nor do I think it deserves a new topic of its own. The 'all you can eat buffet concept' is universal I think, although I generally avoid it. You have no idea how long that food has been sitting there. But this Guangxi style AYCE restaurant here in Liuzhou seems to be doing just fine.

I dice often: onions, carrots, meats, potatoes and more. I mainly use a revolutionary, cunning new device - a cleaver. Sometimes, a chef's knife. Both are quicker than any machine I would have to get out of storage, set up, use, clean and re-store.

Some things I can only find from the delivery people rather than in the market or supermarkets. One is blood sausage, which I fancied this morning. I also ordered some clams and 芥菜 (jiè cài), which you probably know as gailan, the Canto-name. But that is not my point here. Along with my order came this large (250g), unexpected bunch of 空心菜 (kōng xīn cài, literally 'hollow heart vegetable'), water spinach or ong choy in Cantonese, rau muống in Vietnamese, and ผักบุ้ง (phak bung) in Thai. They also included some pre-peeled garlic cloves. I guess they have a glut of it. It is the most popular green vegetable here, so they may have overstocked. Anyway, thanks! You can see the 'hollow' hearts here.

Here are some 小葱 (xiǎo cōng) or shallots I picked up this morning in the market. The skin looks a bit frazzled but they are fine inside.

100g avocados here are around ¥8 each, which is the equivalent of $1.10 USD but then most are imported from Chile which is far away. They are beginning to be grown locally in Yunnan province which neighbours Guangxi where I am, but they are not plentiful, yet. I've only seen them once. I'm sure that will change.

For ส้มตำ (som tam), when you can cut or peel it without breaking your knife or peeler in half. The one I bought is literally rock hard, but should be OK after a day or two on the counter. It can be difficult to be sure, but if there is even the slightest give when you press it's good to go. I use a peeler to peel it (of course) but also to cut it into strips which I then pound to tenderize. This recipe is basically what I do.

When I first arrived in China in 1996, asparagus was totally unavailable, to my distress. The eight and a half week long English asparagus season, traditionally between St George’s day on the 23rd of April through to the Summer Solstice on the 21st of June was the peak of my year before I moved. Still the best asparagus in the world. In London it is often known as ‘sprue*’, ‘grass’ or 'sprue grass' as well as its regular name, although when he was a child, my son insisted it was ‘sparrow grass’, a name which lingers in the family. We ate it almost every day when we could. When asparagus arrived in China a few years ago, no one knew what it was, but they decided it looks a bit like bamboo shoots (they are very imaginative), so called it 芦笋 (lú sǔn) which literally means ‘reed bamboo shoot’. Many still think it is a type of bamboo. At first, it was only available as fat, over-woody spears, but they learned to pick it earlier, although they still prefer the fatter ones. Pencil asparagus is rare in supermarkets but one vendor in my local wet market usually has it when in season. Still nowhere as good as English, though. Only about a year ago, did I find white asparagus - spargel and that was online. It is still only available that way. Not that it bothers me; I’ve never seen the attraction, although one German woman who was living here called me, almost in hysterics, demanding to know where I found it after I posted a picture containing it on Chinese social media. I don’t get it it, but was happy to tell her. The locals tend to stir fry it with garlic as they do with most green vegetables. I pan roast, steam or fry. Pencil asparagus I often eat raw. Breakfast * ‘Sprue was originally only used to describe low quality asparagus although by a process of linguistic amelioration is now used for all asparagus, at least in London.

I picked myself up a nice 青木瓜 (qīng mù guā) today. 995g / 2lb 3oz of 'green tree melon' to give the literal translation. What you know as a green papaya, Carica papaya. Originally, native to Mexico and Central America, they are now widely cultivated across SE Asia and southern China. I feel a Thai (มะละกอ), Laotian ((มะละกอ), Cambodian (ប៉ាផាយ៉ា), Vietnamese (đu đủ) papaya salad in my near future. It's rock solid at the moment.

I was asked earlier today (not here) what the difference is between jiaozi wrappers and wonton wrappers and thought I'd also put the answer here for anyone who doesn't know. Easy really. 饺子皮 (jiǎo zi pí), jiaozi wrappers are round and slightly thicker than those for wontons. Around ¥3 / $0.41 USD per 250g 馄饨皮 (hún tun pí) or 云吞皮 (yún tūn pí), wonton wrappers are square and slightly thinner than those for jiaozi. Around ¥4 / $0.55 USD per 250g Both are often sold for less than ¥1 / $0.14 as a loss leader by stores that offer delivery. Most people use these rather than makng their own. 皮 (pí) means 'skin'; not wrapper.

One from the UK re sandwiches This is where some people find out that the sandwiches sold in different çompeting' major chains all come from the same factory. Full story and sandwiches concerned here.