2010年10月21日星期四

Book Review: The Key to Chinese Cooking

        Have you ever tried to make dumplings? Have you ever drunk Chinese tea? Have you ever ate Aromatic Beef? If your answer is negative, The Key to Chinese Cooking introduces ways of cooking Chinese food and Chinese culture to us.
        Irene Kuo, the author of this book, was born in one of the oldest families in China and she has a large amount of knowledge about Chinese food. She covers each area of the Chinese food, and brings knowledge of the food’s history, social customs, and cookers. She has a thorough understanding of the food culture. Her beautifully written articles are fun and concise, and her directions are exceptionally clear. It is an essential book for people who want to get to know about Chinese food. The recipes in this book are widely varied and are well organized. Some of the recipes are classics, such as Roast Pork, Peking duck and Tea eggs, and others are less familiar for me, although I come from China, such as Sliced Pork with Tiger Sauce, Rainbow Fish and tangerine peel chicken.
      The book is divided into four sections, and these sections offer the cooking techniques, the recipes, appendix and index. The initial chapters are arranged to introduce how to use cooking tools, general cooking methods and different kinds of Chinese food. For example, the author introduces how to hold and use chopsticks step by step. Just as the author says that, “I will show you method by method, using detailed and explicit recipes to illustrate both major points and those subtle fine points that create Chinese cooking.” She gives detailed steps to people who do not familiar with Chinese food. The rest of the book goes through plenty of recipes, including vegetables, meat, shrimp and so on. Most importantly, some recipes start with background history and readers not only can learn how to cook Chinese food, but also realize some Chinese food culture.
        The Key to Chinese Cooking is an excellent cooking book.

My trip today- Super 88

        I went to Super 88 in the morning, which is located in Allston. I never have gone there before.
Although the food there is more expensive than the supermarkets in Chinatown, it is bigger and I could find almost every kind of Asian food.  I think whatever Asian food people needed, they could find something here. Also, it is a great place to get Asian snacks, shrimp chips, spicy polo bun, pork rice ball; all of them are very delicious.
        Other supermarket had limited parking spots, but this place was very awesome. Customers did not have parking headaches because of vast and free parking lot. This market is located close to the green line and is very convenient to customers who do not have cars.
The grocery store is great, but the food court can not be beat. The prices were low and there are plenty of choices. This place served all different kinds of Asian food, including Chinese, Thai, Japanese, and Indian. It is very fantastic! This place reminded me of food courts in China. The warm atmosphere made me feel happy and comfortable.
       I had tried most of the favors of bubble slush in China, mango, chocolate, peach, and other tastes, but it was my first time to try taro slush and I thought it was the best flavor. It mix taro and ice and there are many bubbles on the bottom of a clear cup. It is sweet and cold and it is so delicious.
If you like Asian food, Super 88 is a good choice.

Why I do not like Fast Food?

        Have you ever gone to McDonalds, Burger Kings and KFCs? Have you ever eaten fast food?  The fast food is welcomed by people all over the world and I liked it very much. However, after watching the movie Fast Food Nation, I did not eat any fast food. I also recommended this movie to most my friends.
        The first story involved Don Anderson; the marketing Director at Mickey’s Fast Food Restaurant, who helped developed the “Big One”. When he discovered that fecal matter had been found in burger meat, he decided to travel to the small town of Cody, Colorado where the Big One was produced. He wanted to investigate the negative reports of fecal matter in meat. He met a rancher, named Rudy Martin, who was not surprised by the bad news because UMP, which was the meat plant, run their production line too fast and fecal matter was easy to pour in. Harry Rydell, a meat supplier told Don that,” We all have to eat a little shit sometimes.”
       The second story is about a group of illegal Mexicans who immigrated across the border to Colorado and they wanted to find good jobs. Sylvia, her boyfriend Raul and her sister Coco were three immigrants. They found that circumstances in the meat factory were totally different from their ideal situation. It was very dirty and dangerous Working conductions were backbreaking and many accidents happened frequently. But Sylvia, Raul and Coco had no choice because they did not have other technical skills and they needed a job. In this dirty environment, a great amount of bacteria must exist on the fast food.
        It is a good movie and I strongly recommend it to people who read my blog. I think you will reject fast food and try to cook by yourself after watching this movie.

2010年10月14日星期四

How to Choose Fresh Vegetables

Broccoli: Choose dark green, with tight buds, and firm, blemish-free stems.


Carrots: Medium sized are the best. Don't buy hairy carrots or carrots with shriveled ends.
Corn: Ears should have fresh-looking green husks with young but plump and developed kennels. Silk should be shiny and yellow.



Eggplant: A shiny skin and green cap means eggplant is fresh. The lighter in weight, the fewer seeds.

Tomatoes: Tomatoes should be bright red and yield to slight pressure, but should not be too soft.

How to Choose the Best Fruit

GRAPE: Ripe grapes are firm and smooth;  green grapes with a yellowish cast will be sweeter.

KIWI:  Those that are too hard will not be sweet, while those that are too soft or shriveled are spoiled.

ORANGE: Oranges with green or brown patches can be just as ripe;  look for a firm, heavy orange with a thin, smooth skin.

STRAWBERRIES: Avoid buying any with green or yellow patches, as they're unripe.

WATERMELON: Choose a firm, heavy watermelon with a smooth skin; be sure it has a well-defined yellow area on one side.

My images are from google/image.com

Bubble Milk Tea

I made a cup of milk tea today.
It was so delicious.
Just mix black tea (75%) and milk (25%), and put some small tapioca in it.






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I love chicken wings

spicy chicken wings

sweet & sour chicken wings

Hongshao chicken wings

Jiangsu chicken wings

chicken wings with caraway

crisy chicken wings

curry chicken wings