Category Archives: COOK

Recipes, techniques, and home cooking in Beijing

Roast Pork (烧肉): Hong Kong at Home

Posted on August 24, 2010 by jen

I am obviously obsessed with pork. I never got why they called it “the other white meat” because people who prefer chicken seriously need to have their heads examined. In China, the pig is taken pretty seriously. Beef is niu … Continue reading →

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Fat is Flavor: Recipe for Stir-fried Yunnan Ham, Pine Mushrooms, and Something Green (云腿松耳炒青菜)

Posted on June 21, 2010 by christine

This post was written to mourn the last chunk of Yunnan ham (yuntui 云腿) that I brought back from, well, Yunnan, in southwestern China.  I love food souvenirs, and a friend had specifically requested Yunnan ham.  During a week-long trip, … Continue reading →

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A Love for Sweet & Sour: Recipe for Vinegar Peanuts

Posted on May 27, 2010 by jen

What is it about the combination of sweet and sour that is so remarkably appealing? I’ll admit that there is no flavor combination that I love quite as much as that tangy sweetness. I’m one of those people that asks … Continue reading →

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Rice Cooker, Local Market, Magic!: Recipe for a Peking Duck L’Orange

Posted on May 19, 2010 by christine

This is a recipe for every person who has ever longed to make laowai food in their own kitchen without the aid of a proper oven.  I have an immense amount of affection for my roommate: her impeccable taste in … Continue reading →

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Recipe for an Egg Crepe (jianbing 煎饼), part 4 of 4

Posted on April 9, 2010 by the ladies

Our love and near-obsession with the jianbing is well documented (for a total of six posts on this one simple street food). We’ve made the pilgrimage to Tianjin, birthplace of the jianbing, we’ve pestered numerous jianbing vendors around Beijing for … Continue reading →

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Unrecipe for Egg Crepe Batter: (jianbing 煎饼), part 3 of 4

Posted on April 1, 2010 by the ladies

In Chen Kaige’s Forever Enthralled, the biopic on the dan performer Mei Lanfang, Mei’s children are welcomed after they escape from wartime Beijing with a ribbon-wrapped cake.  His patron greets them with, “There may not be jianbing guozi in Shanghai, … Continue reading →

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Recipes for Egg Crepe Innards (jianbing 煎饼), part 2 of 4

Posted on March 16, 2010 by the ladies

When devouring a jianbing, the biggest question usually is – just what is that crispy thing in the middle? In Tianjin guozi (果子) is used – usually translated as a Chinese doughnut (youtiao 油条) – but the youtiao recipes were very intimidating.  Plus … Continue reading →

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Recipes for Egg Crepe Sauces (jianbing 煎饼), part 1 of 4

Posted on March 11, 2010 by the ladies

How many jianbing photos does a blog need, really? We think it’s important that the unabated love affair with jianbing on Beijing Haochi continues with these photos from a vendor located off the corner of Jiaodaokou Dajie and Gulou Dajie.  … Continue reading →

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Recipe for a Sweet New Year, or Glutinous Rice Dumplings with Rosewater（tangyuan 汤圆)

Posted on February 16, 2010 by christine

In Xi’an there’s a local specialty that I have thought about constantly since I left: it’s a small cake made from a dried persimmon (shizibing 柿子饼), stuffed with nuts, and then shallow fried, so that the flesh was chewy and … Continue reading →

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Recipe for Congee with Mushrooms (xianggu zhou 香菇粥)

Posted on January 27, 2010 by jen

For me, congee (or jook or zhou 粥 or xifan 稀饭) is the ultimate comfort food. It’s what my parents fed me when I was ill, what I crave on a cold day, and what soothes me after one too … Continue reading →

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