(Food for thought…)
I have recently made a few updates to Appetite for China so it can be more user-friendly. Inspired by Wandering Chopsticks’ simple but useful indices for her recipes and reviews, I have created similar Recipes by Category and Restaurants by City archives, both prominent in the top menu bar.
In case you would rather bypass the browsing and go straight to a certain recipe or blog post, I have added the ever-more-popular Google search bar to find anything on this site within seconds. Hurray for (me catching up with) technology! Now I (and you) don’t have to scroll through the archives to pinpoint something specific.
But I would still like to know your thoughts on improving the site. What would you like to see more of?
-Recipes from a particular region?
-Desserts?
-Dining out?
-What to mix with baijiu to make it palatable?
Let me know in the comments below!
I think you can move the “selected writings” section off to their own post with a link from your top navigation menu. Then replace it with some of your most mouth-watering, drool-inducing, click-worthy shots.
I love the “recipes by category” browsing. Probably won’t surprise you to hear that I’m always in favor of more recipes and less dining out. Specifically, I vote for more Sichuan cooking!
You won me as a subscriber with your recent post on Banana Chocolate Won-Tons. I never did get round to make them as your recipe required ready made Won Ton wrappers. I’ll get there one day. :)
I’ve only been to China twice, but what really fascinated me was the regional variety in the food. Over here in the UK we talk about “going for a Chinese”, a saying that only makes sense to someone who has never been to China.
What I’d love to see is a guide to the regional varieties of Chinese cooking. Why is Szechuan food so fiery? Why is Cantonese food sweeter than that in Beijing for example. Understanding the origins of the food would go a long way to improving the full food experience.
Great Blog, my find of the week.
love your blog like it is, a good mixture of recipes, stories and more. my favorite are your drink ideas.
cheerio karine
Nate – Good suggestion! I had been planning on moving the selected writings for a while but didn’t know what to replace it with.
Chip – I agree. Sichuan cooking tops my home cooking frequency chart these days, so I’ll be putting some more on the blog in the future.
Bill – Thanks! There have been a few other people also asking for more regional clarification, so looks like a guide will be in the works.
Karine – And of course I wouldn’t leave out more drinks. :)
Hi Diana, I think your blog is really wonderful and the recipes you post are all easy to follow and incredibly tasty. I cannot express my gratitude to you for helping me satisfy my picky Chinese tastebuds… and for introducing me to MFK Fisher’s writings!
I love your pictures of the ready dish, but I would really appreciate some pictures of the cooking process. Even just one picture right before the dish is ready in the wok would be great for newbie cooks like me who are still getting a feel for when meats and veggies are done and how they should look.
Thanks,
Vicky
Vicky – Good to know. Will try to incorporate more in-process cooking photos in the future, even if my kitchen light is rather dim. :)
Hey thanks for your blog Diana. I’ve been looking for food bloggers writing about pretty authentic Chinese/Asian food and generally food your site.
Just a few food recipes I’m on the hunt for:
Baked goods
-those Asian style soda biscuits/crackers [plain, salty, crisp crackers]
-those plain buns in Asian bakeries? plain, brown on top, no filling, but nice balance between chewiness and doughiness.
-the broth/sauce of Chinese restaurant style steamed whole fish
Ok, I know a little more than squat. But I’ve just finished reading a book written in Vancouver that is an anthology of chinese food memoirs. That really whet my appetite!
So now I’ve spent a couple days looking for good internet information for those of us with some familiarity, but who feel incompetent when we walk into the asian market looking for even simple things – fermented black beans (do I look for jar, can or what?) is a great example. You seem really good about breaking down recipes in ways that are manageable to western minds and I’d appreciate seeing when an ingredient is mentioned a guide. Or even the occasional blog post that looks at some things on your pantry shelf.
The other thing I’m looking for, but may not easily find is a treat I love from Chinatown in Vancouver (I’m an expatriated Canadian). I love dry garlic ribs. They do not have a sauce, but have lots of garlic and some spices and I’d eat them like popcorn. Actually I’d eat them a lot more than popcorn!
At any rate, I don’t know if comments on older posts show up, but I’m really enjoying the reading here. Thanks for it.
Rina – You’re in luck. I have been working on a post on Chinese pantry items; look for it in the next week. What is the title of the anthology you mentioned?
Here is a link to the book. http://stores.lulu.com/cchsbc I bought it in Vancouver when I was home last summer (eating lots of those dry garlic ribs!)
If it turns out that it’s unavailable outside of Canada, let me know. Now that I’m done with it I’d be happy to mail it to you if you’d like. Just email me.