2/21/09

肉夹馍
"Rou jia mo"



Silvia and I attempted this typical Xi'an street snack. It's quite Muslim meets Chinese. See if you can make it at home, too.

`~>~`

you'll need
About 1/2 lb fatty pork with skin removed
two green peppers
4 pieces of Chinese style "mo" bread (I believe thicker nan bread or pita could be substituted.)

for the slow cooker

pinch salt
couple pinches fresh black pepper
3 inch knob of ginger
3 inch piece of Chinese onion, or leek
3 cloves of garlic
1 t fennel seed
1 tsp clove
three star anise
1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns
2 small sticks of cinnamon or cassia bark
1 t soy sauce
2 t Chinese black vinegar
2 t Chinese red pepper sauce (this should be mostly pepper flake, peanuts and red oil. Available at nearly all Asian grocers)
1 t canola or other flavorless oil
1 tsp sesame oil

~~(~)~~

Using a heavy, non-Teflon stock, briefly heat spices until fragrant. Remove and crush with the back of a Chinese cleaver. Set aside.

In same pot, cook pork hunk until brown on all sides, but not cooked through. Remove. Place both peppers in pot and cook until brown and roasted. Remove peppers and add a cup of water to pot, scrape with a spatula to produce
fond. Dice peppers and set aside. Leave pork uncut.

Add
fond, spices, vegetables, peppers and pork to small slow cooker or small, lidded pot. Use above list as a checklist to make sure you have everything added. Cook for a few hours, until pork is extremely soft and fragrant.

Grill "mo" or pita-type bread either on coals (for authenticity) or on an ungreased pan on both sides until brown. Split in half, add meat mixture, and enjoy!



It snowed.
下雪了。

Not just a flurry, either, but actual snow. This is extremely atypical in Beijing in general, but especially this late in winter. The cause was government intervention due to a huge drought that's hit us this year. According to UK's The Times, "500 cigarette-sized sticks of silver iodide had been seeded into clouds," which caused a record amount of precipitation. It was quite pretty to see for a Florida boy.

2/16/09




~Some drawings from the last two figure drawing classes...~

2/13/09

Watching fireworks on Emilie's balcony.



~~Spring Festival is over. It's warming up and everyone is starting or has started work and school. Until next year.~~

2/1/09

~*~ Pictures of Silvia for Maida ~*~

At the Xi'an mosque.

At the terracotta warriors site.

Muslim shops in the Hui quarter. The Hui are ethnic Chinese who converted to Islam during the days of the Silk Road.

羊肉泡模 (yáng ròu pào ) A famous Shaanxi province lamb stew with grilled nang bread

A strange display in the Terracotta Warrior complex.

Wrestlers from a large display of ancient court scenes.

Hui Muslim quarter.

Statue of a general, Terracotta Warrior museum.

散步;Ruby and Silvia, Andy and Ariel.

A garden in 清真寺, the oldest mosque in Asia.

Hostel beds.

Chatting over noodles.
~~~

西安
Xi'an

The crew and I went to the ancient city of Xi'an for a few days, which is the ancient capital of China. It's hard to underestimate the history of the place, being the city Marco Polo exalted, the terminal city of the Silk Road, a city with five thousands years of history. However, due to contemporary history, the city lost a lot, and is now mostly a typical Chinese provincial capital with a few exceptional things. Notable are the restored city walls, one of only two cities in China with intact walls, lively
Hui minority quarter, preserved bell and drum towers and great street food.

We saw the terracotta warriors, met our friend Ruby, were treated to excellent and fancy dumplings, got massages, saw the "Forest of Steeles," took very cold showers, strolled, ate some more...


The trip was nice, but still, it was relieving to see Beijing stretch out before us on our long bus ride back.