All posts tagged: let’s eat

Let’s eat! Making dumplings for the Chinese New Year

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Dumplings. You must have dumplings for the Chinese New Year. You can skip everything else, but have a huge platter of dumplings, some dipping sauce, and throw out some thick red envelopes and people will go, “Ah! What a great Chinese New Year dinner!” Just kidding. Sort of. Everyone coming together and making dumplings together really is one of the best parts of the Chinese New Year. Even better if you make your own dough! The conversation around that table has so much warmth. Don’t put in too much soy sauce. No, more than that. No, you’re putting in too much vinegar! Put in another egg. Keep mixing the filling. I love that, the chopsticks mixing the filling. What is it that I love so much about that? The sound, the smell, everything about it. And probably the ginger. This year, when I was planning my Chinese New Year dinner, I went to my favorite Chinese food blog: China Sichuan Food. I’ve been reading them for years now. They really know their stuff. They are …

Let’s eat! “A Bite of China,” bubble teas, and Ina Garten’s lemon bars

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Let’s eat! “A Bite of China” was originally posted in July. Here, I’m updating it with some writing on bubble teas and Ina Garten’s lemon bars. Enjoy! “A Bite Of China” There are moments in “A Bite of China” that stay with you long after you watch the show. A mother and daughter walking together at dawn, digging for mushrooms in the mountains of Yunnan. They easily push their sticks in the dirt to gently push up a priced mushroom that sells for thousands in city restaurants. Inside a ger in Inner Mongolia, in the early hours, a woman dips a ladle in milk to make breakfast for the family. The man will herd their sheep on the grassy plain. Fermented tofu nuggets are laid out on baskets on a balcony before they are hauled out to a busy city sidewalk and sold. The most simple yet amazing street food. More than technique and skill, “A Bite of China” is about taste and heritage, habit, livelihoods, the knowledge and skill that comes from working with …