liuzhou

Tomorrow, October 1st, is the 69th anniversary of Mao declaring the People's Republic of China from the gate of the Forbidden City in Tian'anmen Square, Beijing. This is celebrated each year with a week long holiday*, giving the government a chance to pretend they are communists and the people to go shopping. Liuzhou traditionally celebrates this with yet another: This is basically an excuse for a bunch of foreign, thick, rich kids to show off their powerboats and act like utter morons. We have competitors deported and charged with sexual assaults on local girls in past years. So, today I was busy helping with translation duties for more boring speeches and came home almost too exhausted to cook or eat. I managed to prepare a very quick dinner of fresh ramen noodles fried with chicken and some very fresh straw mushrooms I managed to pick up at noon. Garlic, ginger and chillies and some soy sauce. Tomorrow I have a 6 am start so I'm off to bed. * Actually it's only a three day holiday, but they manage to fool themselves into thinking it's a 7 day holiday. Under Chinese law, the statutory holiday is only three days , Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, but to stretch it out they worked both Saturday and Sunday this weekend. So on Thursday they tell themselves we have already worked for Thursday and Friday last weekend, then they have next weekend off, which they do anyway. Somehow they equate this to seven days off work. This bizarre practice of working what they call "make-up" days happens at other public holidays, too.

The third ham in the usually recited trilogy of "famous hams" is Rugao ham (如皋火腿 rú gāo huǒ tuǐ). It is the least well known of the three in China, even among the Chinese. Although I have eaten it in restaurants with great pleasure, I have never seen it on sale where I live. It is made in Jiangsu Province and like Jinhua ham it's made from one particular breed of pig., in this case, Jiangquhai black skinned pigs. Next time I'm in JIangsu, I'll pick some up! Don't hold your breath. Until then, no pictures from me but there is one here.

Jinhua ham (金华火腿 jīn huá huǒ tuǐ) is a dry-cured ham from Zhejiang Province in eastern China, specifically from the town of Jinhua. It is made from the rear legs of a breed of pig native to China. Production starts in winter and takes up to 10 months. The traditional process is at least 1,000 years old, and consists of salting, soaking, and ageing the hams. Traditionally, Jinhua ham is added to stews and braised dishes to deepen the flavour. It is also used extensively in stock making. It is also a key ingredient in the dish known as “Buddha Jumps Over the Wall”, a type of shark’s fin soup, a dish recently banned from official banquets by the Chinese communist party and falling from favour elsewhere. However it can be used in many ways. I have used it with spinach in pancakes, in omelettes, on pizza, with noodles etc. But most often I just eat it straight from the pack. Delicious. Jinhua Ham Jinhua Ham Slices

It is possibly not well-known that China has some wonderful hams, up there with the best that Spain can offer. This lack of wide knowledge, at least in the USA, is mainly down to regulations forbidding their importation. However, for travellers to China and those in places with less restrictive policies, here are some of the best. This article from the WSJ is a good introduction to one of the best - Xuanwei Ham 宣威火腿 (xuān wēi huǒ tuǐ) from Yunnan province. This Ingredient Makes Everything Better I can usually obtain Xuanwei ham here around the Chinese New Year/Spring Festival, but I also have a good friend who lives in Yunnan who sends me regular supplies. The article compares it very favourably with jamon iberico, a sentiment with which I heartily agree. Xuanwei Ham Xuanwei Ham more coming soon.

How sad! Little known fact: When Chinese people take photographs, instead of saying the equivalent of "Say cheese!" to get their subjects to smile they say "Say aubergine!" In Chinese, of course. In Chinese, the (usually) purple delights are called 茄子 qié zi, which when pronounced correctly produces the same cheesy (or eggplant-y or aubergine-y) grin.

Tonight I made pork with what I call aubergine but I've been told many of you here call "eggplants". Don't you know that eggs aren't plants? The same reliable source also told me that the chick peas that I used are called Garfunkel or Carbuncle beans or something similar by those same strange people. There was also garlic, chilli, various spices and those green things many of you don't realise are herbs and not 'erbs, green onions which are actually spring onions, and lemon juice. I hate to think what you might call lemon juice! Or pork for that matter. Served with 米饭.

