Northern China cooking in Colorado

In 2008, I studied/worked in Beijing for four months. What an endlessly enthralling city. I could spend hours wandering around old areas of the city, watching the people, eating the food, and marvelling at a culture that places so much importance on family and food. If you take someone out to eat and no food is left sitting on the table, you are a very bad person. For more about my China experience, see my travel blog.


And oh, the food! I loved getting hot bing (flat bread with tasty addition) from the streets and markets. Fried omlettes with spicy sauces and fried things, sichuan hot pot so flavorful you could cry, bao with vegetables or barbequed pork or eggs, simple vegetable dishes. And no frickin' rice if you didn't want it. My favorite was always beef noodle soup. I first had it while visiting a high school friend who was teaching English in Western China. We went to a little shop called 牛面大王. Beef noodle big king. (big wang = big king). I later found out that there were many variants of this name on unrelated noodle shops throughout the city. The cooks would take a chunk of dough and pull it long. Then fold it over and pull it again. And again. And again and again before throwing it into a pot of boiling water. These guys give a new meaning to fresh noodles. Add in some delicious spicy beefy broth, some beef chunks, veggies, and cilantro, and you have a winning combo. Some key ingredients to the flavor: star anise and sichuan peppercorns. Don't eat them from the soup, or you'll be sad.


I ate this at every chance I could (not hard considering the university cafeterias served it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner), but have been unable to find it or successfully reproduce it since returning to the States. Last month, Bon Appetit posted a recipe for beef noodle soup, and I decided it was a sign.



Despite the difficulty of not finding star anise of sichuan peppercorns (not really like peppercorns at all) at the supermarket, I prevailed and served it to friends last night. It met expectations. When buying noodles, we get the eggless #5 noodles from the red box in Chinese grocery stores. Spaghetti is not the same.

Big King Beef Noodle Soup
adapted from Bon Appetit

makes about 8 servings

• 3 pounds boneless beef short ribs
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 inch ginger, peeled and sliced thin
• 3 large cloves garlic, sliced thin
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp black bean garlic sauce (from asian food stores)
• 2 Tbsp spicy sichuan hot pot seasoning (or other spicy item)
  
• 1 Tbsp salt
• 6 whole or broken star anise
• 1 1/2 tsp Sichian peppercorns
  
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1 large tomato, chopped
• 1 pound Chinese wheat noodles
• 2 baby bok choy. sliced lengthwise
  
• fresh chopped cilantro
• chopped green onions
  

1. Bring large pot of water to boil. Add beef and boil until brown, about 5 minutes. Remove beef and cut into 1 inch cubes. Drain and wipe out pot.
   
2. Heat oil in pan over medium-high. Add garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute. Add onions and cook until translucent, about 8 minutes. Add 10 cups water, beef, soy sauce, flavorings, spices, salt, and sugar and simmer uncovered for 1 hour. Make sure the soup doesn't boil so the beef doesn't get tough.
3. Add tomatoes to pot. Simmer for 50 minutes. Add bok choy and cook another 10 minutes
   
4. Cook noodles and drain
5. Divide noodles into bowls and top with broth and soup goodies. Garnish with cilantro and green onions.
   

Next time you're in China, get yourself some.

Quantum Quiche

Amanda's been having so many posts lately, I need to keep up! Throwback to last post: the cherry blossoms in DC were just started to bloom when we were there. Stunning.

I was pretty swamped this week with two tests and a paper to start writing, so Matt volunteered to handle dinners for the week. After eating an obscene amount of delicious food on vacation last week, we were feeling pretty vegetably. Out came the Moosewood cookbook. Matt settled on a big tasty salad, stuffed eggplant, and swiss-mushroom quiche.

Ok, I know quiche isn't exactly health food (look at that buttery crust. . .) but it sounded so good. We had a lot of vegetables in the fridge and decided to augment the original plan with spinach, tomato, and red onion. The results were exquisite. Buttery crust, just-cooked custard, and fresh vegetables. I'd say we could do this again sometime.


Veggie Quiche

You can really make this with whatever veggies/filling you want. Here's what we did.

• pre-baked 9" pie crust (your favorite or here)
• 1/2 small onion, diced
• 4 oz. mushrooms, minced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 small tomato, diced
• 1/2 bunch spinach, rinsed, and roughly chopped
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup yogurt
• 1 cup shredded cheese
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• pinch ground nutmeg
  

1. Bake your pie crust beforehand. It should be pretty browned or else the eggs will goop it and make it mushy.
   
2. Saute onions over medium heat until soft, about 7 minutes. Add garlic and spinach and cook until spinach wilts. Set aside.
3. Brown mushroom bits in 2T butter over medium-high heat.
   
4. Combine all veggies together and wait for them to cool.
5. Whisk together eggs, milk, yog, cheese (we used swiss), salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Add veggies when cool, and pour mixture into pre-baked crust.
6. Bake for 35 minutes at 375F. The filling should be set but a little wiggy (like Jell-O). Cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.
   

just before going into the oven

Shoulder Bracelets: Next Big Thing?

I was browsing jewelry sites recently and was particularly awed by the selection over at Litter. They have an enormous collection, including shoulder pieces that I don't fully understand. Why don't they fall off?!

Anyway, I've seen boot chains and harnesses before, but this is a whole new level of accessorizing. Take a look!

