Can't Always Trust a Monk

As my adventure throughout China continues, I have come to a few realizations or important reminders for those expat-to-be's and Asian adventurers. 1) There are certain cleanliness standards and hyper-gourmandizes that us, Westerners, take for granted. 2) One man's taboo, another man's delicacy. 3) Not to turn Asian-cliché on you and quote Confucius (oh wait...) "Real knowledge is awareness of the extent of one's own ignorance". Now let me approach these in order:

1) When it comes to hygiene, there's a difference between being smart and being uptight. Being smart would be an example of choosing the bicycle-street-cart-meat-stick-man with a large group gathered around rather than the bicycle-street-cart-meat-stick-man who is coughing, has dirt-caked hands, and hasn't had business all night. China is admittedly dirtier than what many of us are used to but it is not deadly dirty. David Sedaris wrote an article about how disgusting Chinese food is. He harps on the habits that are... uncomfortable for most visitors. However, this is only culture shock and, in practice, has no correlation with the food itself and falls victim to assumptive stereotypes. Many Chinese dishes are cooked and served hot, a common way to disinfect food and if you're smart, you shouldn't have any problems (most likely with a tummy ache or two). This brings me to...

2) There are many things the Chinese eat that Americans, Britains, French, (foreigners/'LAOWAI etc) find repulsive: in Chengdu province, dogmeat; duck throat; and perhaps the most common complained about food, chicken feet. I'll admit that there are a few Chinese delicacies that I could never bring myself to eat--mainly dogs... they're so cute! But there are many Chinese who I have met who believe the exact same thing. However, I'll admit that I find Foie Gras disgusting. Imagine force feeding a duck excessive corn to make them extra fat and then eating it's liver! Doesn't sound so appetizing now? Every culture has its delicacies that we might rather forget how they are made. After watching a show on taboos on National Geographic, I found out that in the rain forests of South America, there is a tribe that finds roasted tarantula a delicacy. The brains and organs, a white gooey substance, is squeezed onto leaves and fed to the elders. These examples bring me to my concluding quote...

3) Everyone is ignorant of something. I know more know-it-alls than I'd like. I know more picky eaters than I like. I'm not the most adventurous, I never did get those roasted testicles in Beijing back in 2008, but I promised myself I'd be more open minded this time around. I ate duck throat, holding the beak as if it were the bone of a chicken leg... and it was delicious! I even ate chicken feet... I was completely unaware of what part of the chicken (they were little pieces of fried chicken) I was eating until my friend and I while contemplating what body part had this many bones, saw a claw... It was also delicious!

So please, don't fall into the uptight foreigner complex and complain about every little thing that is different in China. Sure, you will have lots of fun jokes but in the end, you'll just become a jaded foreigner, unhappy with everything. But if you decide to open yourself up, you're destined for a work opened to delicious amazing culinary experience and a world of completely different culture. On this note, I recently embarked on an adventure to somewhere I'd never been, using modes of transportation that I had never familiarized myself with. For my parents sake, they will only know this once they read this post... whoops, my bad.

I went to a place known as Putuo Shan, a buddhist island not too far from Shanghai, in Zhejiang province, where no one spoke a single word of English. With a gang of two friends, we headed to the long distance bus station where we ended up on a bus two hours after our intended departure time. This caused a problem as according to information learned from various travel websites, the last ferry to Putuo shan was at 5h55 pm, and a "5.5 hour" bus ride separated us. I immediately called our hotel, telling them the situation and saying we would have to stay in Zhoushan. I then received a long text message, of which collectively we understood that there were later ferries and the hotel receptionist would help us out. At 6h00, we were dropped off on a random street in Zhoushan and needed to find our way to a port. With the help of a kind Chinese women, we fled the sudden accumulation of fascinated passerbys and rickshaw drivers (who were simultaneously dumbfounded not only by our presence, but also our interactions with the locals) and made our way into a taxi. With a bit of back and forth, confusing accents, and a phone call to the hotel, we found our way to the correct port and bought ourselves tickets to Putuo shan.

From here on out, our travels were without too much trouble! Instead of getting angry at every person who stared (believe me, we'd burn a lot of bridges), we found being overly friendly not only freaked them out but also gave them an unexpected surprise. This is how we made our first friend. A young mother came up to us, with her obviously embarrassed son clutching to the backs of her legs, asking where we were from and if she could have a picture. (For all Westerners traveling in Asia, you know (or will soon that) this is a very typical interaction). Seeing the family later that night, they offered to show us around the next morning. This was ideal considering since we had no concrete idea whatsoever of what we were doing. We had an early start the next morning at 7h30 and explored the buddhist temples, buddhist temples, buddhist temples, and the beach! Every meal was a competition between cooks and waiters who seeked us from practically a mile away and boasted "Best food! Cheap prices! Honestly cheap prices!" One lunch time, while literally surrounded by four or five restaurant workers attempting to persuade us to eat at their restaurant, one of the vendors admitted sheepishly that "they're all the same!": red bins with fresh fish and a wall of fresh vegetables. We liked her matter-of-fact attitude and ended up dining at her establishment. You can order off a menu but first you choose which fish and which vegetables you want from a wall (and floor) covered in buckets of raw food. They even accounted for Zsuzska's Celiac's disease, ensuring that no dish touched soy sauce. This was hands down my favorite weekend so far in China. We went in completely unsure what to expect and allowed China to lead the way...

