{"id":1183,"date":"2012-07-19T12:02:27","date_gmt":"2012-07-19T18:02:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.stormysweitzer.com\/recipes\/?p=1183"},"modified":"2016-04-23T19:49:17","modified_gmt":"2016-04-24T01:49:17","slug":"china-a-feast-for-the-senses-but-especially-our-taste-buds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stormysweitzer.com\/recipes\/china-a-feast-for-the-senses-but-especially-our-taste-buds\/","title":{"rendered":"China \u2013 A Feast for the Senses, But Especially Our Taste Buds"},"content":{"rendered":"

A year ago, my husband and I were invited to join some of our favorite traveling companions on a journey to Tibet.\u00a0 We planned, did some research, and prepared ourselves for a trip that would include both spiritual (Buddhist monasteries and culture) and adventurous (Mount Everest basecamp) experiences.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Monks
Monks chanting at Kumbum Monastery in Xining, outskirts of Tibetan Autonomous Region<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Two weeks before we were scheduled to leave, politics intervened. \u00a0Due to a number of coinciding factors, permits to the Tibetan Autonomous Region by foreign visitors were being put on hold temporarily during the dates surrounding our visit.<\/p>\n

The local woman coordinating our trip made an adjustment and created an alternate itinerary for us to another part of China.<\/p>\n

But, then, things changed.\u00a0 Again. \u00a0Two days before departure, Tibet opened up and we were back on track.\u00a0 We packed our bags and stocked our first aid kit with things appropriate for high altitudes and cooler temperatures.<\/p>\n

Things didn\u2019t quite go as planned.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know if travel ever does \u2013 at least interesting travel. \u00a0During our brief layover in Los Angeles, we got a text message.\u00a0 All permits for foreign visitors to Tibet were suspended until further notice.\u00a0 We were about to head into the Gobi desert along the Silk Road instead, to regions which reached 108 degrees F while we were there, with our down vests and long pants. (We did, it turns out, have opportunity to put the cold-weather gear to use, too.)<\/p>\n

\"Jaohe
Jaohe Ruins<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While we were disappointed to have missed Tibet this time, the trip was amazing and completely obliterated any assumptions and misinformed beliefs I had about China.\u00a0 We spent a couple of days in Beijing and Shanghai, but the bulk of our trip took us from Xining in Central China to Hemu, a village in the wild north west just miles from the four corners area where the borders of China, Mongolia, Russia, and Kazakhstan meet.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Owners
Owners of the outdoor, one-table restaurant where we ate in Hemu. We were treated to the local libation \u2013 fermented cow\u2019s milk, a drink reminiscent of Amazon legends in which fermented mare\u2019s milk was drunk before a vision quest.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\"An
An outdoor kitchen in the village of Hemu in Kanas.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Along the way, we encountered numerous ethnic minority groups \u2013 including Tibetan, saw incredible landscapes dotted with yurts and yaks \u2013 as well as man-made cityscapes growing skyward and populated with building cranes as far as the eye could see, and were witness to the awesome hybrid of ancient culture and modern technology that is a hallmark of today\u2019s China.<\/p>\n

\n

\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\"Kanasi
Kanasi Lake in NW China<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Shanghai
Shanghai skyline<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Over the next couple of weeks, I\u2019ll be sharing some of the food culture we experienced there, starting with restaurants today!<\/p>\n

China by Restaurant<\/h3>\n

Eating in China was delicious,<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Lunch<\/p>\n

adventurous<\/strong> (we didn\u2019t really know what this was),<\/p>\n

\"Lunch<\/p>\n

unexpected,<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Lunch<\/p>\n

and\u00a0sometimes a little challenging<\/strong> for my western emotional attachment to certain animals (namely the dog hot pot we avoided; we opted for beef and pork instead)\u2026but mostly delicious! \u00a0And, limiting grain, legumes, and dairy was not nearly as difficult as I expected it to be. \u00a0I was able to avoid most things I couldn\u2019t eat, and when I wasn\u2019t able to avoid things or chose to try something exotic and delicious-looking the impact wasn\u2019t nearly as big as when I eat these ingredients in the States. \u00a0Hmmm.<\/p>\n

\"Shanghai<\/p>\n

Our group ate family style twice a day around a dim sum-type table.\u00a0 I had to work to get food on my plate, what with dishes whizzing by me quickly as the table spun around, and often lost my food as it slipped from my chopsticks.\u00a0 Despite my chopstick ineptitude \u2013 which got worse over the course of the trip \u2013 I gained weight.<\/p>\n

\"More<\/p>\n

We were fed generously with plates of baked eggplant with thick-cut bacon and Sichuan peppers that numbed our tongues, smoked bamboo shoots and lotus roots with chilies, spicy potatoes, all variety of soups, wilted greens, saut\u00e9ed gourds and steamed pumpkin and cauliflower.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We were served whole \u2013 and I do mean whole \u2013 chickens, shrimp and fish, dishes of stewed pork, yak, beef, and even donkey once.<\/p>\n

\"Day<\/p>\n

\"Day<\/p>\n

\"Urumqi<\/p>\n

And, the table was set with the occasional tofu dish, bowl of rice, and steamed buns, followed by fresh fruit for dessert. \u00a0We were surprised when rice would show up at the end of the meal \u2013 as if it had been cooking while we ate \u2013 or not at all.\u00a0 It turns out that rice, likewise with the steamed breads served, is actually an afterthought, a food served if the rest of the meal failed to satisfy one\u2019s hunger.<\/p>\n

\"Qinghai<\/p>\n

My husband, not much of a meat or seafood eater, loved the variety of vegetable dishes.\u00a0 Me, I loved the fact that grains, dairy, and soy sauce were not often a part of the dishes ordered \u2013 mushroom and oyster sauces were more common, and that produce and proteins were so abundant.<\/p>\n

\"Urumqi<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

While the restaurant foods we ate didn\u2019t always allow us to explore some of China\u2019s more-interesting \u00a0foods\u00a0or uniquely-regional delicacies, road-side stands and marketplaces did.<\/p>\n

Be sure to check out the\u00a0photos of some of the market places<\/a> we visited and explored with our taste buds, along with a recipe<\/a> I found that takes advantage of the sichuan peppers\u00a0I brought back with me. \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A year ago, my husband and I were invited to join some of our favorite traveling companions on a journey to Tibet.\u00a0 We planned, did some research, and prepared ourselves for a trip that would include both spiritual (Buddhist monasteries and culture) and adventurous (Mount Everest basecamp) experiences. Two weeks before we were scheduled to… <\/p>\n

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