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Hospital Food

liuzhou

By liuzhou
in Food Traditions & Culture

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liuzhou

liuzhou

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Some meals over the last couple of days or parts thereof.

 

congee.thumb.jpg.8fe914daf15a95408b24e9ccd3758682.jpg

 

This is 皮蛋肉粥 (pí dàn ròu zhōu）- century egg and pork congee. Unusually for me, I had this as part of lunch today. And enjoyed it.

 

egg.thumb.jpg.bdcf472cdc628641d82346cd067e58c2.jpg

 

They're pushing me to upping my protein, so 蒸蛋饺 (zhēng dàn jiǎo) steamed dumplings with egg wrapper  and 清蒸芙蓉蛋 (qīng zhēng fú róng dàn)  steamed egg.

 

huntun1.thumb.jpg.b7f8f691ebbbef55eadf7b1e86575344.jpg

 

This looked like a bowl of greenery 青菜 (qīng cài), but then I remembered ordering it. Under that forest of greens lie hidden wontons 云吞 (yún tūn) in broth.

 

huntun2.thumb.jpg.a50f5750b9b83ccf04715396be7415ad.jpg

 

Dinner tonight was called 酸菜焖鱼 (suān cài mèn yú) braised fish with pickled cabbage. This was unlike any 酸菜焖鱼 I've ever experienced, but was OK. Served with rice.

 

333985399_suancaiyu.thumb.jpg.bf77c12e8cc17a6e4be7d00907cf554d.jpg

 

Roll on tomorrow.

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...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

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Smithy

Smithy

Posted
Posted

"Hidden wontons" suggests something far more exotic than wontons hidden under the greens. I can dream. 

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Nancy Smith, aka "Smithy"
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liuzhou

liuzhou

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Lunch:

 

虫草乌鸡汤 (chóng cǎo wū jī tāng) - Cordycep militaris and black bone chicken (silkie) soup.

黄瓜炒蛋 (huáng guā chǎo dàn) - Scrambled egg with stir-fried cucumber

 

1173798619_.thumb.jpg.238de33c4d3f88b336851a5cf6062635.jpg

 

1466935575_eggwcucumber.thumb.jpg.8fdf9e89b8b4d11cd4f74653c3f41977.jpg

 

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...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

"No amount of evidence will ever persuade an idiot"
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The Kitchen Scale Manifesto

liuzhou

liuzhou

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Dinner：

 

西芹炒鱿鱼 (xī qín chǎo yóu yú) - Stir-fried squid with celery.

 

1320958431_squidandcelery.thumb.jpg.723e786252c3f3e4079b40ba38b2eff2.jpg

 

Odd pairing, I thought, but it worked. Squid was verging on the chewy though. Still, I expected that.

 

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...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

"No amount of evidence will ever persuade an idiot"
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The Kitchen Scale Manifesto

Anna N

Anna N

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4 hours ago, liuzhou said:

Scrambled egg with stir-fried cucumber

I am quite familiar with scrambled eggs and tomatoes, but this one is definitely new. 

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

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liuzhou

liuzhou

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22 minutes ago, Anna N said:

I am quite familiar with scrambled eggs and tomatoes, but this one is definitely new. 

 

Egg and tomato is by far the most popular, but this is not unusual. 2nd prize. They also offer egg and bitter melon.

...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

"No amount of evidence will ever persuade an idiot"
Mark Twain
 

The Kitchen Scale Manifesto

Smithy

Smithy

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, liuzhou said:

 

Egg and tomato is by far the most popular, but this is not unusual. 2nd prize. They also offer egg and bitter melon.

What seasoning or sauce would they do with eggs and cucumbers?

Nancy Smith, aka "Smithy"
Host, eG Forums - nsmith@egstaff.org

Follow us on social media! Facebook; instagram.com/egulletx

"Every day should be filled with something delicious, because life is too short not to spoil yourself. " -- Ling (with permission)
"There comes a time in every project when you have to shoot the engineer and start production." -- author unknown

liuzhou

liuzhou

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32 minutes ago, Smithy said:

What seasoning or sauce would they do with eggs and cucumbers?

 

It's relatively dry but does have some soy sauce. A very simple dish. Eggs, cucumber and soy sauce.

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...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

"No amount of evidence will ever persuade an idiot"
Mark Twain
 

The Kitchen Scale Manifesto

liuzhou

liuzhou

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2 hours ago, liuzhou said:

 

Egg and tomato is by far the most popular, but this is not unusual. 2nd prize. They also offer egg and bitter melon.

In addition to the egg and tomato, the egg and cucumber and the egg and bitter melon, they also offer egg and green beans and egg and green chilli.

