Chinese cuisine - eazychinese.com

11 November 2013

Lesson 8: Foods and How to Order Them

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My future father-in-law loves to tell me ＂坦克，飛機之外，中國人都有吃＂that translates to "aside from tanks and airplanes, Chinese people eat everything" and that's not far from the truth! One of my favorite aspects of Chinese culture is the diversity in foods, and I have discovered so many great dishes in Taiwan, that I could never go back to eating Americanized Chinese food! To hear more about some of my favorite Taiwanese foods, click here! But how do you order for, or even know what to order for that matter? It can be difficult, and I myself had to resort to pointing, following along with other customers, and generally being at the mercy of the 老闆 I tried to order from when I first got here. But you don't have to be as clueless as I was (unless you would like to, of course! That can be fun too!). In tis lesson, I will be teaching you how to say common Chinese foods in Mandarin, as well as order them! So let's get started!

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Common Chinese Dishes:

1. 炒麵 chǎo miàn= fried noodles

2. 炒飯 chǎo fàn= fried rice

3. 牛肉麵 niú ròu miàn= beef noodle soup

4. 泡菜 pào cài= kimchi

5. 臭豆腐 chòu dòu fu= stinky tofu

6. 米粉 mǐ fěn= rice noodles

7. 火鍋 huǒ guō= hotpot

8. 粥 zhōu= congee

9. 水餃 shuǐ jiǎo= dumplings

10. 滷味 lǔ wèi= marinated dishes

Ordering Food: In this section, I am going to teach you how to order food in Chinese. It's easy and straightforward, and I have confidence that you will get it down with ease. Here's how we're going to learn. 1. I am providing you with a basic formula you can use to order/buy pretty much anything (not only food!), 2. You are going follow me as I take a trip to the market here in Taiwan(I'm getting hungry just typing this!). So, first up on our agenda…

The Formula: There is no set way on how to order something, but for our "standard" we are going to go with the following:

我(想)要 + ?

I want + the item that you want to order. For example, if I was at a restaurant and I wanted some fried rice, I would say "我(想)要炒飯". You can use this formula in pretty much any situation in which you are ordering/buying something.

Real-Life Application: So now let's put it all together and go to the market to order some food! This stand is called 黃媽媽傳統豆花 and it's located by the traditional market just down the street from the Puxin train station 埔心火車站。

15 September 2013

Lunch-On!

One of the things I love the most about living in Taiwan is the food. It may not be what you expect if you have never tried it though. It's not quite the same as the Chinese food we eat back home(except for the fried rice chăo fàn 炒飯, that's a pretty universally similar dish). Today we had a big family lunch, and my fiancé's mother spent the morning preparing lots of tasty dishes.

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(This is where the magic happens, my fiance's mother is a great cook!)

Meals are traditionally eaten at a round table with the various dishes placed in the middle. Unlike most Western style dining scenarios, where you have your own plate of food, what typically happens in a Chinese family is everyone fills a bowl with rice and then takes what they want to eat, serving themselves. Of course, there is etiquette that you should be aware of, such as older people get the first pick, and you shouldn't grab the biggest and best pieces of meat or other dishes, and leave the lesser quality for everyone else(that's just rude!). And you all know about sticking your chopsticks end-up in your rice bowl, right? If not, go check out my article on taboos in Chinese culture.

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(Pull-up a seat, lunch is served!)

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(L: delicious roast duck kăo yā ròu 烤鴨肉 R:a stir-fried egg plant, qié zi 茄子 dish)

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(L: yā jiăo 鴨腳 duck feet, yum! R: I love the fish, but I try not to look it in the eye…it makes me feel guilty)

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(L: boiled bamboo shoots, zhú sŭn竹筍 R: Thai style liáng bàn mù guā sī 涼拌木瓜絲, a crunchy dish consisting of slices of pickled papaya served cold）

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(L: stir-fried beef with yellow and red peppers R: a traditional staple Chinese dish, tofu dòu fŭ 豆腐)

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（a fantastic marinated pork dish called méi gān kòu ròu 梅干扣肉)

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(and no Taiwanese meal would be complete without a good soup, we had lián ŏu tāng 蓮藕湯, lotus root soup)

Do you know another good thing about home-cooked meals? The leftovers shèng cài 剩菜 baby!

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(Round two…FIGHT!)

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Chinese phrases of the day:

炒飯= fried rice

烤鴨肉= roast duck

茄子= eggplant

鴨腳= duck feet

竹筍= bamboo shoots

涼拌木瓜絲= a dish made from pickled papaya

豆腐= tofu

梅干扣肉= a marinated pork dish

蓮藕湯= lotus root soup

剩菜= leftovers

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27 August 2013

How To Use Chopsticks

One of the many interesting cultural aspects of dining in Taiwan, or many other Asian countries for that matter, is that people use chopsticks to eat. Everyone has seen chopsticks and knows what they are, but not everyone can use them. I remember many years ago when I first saw chopsticks(years before even moving to Taiwan) my initial thought was "How the heck do I eat with these!" So today, I will show you in 5 easy steps.

Step 1: Pick up a pair of chopsticks. In Mandarin, chopsticks are called kuàizi(筷子).

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Step 2: Place the end of one of the chopsticks on the webbing between your thumb and pointer finger, and support the other end with your pinky and ring finger. While you are eating, this chopstick will not be moving.

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Step 3: Now take the other chopstick and grip it with your thumb on one side and your pointer and middle finger on the other. This is the chopstick you will be actively controlling to eat with.

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Step 4: Now that you know how to hold them, it's time to make those chopsticks work for you! It's very simple and you should get the hang of it pretty quickly. Keep the first chopstick stable resting against your pinky and ring finger and across the webbing between your thumb and pointer finger, and use the other chopstick to pick up food by moving your middle and index finger. Think of it as a tiny lever and fulcrum.

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(The way I usually eat with chopsticks is to hold the two sticks parallel to each other)

Step 5: Now that you've got it down, all you need to do is keep practicing. Now go eat some Chinese food. Forks are forbidden!

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(Another way to use chopsticks, and the one favored by my fiance, is to hold them with the sticks crossing. The grip and controlling chopstick are the same, you are just picking up the food in a different way. Think scissors.)

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Chinese phrases of the day:

kuàizi(筷子)= chopsticks

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