liuzhou

Bánh Mì and Chả chay (Vietnamese vegetable rolls).

How to grow Chicken of the Woods on Logs https://www.fieldforest.net/product/chicken-of-the-woods-on-logs-instruction-sheet/instruction-sheets

酸笋炒牛肉 (suān sǔn chǎo niú ròu) - Pickled bamboo shoot with beef.

I posted this before in another topic but it fits better here. Here in Chinaland, when developers are building retail units that they hope to sell, they often put up fake signs to show that they are likely to be bustling commercial centres. One got it slightly wrong, not that anyone noticed at the time. At that time, there were no legitimate Star-anythings in town. Now the burnt coffee places are everywhere. That one was eventually turned into a nail salon!

The teenage daughter of a an impoverished Arkansas farmer cooking during the Great Depression. Public Domain image.

A delivery app 'trip' to Japan, sashimi and sushi platter. (Like all the 'Japanese' resaurants in town, this place is 100% Chinese owned and staffed).

The Zhuang ethnic minority, most of whom live here in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, to give the full name, are famous for their bronze work, especially bronze drums and other musical instruments, which they have been making for at least 2,700 years. They did and still do make bronze wine flasks and cooking vessels, too. Some of the cooking vessels are 'Dutch ovens' in everything but name. The vessels are not used today for everyday cooking but are still used in some religious rituals and other festivals. Guangxi Provincial Museum, in the capital, Nanning has numerous examples on display as does Liuzhou Museum five minutes from my home. Here are a few pictures taken there. Musical Instrument Drum

牛肉夹馍 (niú ròu jiá mó) Beef Roujiamo. These were bought from a local Xi'an restaurant. Two were eaten. Looks messy, but tasted just fine.

er, China had these centuries before America was colonised. As early as 1100 BCE. Here's a picture of Budhha preparing lunch.

The 10th-Century Master Chef Who Wrote Food Poetry The Kitab al Tabikh contains both recipes and poetry. Jpbrigand/CC BY-SA 4.0

Tonight, I decided on trying a local Thai restaurant and went for their classic Pad Thai (ดไทย). Bizarrely, the Chinese for Pad Thai is 炒金邊粉 (chǎo jīn biān fěn), which literally means ‘Fried Phnom Penh Noodles’. They name it after the capital of a totally different country? Then the restaurant lists the main ingredients as rice noodles ✔ and then veers off to yet another country, Vietnam with phở ❎. Oh well. It was good, but I’m not convinced it was Pad Thai, a dish I’ve eaten many times in Thailand, but never in Cambodia or Vietnam!

There are food festivals around the world. Some have been mention in various topics, but I thought a general topic could be interesting. I'll start with this annual 'Fish Festival' held here in China. They hold what they call a 'Long Table' feast mainly comprising local fish dishes. It is also accompanied by fun and games, such as a fish catching competition in a muddy paddy field. I didn't make it this year, but have been in the past. I skipped the mud! Image as supplied to China Daily More pictures and info here, from China Daily

Well, like nearly all of the world, China is metric.

Yes. The only reason I didn't immediately bin it was that I remembered you saying before that your plant was indestructible.

I'd buy a better measuring jug. Weighing would work, but not exactly convenient. It has intermediate steps. Around $5 USD. Anything between the marks can easily be guesstimated by eye and won't make much difference if slightly out. Image from ad where I bought it

1940. Diner along U.S. Highway No. 1 near Berwyn, Maryland. Public domain.

Tired out by some delivery failures tonight I went back to somewhere I've used before - nearby "Thai" restaurant. I ordered their 黄咖喱鸡肉 (huáng gā lí jī ròu), yellow curried chicken which came with what they called 泰式炒包菜 (tài shì chǎo bāo cài), Thai style stirfried cabbage. It isn't really Thai; it's a Chinese version of Thai food. The chicken curry was mostly potato, but I expected that; all Chinese curries are mostly potato. But it was acceptable, although a bit light on spice. In a way, my getting jaded with delivery food despite the huge choice, is actually good. It's spurring me on to get fit enough to cook again.

My search for rau răm has been a frustrating waste of time. I have ordered it now from three different suppliers advertising it on Taobao. One said it would take five weeks to arrive from a place I can get to in three hours), another said they were out of stock then deleted their listing and the third said they were ony testing to see if there is any demand and may, or may not, have it at some unknown point in the future! So, I gave up and ordered a plant rather than just the leaves. It arrived today. Half dead and the surviving half dried out and yellowing. It was also seriously potbound. I have re-potted it and will see if it revives, but I'm not hopeful. I might just have to move to Vietnam. Overhead shot.

Here are a few snapshot scans of predigital photos taken in Jingdezhen in 1998. Sorry about the quality but they are almost prehistoric! They may have been taken with my Ming Dynasty camera. It may not look like it but they all contain porcelain used in culinary affairs.

I give up! Yesterday night. Dinner deivery. Advertised on the app as 荷兰豆炒鱿鱼 (hé lán dòu chǎo yóu yú), squid with snow peas. Image from Meituan App What turned up. On the left we have 空心菜 (kōng xīn cài), water spinach - in Chinese, literally 'hollow heart vegetable'. Right, the star of the show, the squid with peas. The flavours were right but the peas were overcooked and the squid was vulcanised rubber. Dreadful. I have to get back to cooking. Here is my version from a while back.

Yes, Burmese food is a wonderful mix of S.E. Asian and Chinese influences alongside many Indian and partly colonial influences from the UK. Me likes a lot. Laotian food is similar in many ways to Vietnam and Cambodia, but with its own quirks and inventions. It is widely accepted that larb originated there. Also, they eat a LOT of fish, often smoked and their equivalent of fish sauce is padek, which is very different from Vietnam's or Thai, in that it contains lumps of the fermented fish and can make a meal just served over rice.

The Northern Thai version came from Laos, carrried by refugees in the 60s. There is stiil a large Laotian population in the north. I first ate rau răm in Laos where it is usually served with the "Vietnamese" herbs including rau răm.