...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

"No amount of evidence will ever persuade an idiot"
Mark Twain
 

The Kitchen Scale Manifesto

liuzhou

liuzhou

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Dinner：

 

黄鳝粥 (huáng shàn zhōu) -  Paddy Eel Congee

 

1731399182_.thumb.jpg.5b42513b4fcce13a4f68c26b85a33b7c.jpg

 

青椒牛肉 (qīng jiāo niú ròu) - Green Chili Beef (except it had more red, my preference anyway)

 

762384403_.thumb.jpg.d7c627f8ef60bc41e0e880497af1bfa0.jpg

 

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...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

"No amount of evidence will ever persuade an idiot"
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The Kitchen Scale Manifesto

Anna N

Anna N

Posted
Posted
5 hours ago, liuzhou said:

Green Chili Beef

Ouch. Just looking at those red chillies complete with their seeds and I acknowledge that I am a wimp!  Glad that you are getting some enjoyable meals. 

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

SLB

SLB

Posted
Posted (edited)

First and foremost:  wishing you a speedy mend, @liuzhou. 

 

That food, though?  It's looking awesome from over thisaway.  Awesome.  It's been too long since I've had good Chinese food, dang.

 

In the mid-80s, one of my cousins married a woman who was the head dietician for the VA hospital in Chicago.   This.Woman.Could.BURN!!!  Meaning -- could cook her butt off.  ohmyGOODNESS was her home food good.

 

When my parents were ailing, she was always coming through with all of these amazing suggestions for packing more calories into the food, so that any bites I could persuade them to get down would bring the most bang for the misery.  I would call her all the time, I guess for more support than just feeding tips.

 

She retired and moved back to her very rural Alabama home, which happened to be (sort of) near a facility that I had to travel to regularly for work.  I would always -- ALWAYS -- aim to drop in on her country kitchen after a day's work, which would add a full two hours to my trek home.  Two hours following, ahem, having been well-fed, country-style.   

 

I never ate her hospital food, but somehow I believe this woman was throwing down for those vets.  

Edited by SLB (log)
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heidih

heidih

Posted
Posted
12 minutes ago, SLB said:

She retired and moved back to her very rural Alabama home, which happened to be (sort of) near a facility that I had to travel to regularly for work.  I would always -- ALWAYS -- aim to drop in on her country kitchen after a day's work, which would add a full two hours to my trek home.  Two hours following, ahem, having been well-fed, country-style.   

 

I never ate her hospital food, but somehow I believe this woman was throwing down for those vets.  

My ex had a similar great food experience. He worked in high school as a janitor at the hospital his mom was head dietitian at. My MIL could not cook but the cooks reportedly did a fabulous job. He dragged me down early n our relationship to speak with a retired one so she could share his favorites and I should replicate.

 

@liuzhou though hospitalization sucks it appears the food is at least a  bright spot. Looks pretty enticing considering the situation. 

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FauxPas

FauxPas

Posted
Posted (edited)
15 hours ago, liuzhou said:

青椒牛肉 (qīng jiāo niú ròu) - Green Chili Beef (except it had more red, my preference anyway)

 

762384403_.thumb.jpg.d7c627f8ef60bc41e0e880497af1bfa0.jpg

 

This looks so tasty! Are the red chilis hot and the green ones sweet? How hot/spicy is the finished dish overall? 

 

Edited to add:   Do you have any idea of how much longer you will stay in hospital? Whatever the underlying issues, I hope you are getting answers and some good news. 

 

Edited by FauxPas (log)
liuzhou

liuzhou

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Posted (edited)
2 hours ago, FauxPas said:

 

This looks so tasty! Are the red chilis hot and the green ones sweet? How hot/spicy is the finished dish overall? 

 

Edited to add:   Do you have any idea of how much longer you will stay in hospital? Whatever the underlying issues, I hope you are getting answers and some good news. 

 

 

Neither are sweet. The green are mildly spicy (by my standards) although occasionally one can creep up on you; the red are fiery spicy (as I like). The dish would be considered rather spicy by most people, I think, but not so much the locals. We like spicy round these parts.

 

I guess I'm going to be here till the end of the week or early next depending on how well my ancient body responds to treatment. It is working, but it is slow.

 

Thanks.

 

Edited by liuzhou (log)
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...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

"No amount of evidence will ever persuade an idiot"
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The Kitchen Scale Manifesto

liuzhou

liuzhou

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This breakfast was disappointing. Advertised simply as 炒粉 (chǎo fěn) fried rice noodles, it came with overscrambled eggs and was totaly unseasoned. With onion and one miserable bean sprout.

