When I was in China two months ago during Spring Festival, I took this photo of a street vender who sells roasted whole sweet potatoes in the cold winter. I grow up loving and expecting to see those large oil barrels on the walkway in winters. They are filled with charcoal on the inside, and a rack is placed in the middle of the barrel. The whole sweet potatoes are on top of the rack getting roasted slowly. The lid of the barrel is placed on top to prevent heat from escaping.
It is simple, but it contains the wonderful smells of sweetness and burnt sweet potato skin. It was RMB 0.50 each back then and the vender would use a piece of newspaper to wrap up the one I picked. It was hot, and it warmed my hand on my way home from school. I love it that those traditional venders still exist after decades of change. Hope they are still there the next time I visit China.
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Learning to use chopsticks is not an easy task, even for kids born in China. I remember using spoons and hands until about 5,6 years old. One summer I went to visit my aunt, and somehow learnt from her how to use chopsticks to eat. Now parents can start their kids earlier on learning to use chopsticks. There are tools designed for little kids. Here are a few that I found: This one is good for toddlers who start to use utensils to eat. The rings on the sticks help to form the correct finger positions. There are left hand training chopsticks and right hand ones. This set is a one step up from the prior picture. It is for kids who have formed the right finger positions but still need help on keeping the sticks parallel. When the kids are older and have better finger strength and coordination, they can start to use the regular kind of chopsticks. The ones made out of bamboo is less slippery than the ones made out of steel or plastic.
Moon cakes (月饼) are round pastries consumed during 中秋节(mid-autumn festival). They have many different flavors: mung bean paste, red bean paste, date paste, mixed nuts, fruit paste, and lotus paste with salted duck egg yoke (southern style). “煎饼果子 jiān bǐng guǒ zi” and “煎饼 jiān bǐng” are actually two different things, even though the first two characters are the same, and sometimes some Chinese people use them interchangeably. The first thing is more like a rectangle crêpe with eggs, fresh and pickled veggies, and sauces (salty and sometimes spicy) wrapped in the middle. The latter is more like pancakes with various ingredients mixed in the batter. 煎饼果子originated in Northern China and is often sold by street venders on food carts. It is a popular breakfast food in China. There is a food cart in Ann Arbor that sells this dish at Mark's Carts on W. Washington St. It has limited hours and opens for lunch Thursday through Saturday. It was a nice surprise that this dish exists here. |
AuthorChinese culture has a lot to offer. Even as a native speaker, I'm still learning, everyday. Archives
April 2016
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