Gold linked shoulder piece

Brace chain garter

Feather ear cuff

I love this last one, and it's probably more wearable than a lot of their other pieces. Still, I'd be willing to give any of them a go if I had a spare $100 lying around. Obviously I don't, but if you happen to, I would highly recommend that you buy some eclectic jewelry.

R&R in the Southeast US

Last week was my spring break, so Matt took the week off and we diddled down to the southeast to visit some friends. I had debated taking my computer, but didn't. As a matter of fact, I tried not to think about work/school at all. Good move. First stop: Southern Maryland to visit Jamie. She works for the Navy, and we got to go flying with one of her friends. We went to a tiny little fishing village on an island in the Chesapeake where golf cart was the primary mode of transport. Fishing and crabbing gear everywhere.


Jamie lives in a house with two guys and they don't cook much, but own a dazzling array of cooking appliances that I spent several days lusting after. I made homemade tiramisu (including the ladyfingers) for them from the Daring Baker's recent recipe. Maybe that was just an excuse to use the kitchen aid a lot, but can you blame me?


We spend a few days in DC seeing the sights and went to an awesome restaurant called Founding Farmers. It's owned by a cooperative of farmers, and everything they serve is sustainably raised. And they make a mean ginger ale. Highlight of the night: bacon lollies. Bacon glazed with brownsugar and cinnamon. Say hello to the most delicious heart attack you've ever seen.
Our second stop was Miami, where Matt's best friend and co-game-developers live. And look! They have ferrets! We spent a day wandering Miami beach, a day at the everglades, and a lot of time playing with the little weasels. Food included cuban food at Versailles (which has the best decor ever, though I failed to photograph it), amazing BBQ including alligator meat, and german food at a spot that served beer in liters.
Next week we'll be in Paris, and we shall be sure to take lots of delicious and fab pictures then.

A Goldfish Shirt

I found this shirt at a garage sale with my sister for $2! I'm pretty sure it had been sitting in that woman's closet for decades, and I'm glad I could finally put it to use. A girl that I don't know very well saw me and exclaimed, "You look just like a goldfish in that shirt!" She was very embarrassed afterwards, but I didn't mind. I mean, who doesn't like fish?

garage sale top, Joy Mangano purse, secondhand bangles, Bijoux Terner watch

This watch I bought at the airport en route to Paris to meet up with Ali. I had left my cell phone at home since it wouldn't work in France anyway, but realized that I had no way of telling time without it! Luckily, I found a lovely, little store selling very cheap accessories and fell in love with this watch, which has an enormous face. You can't really tell in the picture, but it's nearly the entire width of my wrist. It no longer works (cheap watches are rarely waterproof), but I still like the way it looks with some bangles.

Somewhat related, Breads and Threads will be traveling to Paris again next week! We plan to ogle in as many patisseries, boulangeries, and boutiques as we can find, with maybe a little sightseeing on the side. Next up, a post on how to pack for Europe!

March Thaw

We've had a full week of warm weather (that is, above 40 degrees), and the snow has mostly disappeared. Even though I love my winter layers, it's nice to go outside without spending ten minutes bundling up. This doesn't really prevent me from wearing layers anyway. I just have to be more thoughtful about it!

This outfit is pretty typical for me. I find it very easy to just throw on a dress and a few cardigans in the morning, and the tights are must when it's still a bit nippy outside. And yay! I've located a real camera!

vintage dress, forever 21 long vest, gap cardigan, target tights

forever 21 boots, garage sale jewelry

All of the jewelry that I'm wearing in this picture is actually from a garage sale that a friend and I found last spring. The lady buys jewelry in bulk and then sells it very cheaply every year. We can't remember exactly when the sale was, or even the exact location of her house, but we will be on the look out for the next few weeks!

My friends and I are planning a trip to the Mad Hatters Tea House in a nearby city. We're all dressing up, so I should have some fabulous tea party pictures soon.

Some of my very stylish friends! The boy in the front just won an award for being the best male AP scholar in the state, so now the girls are all over him!

Pi Day is delicious

Happy belated Pi Day by the way. Surprisingly, most of my friends didn't know about pie day until we came along. Growing up a proud math nerd, I find this disconcerting. Then again, I am the girl who still knows the 70 digits of pie she memorized in middle-school homeroom.

We did make a pie, but didn't have a camera, so the pictures and less than ideal. The intent was blueberry pie, but we misread the random recipe online on Matt's droid and got 3 cups frozen bloops instead of 6. So it turned into a blueberry-apple pie. Bloople pie. Berry pies always seem to run, so I grated one of the apples with the skin on to increase the pectin.

Bloople Pie

• Your favorite double-pie crust recipe
• 3 apples of baking inclination
• 3 cups frozen blueberries
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup flour
  
• 2 tsp orange zest
• 2 Tbsp orange juice
• 2 tsp cinammon

1. Make your pie crust dough first and divide into two balls. Let it sit in the fridge for at least 3 hours.
2. Grate one of the apples, skin on into a bowl. Peel and dice the other two.
   
3. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix. Let is sit in the bowl until your crust is ready
   
4. When your crust dough has been sitting in the fridge for a while, roll the bottom part out and put into the pie pan. Roll out the top crust too while you're at it.
5. Put the filling into the crust, and top with the top crust. Crimp the edges together to minimize the leakage of tasty filling juice. And to make it pretty.
6. Cover the crust edges with foil and bake at 375 for 40 minutes. Remove the foil and bake another 20.
   
7. Cool completely before eating unless you want runny pie juice everywhere. Maybe you do.
   

Forgive the crappy mobile phone photos