Amiram Hayardeny's My China Experience

Food for Thought

If you knew me personally, you would have wondered how come I haven't blogged about food yet.  I guess that when you first see me, you would notice me, I can't be ignored or overlooked, I can't be pushed around.  It is simple - I am big.  185 cm, and 260 lbs.  Don't worry, this is not a JDate entry, it is merely to explain why this blog entry is about food...

When I first got to Beijing in April, 2006, I realized that if I rely on the pictures in the local restaurants' menus, my meals were very unpredictable.  My favorite dish - Chicken and Peanuts would end up being bones and tomatoes, tofu and hot peppers, and various other combinations.  Can you imagine the disappointment, when you sit in the restaurant all ready and drooling, and the poor waiter puts in front of you.... well, something you were not expecting.

In order to avoid that, I have started the following tradition.  When I had something I liked, I respectfully asked the waiter to write it down for me (in Chinese).  Soon enough I had a list of my favorite dishes.  It was in handwriting, and due to my frequent visits, the page started looking like a dish.  So I asked my faithful helper, Jasmine, to put in a document.  When my wife and I entered a restaurant, we were no longer gambling.  We were placing safe bets.  I remembered this list today, and I respectfully put it here before you.  I no longer use it.  I'm not dieting, don't worry.  It's just that my Chinese is a lot better, and my wife is slowly becoming a true Beijinger.  She is kidding with taxi drivers and waiters.  I am becoming an outsider.  Well sometimes she does translate.

 

Next.  I don't know if I have mentioned it, but my wife is a great cook, and a baker.  She makes the most delicious food you can imagine.  Fortunately for her, it is I who is collecting the resulting pounds.  She just enjoys the kitchen.  Anyway, she was surfing the web this afternoon, and she saw a recipe for Shakshuka.  Yes, I know, sounds funny, but trust me, it is absolutely delicious.  So here is the recipe for two:
 
Ingredients:
1 large onion - minced
2-3 cloves of garlic roughly diced
4 cut tomatoes
4 eggs
3 peppers (all green, but different colors OK)
2 chili peppers (you can add more - I love it real hot)
1 small can tomato paste
1/4 cup oil
Salt, pepper, paprika to taste
A must: freshly baked bread

Preparation:
Fry the onion until transparent
Add the garlic and fry for one more minute
Add the peppers and cook for 2-3 minutes
Add the tomatoes and cook for 2 more minutes
Add the tomato paste and the spices
Cook with close pan for 10 minutes until peppers are soft
Add the eggs and cook with open pan for another 8-10 minutes
Dip the fresh bread in and enjoy!

Lastly, My wife, the kids and I went to a Greek restaurant on Sunday.  Disappointment all around.  Well maybe not ALL around.  The Greek Salad seemed to have been authentic (and good), and so was the Tomato and Mozzarella salad.  The bread was good and so was the prepackaged butter.  But the mix grill, which contained (I think) a skew of lamb, of beef, and of chicken, was partially edible.  The beef, particularly, needed a a much better set of tools than my 45 years old teeth.  Perhaps Black and Decker makes something with which this meat can be chewed.  And the price was much more appropriate if the restaurant was in Greece.  I was thinking that in an average local Chinese restaurant, we would have eaten thrice as much for half the price.

So truthfully, Beijing offers an incredible variety of restaurants.  Ridiculously cheap as well as incredibly expensive.  So far, I found that my favorite restaurants are the neighborhood joints, with the real hot Chicken and Peanuts dish, and a great eggplant and potatoes dish.  With fried rice and a bottle of real cold YanJing Peejio (local beer), I am all set.

Posted at 08:59PM Feb 04, 2007 by Amiram Hayardeny in Personal  |  Comments[0]