An interesting Chinese staple that I learned about quickly is congee (picured right), which is basically a simmered rice dish. It's traditionally eaten at breakfast and from what I can tell as far as toppings, anything goes: fresh cilantro, peanuts, chili paste, pickles, fish, vegetables or just plain. Personally I enjoyed it just plain, although I do want to try it with diced pickles because a local woman I met said that is the best way to have congee.
Here's a Congree recipe to try:
Ingredients:
3/4 cup long grain rice
9 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
Direcitons:
1. In a large pot, bring the water and rice to a boil.
2. When the rice is boiling, turn the heat down to medium low. Place the lid on the pot, tilting it to allow steam to escape (the same as you would do when making cooked rice).
3. Cook on medium low to low heat, stirring occasionally, until the rice has the thick, creamy texture of porridge (1 - 1 1/4 hours). Add the salt, taste and add seasonings if desired. Serve with garnishes such as crushed peanuts if desired.
Visiting a famous Shanghai Restaurant, Lvbolang
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| Lvbolang Restaurant |
I had the chance to eat dinner at Lvbolang restaurant a famous Shanghai restaurant. This restaurant has hosted world leaders including: President Bill Clinton and President Fidel Castro.
The menu was most impressive and had a large variety of options from braised eel to purse pasteries (pictured right). My meal was tofu with black beans and steamed rice with the purse pasteries! The pasteries were almost too cute to eat. Everything tasted wonderful. While I can usually eat well with chopsticks it was a little challenging tying to eat the tofu dish! I have to say we would probably eat less at a meal if we ate them all with chopsticks, it certainly slows down the speed of eating!
Stay tuned for more highlights!
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