 

Fortunately, I had also ordered a couple of pork baozi as back-up (not pictured).

 

1669147517_.thumb.jpg.e940011f018939ad8777cd3ae2feb436.jpg

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...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

"No amount of evidence will ever persuade an idiot"
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The Kitchen Scale Manifesto

liuzhou

liuzhou

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After my breakfast disappointment, dinner eventually rolled around the kitchen redeemed itself.

 

子姜炒鸭 (zǐ jiāng chǎo yā) - Stir-Fried Duck with New Crop Ginger. Served with Rice.

 

1254657259_.thumb.jpg.8bc725838cbb6effd61305521048c7d5.jpg

 

 

 

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...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

"No amount of evidence will ever persuade an idiot"
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The Kitchen Scale Manifesto

liuzhou

liuzhou

Posted
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17 minutes ago, KennethT said:

I'm thinking about checking into this hospital just for the food.

 

It's definitely tastier than the medicine.

Edited by liuzhou (log)
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...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

"No amount of evidence will ever persuade an idiot"
Mark Twain
 

The Kitchen Scale Manifesto

Anna N

Anna N

Posted
Posted
8 hours ago, liuzhou said:

This breakfast was disappointing. Advertised simply as 炒粉 (chǎo fěn) fried rice noodles, it came with overscrambled eggs and was totaly unseasoned. With onion and one miserable bean sprout.

This sounds as if you are familiar with it when well-made. Just out of curiosity, how should it have been prepared? (You seem to be relatively lucky in only dealing with a few disappointing meals.)

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

liuzhou

liuzhou

Posted
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Posted (edited)
8 hours ago, Anna N said:

This sounds as if you are familiar with it when well-made. Just out of curiosity, how should it have been prepared? (You seem to be relatively lucky in only dealing with a few disappointing meals.)

 

There is no definitive recipe as such. It does tend to be a 'fridge clearing' dish, but this version was just mean. I would normally expect to find some lean pork slivers, some vegetable other than onion*, maybe carrot slivers or Chinese black fungus and certainly not just one bean sprout. The over-cooked egg is just bizarre. I've never been served  anything like it. Cheapest protein, I suppose.

 

And it would be seasoned with soy sauce.

 

*Someone in that kitchen loves onions. They turn up in everything. They aren't that common in everyday cooking.

Edited by liuzhou (log)
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...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

"No amount of evidence will ever persuade an idiot"
Mark Twain
 

The Kitchen Scale Manifesto

liuzhou

liuzhou

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Posted (edited)

@KennethT

 

I just measured my breakfast baozi - 10cm / 4 inches. It is similar to those I photographed for the Guangxi Gastronomy topic.

 

1508511806_10cm.thumb.jpg.60c6a9d98d2e72d0ef894c95dbed2bbd.jpg

 

Why I happen to have a tape measure in hospital, I'll leave to the mists of obscurity.

 

Now the nurses are giving me strange looks.

 

Edited by liuzhou (log)
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...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

"No amount of evidence will ever persuade an idiot"
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The Kitchen Scale Manifesto

liuzhou

liuzhou

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Posted (edited)

Lunch：

 

辣子鸡 (là zi jī) Chilli Chicken (again). Seem to be out of red chillies. Only green in this. Highly inauthentic.

蛋饺 (dàn jiǎo) Pork Dumplings with Egg Wrappers (also again).

青菜 (qīng cài) Greenery

米饭 (mǐ fàn) Rice

 

lunch.thumb.jpg.22a9120df2d7f0e537bc24307edc482d.jpg

 

Dinner:

 

清蒸鲫鱼 (qīng zhēng jì yú) Steamed Crucian Carp

青菜 (qīng cài) Greenery

米饭 (mǐ fàn) Rice

 

1912598559_SteamedCrucianCarp.thumb.jpg.2ec3e1a69ab6f18a985daa42f8eb000c.jpg

 

483087363_.thumb.jpg.9a374b75345316932f72dae330800fba.jpg

 

Edited by liuzhou (log)
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...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

"No amount of evidence will ever persuade an idiot"
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The Kitchen Scale Manifesto

SLB

SLB

Posted
Posted
On 11/16/2022 at 8:19 AM, KennethT said:

I'm thinking about checking into this hospital just for the food.

Seriously.  Stir-fried duck and ginger??? 

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KennethT

KennethT

Posted
Posted
8 minutes ago, SLB said:

Seriously.  Stir-fried duck and ginger??? 

As @liuzhouhas said in the past, duck is the cheapest meat in that area, but for us the West, it's considered a luxury item...

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