Not for the first and probably not for the last time, I don't really know what I cooked and ate for dinner tonight. Fish, sure. Skinny chips, definitely. Tomatoes, no question. But what kind of fish? The labelling in the usually incompetent supermarket labelled them simply as 红鱼, which literally means 'red fish'. It can also mean 'red snapper', but I'm sure these ain't them. About 5" to 6" nose to tail. Kind of half way between white and oily. I like how the lower one looks shocked and offended by being so described, while the other two just look sad.. Anyway, I fried them and served along with aforementioned skinny chips/fries and some nice tomatoes. Some lemon juice did get involved.

Yeah. I've been doing that for decades.

Late afternoon snack. Clams with garlic and chilli steamed in Shaoxing wine. With crusty baquette to soak up juices.

Flow with the go.

Chicken legs braised with garlic (lots), ginger (lots), chilli (lots) and turmeric (enough). With couscous and bacon fat fried okra..

" “The heaventree of stars hung with humid nightblue fruit.” James Joyce, Ulysses

No "stainless" steel is truly stainless. It is merely "stain resistant" to varying degrees. I also disagree with those who are blaming aluminum. I blame aluminium! 🤣

Beautiful country indeed. Great people, food, wine and brandy. It's been about 30 years since I was there, but it remains firmly embedded in my memory.

Yes. I know. It is some kind of boletus but a minor one. I just ate them as documented on the Dinner topic.

This is not Chinese fried rice. It was fried in China, but there the comparison endeth. This is liuzhou fried rice, and I don't mean the city. I mean me. Yesterday, as documented on the China Shopping topic, I picked up a couple of "some kind of mushroom*". I'm pretty sure some kind of Boletus, I'm now sure. Not boletus edulis, but a minor relation. Minced some pork and briefly marinated it in Shaoxing wine with garlic, ginger and red chilli. Chopped on mushroom into fine dice and stir fried with the pork and then the rice. Simultaneously sliced half the other mushroom and pan-fried the slices until lightly browned. Finished the fried rice with some scallions and served. *

That was my first thought, but if they are, I'd like to know which type. They aren't all edible.

This morning, I found these in my local supermarket. I have no idea what they are. The supermarket displayed its usual generosity of information by labelling them as 小黄瓜 {xiǎo huáng guā) which means baby cucumbers. Methinks not! Rather idiotically, I accosted the nearest staff member to enquire as to their identity. After she got over her shock at being confronted by some crazy old foreigner daring to address her in her own language, she altruistically mumbled "蘑菇" (mó gū) - i.e. mushrooms. I advised that she was clearly wrong as they were definitely baby cucumbers as indicated on the label. She then informed me that every time they don't know what something is, the use the baby cucumber labels. Anyway, I bought them out of sheer pity for this poor woman. I'll have them for breakfast in the morning. If I survive I'll let you know. P.S. Google image search identified them immediately. As Lincolnshire sausages.

Pork, Tomatoes, Basil, Rice.

Here he is pre-cooking - with tail.

Did ranch dressing take over the world? No. America maybe. I've lived over a large part of the world and have never seen or tried it. I don't even know what it is. Never heard of "American dressing" either.

A twist in the tail. Tonight I steamed a fish (I know what it's called in Chinese, but never found an acceptable translation. It's a white sea fish. That'll do. A bit like red drum, but maybe not.) It was dressed with garlic, ginger, red vinegar, a little sugar, white pepper and scallions. The tail fell off while I was plating it, totally ruining my artistic presentation. With stir fried Shanghai bok choy and Thai jasmine rice.

Seconded

Two of my favourite places I would suggest are must-visits are: Milroy's of Soho for a vast whisky collection and Gerry's Wines and Spirits for a huge selection of bottles from around the world. The two are within walking distance of each other.