The worst, but funniest, thing that occured happened whilst undergoing a "spiritual, moving, once in a lifetime" event. Allow me to set the scene: sitting on a giant rock on the beach, a small pagoda right behind us, and while the sun sets, an orange full moon can be seen--growing brighter with every minute that passes. It was one of the most beautiful scenes I have ever experienced, conversing with random passerbys and the occasional monk. One monk, a women with a shaved head with a hefty build, comes and sits with us. We began talking--about life, America, China, the monastical life, etc--when she suddenly pulls off her necklace and puts it on my friend. "Please," she says, "I want you to have this, my new American friend". She then pulls out two more and gives them to my friend and I. Meanwhile, we are sitting there bewildered talking about how surreal the whole situation was when, "Ok, you can give me Y100 now." We bargained with her and got it down to a reasonable price but the moral of this story is that you can't always trust a monk. After she took my hichew candy (the last one too!), we knew she was trouble... "I've never seen American money, do you have any that I can look at?" "NO! Sorry ma'am, but we only had what we gave you. If you don't mind, we're going to go back now..."

Me and the nice monk

Monks... who knew they were such trouble? She had a friend who was incredibly nice and a new monk. She played monk chants from her cellphone. We also saw monks picking up a pack of cigarettes as we left a small shop. All in all, this was an amazing beautiful and relaxing experience with a side of a few funny stories. But one motto that this island community definitely follows, based on the small shopkeepers who cooked up some delicious aromas on the sidewalks and those who owned their very own restaurants: Live Well. 好活。Eat Well. 好吃。

Food Without Borders

The last time I checked in, I mentioned that I was kitchenless in Shanghai; kitchenless but not hungry. I live in Shanghai Jiaotong University, which is surrounded by some delicious New-York-priced restaurants, cheap mediocre Chinese restaurants, and an even cheaper cafeteria. I spend most of my meals in the cafeteria where you pick dishes based on color and any discernable ingredients, which are then served on a metal tray. To give you a better idea of the food quality, I will let you know that my friend may or may not have once found a tooth in her food...

This aside, there are times when I get to truly experience delicious chinese food. When this occurs, I have decided to follow up with an array of photos of whatever was enjoyed. I don't always know what I'm eating but will give you my best possible descriptions. As I document my journey in the Orient, I hope your summer is also filled with delicious food and fun adventures!
Every week my class does a case-study on different businesses which has come to China. We have looked at KFC, Starbucks, Walmart's Sam's Club, and IKEA. When we studied IKEA, our class had a field trip to do some field work. While there, our professors treated us to a lovely typical IKEA meal.

Swedish Meat Balls with Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, and Cranberry Sauce

Tiramisu

Chocolate Mousse

Another night it was one of my fellow student's, Xiafei, birthdays not too long ago. For his birthday, we went to his father's apartment nearby the University. His father is an amazing cook and made us this feast!

Fried Rice with Carrots and Eggs

Tomato and Egg (this is a very popular dish in China that I often eat at local restaurants)

Tofu dish with peppers

Dried Beef with Cilantro

Beef and Potato Stew

Roasted Chicken

Super Succulent Roasted Duck

(I must say this is some of the best duck I have ever eaten!)

Chicken on Bones with Peppers

"Century Egg" "Millenium Egg" or "Thousand-year Egg"

This is an odd Chinese delicacy made by preserving duck, chicken, or quail eggs in a mixture of clay, ash, salt, lime, and rice hulls for several weeks to several months... I had no idea what I was eating at the time. Overall, I give it a 6/10

For now, I must wish you all a wonderful summer. Something strange, something fun, something hard, and something new. So for now, I bid you adieu from Shanghai.

Live well. Eat Well.

好活。好吃。

Kitchenless in Shanghai

为了提高我的中文水平，我假期去中国留学和实习。
对不起，我没有私房菜，结果就没有新的配方。
我找到一个处方，我可能会给您们一个很香的菜配方（如果网络会让我）！
大家，佳期好！
好活。好吃。

这是我离纽约以前自己做的配方。

This is a recipe I made before I left New York.

柠檬和迷迭香的杏仁块。

Lemon and Rosemary Almond Bars

For my summer break, I have decided to embark on an adventure to strengthen my Chinese. It's my deepest regrets to report that I am kitchenless in Shanghai. However, should I suddenly find myself in a fully-stocked kitchen, a fragrantly delicious recipe will soon be delivered (pending internet connection success)!

