The latest photographic tome by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid is anything but a traditional cookbook. Part travelogue, part recipe collection, and part ethnographic treatise, Beyond the Great Wall takes an indepth look at the foods of China’s non-Han minorities. As always, their photos are amazing, making me want to hop on the next plane [...]
Tag Archives | Chinese Vegetarian
Sichuan Dry-Fried Green Beans
Dried-fried green beans is one of my favorite side dishes to order in Sichuan restaurants. In contrast to crisp haricot verts or mushy microwaved diner-style beans, Sichuan-style green beans (or Szechuan, if you prefer) are blistered and well-cooked without being bland. With Sichuan peppercorns and dried chillis adding spice and smokiness to the flavor profile, [...]
Pea and Shiitake Dumplings
When Jacob and I lived in New York, we were frequent patrons of the “$1 for 5″ fried dumpling places in Chinatown and the Lower East Side. Those quick meals of crisp pork dumplings satisfied both sudden hunger pangs and skinny wallets. Then we discovered the dumpling joints also had bags of frozen dumplings for [...]
Vegetable Fried Rice
I like to think of this as the Punky Brewster of fried rice dishes. While seafood and pork versions would easily get upstaged by lots of vegetables, vegetarian versions are as colorful as your market’s produce section allows. Today I brought home green beans, purple cabbage, and red and yellow bell peppers to go with [...]
Mango Vegetable Curry
The easiest way to make a thick stewy dish into a summery répas is by adding tropical fruit. Or so I told myself yesterday, when I was craving curry but wasn’t too keen on the standing in front of a hot stove for the better part of an hour. The mangoes on the fridge were [...]
Kung Pao Tofu
This afternoon, less than 24 hours before hopping on a train to Hong Kong, I was faced with a dilemma. Do I boil some instant ramen noodles and start packing early, to ensure I remember everything and not wait until the last minute? Or do I make myself a good, hearty lunch, while updating my [...]
Hunan-Style Braised Fried Tofu
When it comes to tofu, the choices that usually come to mind are soft, firm, or extra firm blocks. Of course, there are many other kinds of tofu, a product of curdled soy milk, just waiting to be eaten. Fermented tofu, fried tofu, frozen tofu, smoked tofu, tofu skin, and flavored tofu all have their [...]
Baked Tofu Sandwiches
I have this belief that bakeries serve a greater social purpose than just providing us with deliciously baked breads and cakes. In crowded cities, at least, where there are car exhaust fumes, garbage outside, and the inevitable collective BO that collects when tons of people are on a given sidewalk, the aromas of rising breads [...]
Appetite for China is all about fresh and simple Asian cooking. Welcome and bon appetit!
