Yiwu, *Off Topic*
Your comments about Chinese food in America were very interesting and, IMO, right on the mark. I have learned from my time here in Asia that much of the Chinese food seen in the States is actually a poor substitute and that the best choices are usually in large cities where there is a sizeable Chinese heritage. I would add Boston to your choice of cities, for a good selection of the "real" thing. San Francisco is incomparable for selection.
Even in Malaysia where the ethnic influences have merged into a food style that is local it is possible to get food purely influenced by Chinese culinary art. This is especially true in the few fine restaurants that work hard at importing the proper ingredients and prepare food in traditional ways. But for home cooking we are sometimes hampered by lack of ingredients and my wife and mother-in-law are constantly hunting for hard to find ingredients from China. In our garden we grow our own pandan, parsley, kai lan, bok choy, and some herbs that I do not know the name of. We also have melons, tomatoes, brinjal, (eggplant), onions, pumpkin, chili padi, and a mango tree that should have its first yield next year. We eat little meat, but are steady customers of the local wet market for fresh fish, and I occasionally bring home fresh fish from my trips to the hills. My mother-in-law who oversees the cooking and meal planning, and I share an interest in the garden. I do the hard stuff, digging, weeding, etc.
We eat very well.
best,
Stitch |