I wish everyone a wonderful summer!
Live Well. Eat Well.

Spring Cleaning, Pt. 1

As spring break winds down, it marks the time of year for spring cleaning—the preparation for the fun, sun-filled summer season. And no different then everyone else I, too, am embarking on this age-old tradition (Really, people have been doing this for over a thousand years!)... Version 2k11.

I am going to end my streak of "Oh, I have two posts waiting to be done..." or "Don't worry about taking pictures of this meal, I still have so much left to do." Now that I have had my three 20-hour-workday hell weeks known as midterms, summer applications, and random meetings fulfilled, it was time to runaway and wind down: aka Spring Break. Filled with lots of sun (I dub 2011 "my year as a beach bum"), reading, clubbing, and relaxation (I know the last two are oxymoronic), I visited my friend, Adriana, in Miami, FL. On a side note, one of my favorite things about this trip was the fruit! There are so many delicious tropical fruit that are both more expensive and not-quite-so-delicious in the Big Apple. So for this recipe, grab the last apples of the season and prepare yourself this Caramelized Apple Tart with a Honey-Ginger Crust. I was fooling around in the kitchen in Hawaii when I realized we had no cinnamon and only ginger. This was the birth of this delicious tart recipe!

Caramelized Apple Tart with a Honey-Ginger Crust

Crust:

-1 ¾ cups all purpose flour

-2 tbsp sugar

-1 tbsp ground ginger

-1/2 tsp salt

-1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

-1/4 cup honey

-2 large egg yolks

-1 tbsp ice water

Filling:

-1 ½ cups (packed) dark brown sugar

-(optional) 1 ½ cup heavy whipping cream

[Personally, I don’t use heavy whipping cream unless necessary, however a few recipes will recommend its use in a caramel sauce. You can also use milk. Remember creamier=richer! I like the purer caramel without it—but that’s simply the opinion of a health-conscience co-ed]

-6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter

-lemon juice

-1 tbsp flour

-6 large McIntosh or Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, and sliced

Directions for Crust:

-Mix flour, sugar, ginger, and salt in a processor. (If you are like me and sadly do not own one, this can be done by hand!) Add butter. If using a processor, use the on/off pulsating turns, until the mixture looks like coarse meal.

-Whisk honey, yolks, and the ice water (not luke warm water, not cold water, ICE WATER. This is one of the keys to making a deliciously amazing crust) in a separate bowl.

-Add the honey mixture to the flour mixture. Process (or mix) until clumps form.

-Then gather the dough into a ball. Place on a piece of plastic wrap and flatten dough into a disk. Wrap tightly in the plastic and place in the refrigerator for at least one hour.

-Roll out the dough to about a 12” circle. Transfer into a pan and press it against the sides. Fold over the edges to have a thicker crust on the sides of the tart.

-Using a fork, press down on the sides to create a ridged-pattern (optional—for presentation’s sake).

Caramel Sauce:

-Bring sugar, cream (or milk or neither), and butter to a boil in a medium-heavy saucepan over medium-high heat, constantly whisking until the sugar dissolves. Be careful not to put the heat too high as to burn the sauce. Add a few drops of lemon juice and flour as it boils. Boil until caramel is thick enough to cover the spoon in a thick coat, about 10 minutes. (This can be made up to 5 days ahead). -Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

-Coat the apple slices with a little lemon juice. Then in a bowl, toss the apples as to lightly coat all of the pieces in caramel.

-Now arrange the apples in any way you wish in the tart crust. You can cut the slices and arrange them cut-side down, as to make a more vertical tart. You can also lay the slices down, one on top of the other, in order to make a more horizontally-appealing tart.

-Use any leftover dough from the crust to make any decorations and adornments on top of the tart.

-Place in the oven for 1 hour 15 min. Let sit for 15 minutes before serving.

-Voilà!

This recipe is especially nice when served with a light ice cream. Vanilla bean or coconut ice cream and crème fraîche are my personal favorites. My cooking tends to become more innovative with relaxation and time—two things that are for me, unfortunately, not always easy to come upon. Hawaii was filled with lots of it and was hence a source for inspiration. Miami was, as well, but not to the same extent. With “spring break” in mind, I found that I did not escape Columbia—seriously, its students were all over south beach (a comment on the Columbian demographic?)—but instead found myself forcing a balance of relaxation and “fun” onto myself. Without this, I would not have been able to write this blog post on the plane (like I am doing, now) out of pure exhaustion.

So, here’s to spring! Here’s to figuring out what you are trying to do (Miami had a lot of figuring out semesters and summers—Congratulations to Marina who got into the Argentina program)! Spring break is crucial when it comes to restoring balance in one’s life… or at least it was in mine. And as most other schools are just starting spring break, enjoy and remember to eat well. Live well.