Food is going to be a recurring theme here. After all, I like reading about it, cooking it, and of course eating it. It's also unavoidably an issue for anyone making a prolonged stay in China--no matter how flexible your tastes and how open to new culinary experiences you might be.
I think I already mentioned I don't want to always eat out, in spite of there being plentiful and cheap restaurants and cafeterias. But cooking remains an experience which, for lack of a better word is "random". Forget about meticoulously following recipes, improvisation is the key here. So I'm sharing two recent concoctions which proved to be edible:
1) Noodles with egg à la Francesca:
Boil rice noodles. Drain and return to the hot stove. Add an egg. Add a vegetable of your choice. Saute briefly with cooking oil. Season with soy sauce. Scrape the wok.
2) Egg noodles with tofu à la Francesca:
Boil egg noodles (these come in a roundish "nest" shape and take more time to soften up). Drain and return to the hot stove Add firm tofu cut into slices. Saute briefly with cooking oil. Season with soy sauce. Scrape the wok.
Tofu is a whole world in itself. There is even smoked tofu which looks and smells (unfortunately does not taste) like scamorza cheese. It also seems to be doing the job cheese does, as concerns calcium and protein intake.
I still haven't turned into some kind of zombie muttering "dairy..." instead of "brains..." so far. I got New Zealand cheddar from the Russian lady, as well as bread, which I'm missing more than I thought I would (I'm not a massive bread eater). I'm sure that my adventures in feeding myself and cooking with the local fare are not over.
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