Time now for onions and related items.
What we call onions is not always what the Chinese call onions. The base word for 'onion' in Chinese is 葱/蔥 (Mand: cōng; Cant: cung1), but used on its own, it refers not to what you may call an onion, but to a 'leek'.
What I call an onion is referred to as 洋葱/洋蔥 (Mand: yáng cōng; Cant: joeng4 cung1). They are common enough here, but 20 years ago they were very difficult to find. We nearly always only get red onions, but occasionally white onions turn up (as they did last week for a few days).
The next few entries will help us 'know our onions', Chinese style. There will be tears before bedtime.
