All Posts
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Below, view all our posts in chronological order, starting with the most recent. To browse recipes by category, course, or collection, visit our Recipe Index. Also be sure to check out our How-To section and Chinese Ingredients Glossary.
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Tropical Fruit: How Do You Eat These Things?
Updated:View Post: Tropical Fruit: How Do You Eat These Things?I’d never had a mangosteen until I came to China. I had no idea what it was, what it tasted like, or how to even eat it. Last year, during my first summer in Beijing, one of my colleagues at work…
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Easy Scallion and Ginger Shrimp Stir Fry
Updated:View Post: Easy Scallion and Ginger Shrimp Stir FryThis scallion and ginger shrimp dish is one of our favorite ways to prepare shrimp, and seafood in general. The combination of scallion and ginger in a hot wok really can’t be beat. Make sure your heat is pretty high for…
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Confessions of a 22-Year-Old Suburban Domestic (i.e. What the HECK Am I Doing in the Suburbs?!)
Updated:View Post: Confessions of a 22-Year-Old Suburban Domestic (i.e. What the HECK Am I Doing in the Suburbs?!)Hi all. So you may have heard from our About page, not to mention that little blurbidy-blurb down there at the bottom of this here page that I recently graduated from college and now find myself in a…confused sort of…
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Gambling On Rocks?
Updated:View Post: Gambling On Rocks?Chinese people love rocks. It’s also a well-known fact that Chinese people love gambling. (I hate losing so I don’t really gamble; my limit is maybe $20 at the slot machine and it’s never lasted more than 10 minutes.) If…
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Chinese Lesson: Drinking Tea
Updated:View Post: Chinese Lesson: Drinking TeaSo previously, we discussed how to use Chinese to reference beverages of an…alcoholic nature. Well if that’s not your thing, then we’ve got the next best one, at least in China. Tea. Natch. 喝茶 Pinyin (i.e. the transcription of…
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Summer Berry Pie
Updated:View Post: Summer Berry PieThis past 4th of July weekend, blueberries were on sale at 6 pints for about $7. Which can only mean one thing: pie. It’s one of the best things about summer. In the fall, you’ve got apple, pumpkin, sweet potato,…
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Stir Fried Fava Beans with Szechuan Peppercorns
Updated:View Post: Stir Fried Fava Beans with Szechuan PeppercornsIf you like fava beans (and not everyone in this family does… *i.e. Sarah*), then you will probably very much enjoy this Stir Fried Fava Beans dish. Fresh fava beans will cook faster than ones that have been frozen, so…
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From NJ To Finland To Beijing
Updated:View Post: From NJ To Finland To BeijingAfter a week at home in the States, I had the unique opportunity to visit Finland on business during the week of the summer solstice. The Finns value their summers, and I can see why, especially after living in Beijing for…
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Delirious At Dinnertime
Updated:View Post: Delirious At DinnertimeI decided to pause from my salad kick and make one of the most heavenly foods ever conceived: spaghetti and meatballs. Er…penne and meatballs (it doesn’t have the same ring to it, but I didn’t have any spaghetti on hand).…
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FINALLY, A CLEAR DAY!
Updated:View Post: FINALLY, A CLEAR DAY!Look at that sky! It may not seem like much to celebrate, but have you seen this?
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Sparkling Strawberry Oolong Arnold Palmer
Updated:View Post: Sparkling Strawberry Oolong Arnold PalmerThe name is a doozy, I’ll give you that. I debated whether or not I should shorten it, but really, this is the only name that does this drink justice. It’s an Arnold Palmer, which means it’s a mixture of…
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TUNXI ANCIENT STREET
Updated:View Post: TUNXI ANCIENT STREETAfter our Huang Shan stairmaster-esque climb and comparatively more relaxing mountain descent, we couldn’t leave the area without taking a look at Tunxi Ancient Street, which is a pedestrian walkway that dates back over a thousand years. There are shops…
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Jake
Updated:View Post: JakeToday, I’m writing a post about our dog Jake, because today is his 13th birthday. We got him when I was 10 years old, which is so weird to think about. When he was young, he was a right psycho…chewing…
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Chinese Lesson: Tones Explained
Updated:View Post: Chinese Lesson: Tones ExplainedOkay, so today: A word on Chinese tones. Thus far in these Chinese Lesson posts, you may have seen these little numbers that I’m putting next to the pinyin of each word. What’s up with that? Well, each number (from…
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The Downsides to Living In Beijing
Updated:View Post: The Downsides to Living In BeijingThis is what Beijing looks like this morning: I was supposed to go with Bill to a TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) appointment (for his back pain), but I decided not to go. Why should two people breathe this stuff in when one…
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Chinese Lesson: Finding Drinking Buddies
Updated:View Post: Chinese Lesson: Finding Drinking BuddiesThis back alley Beijing place apparently has some fxxking good mojitos. Also, the coordination of Kaitlin’s shirt in this picture is completely by accident. So what do you say to get some of your new Chinese friends to go out…
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Kaitlin’s Special Noodles (Ground Pork Lo Mein)
Updated:View Post: Kaitlin’s Special Noodles (Ground Pork Lo Mein)This recipe is Kaitlin’s invention, whipped up on a rainy afternoon in Beijing from a few ingredients that we had on hand. Made with lo mein noodles, these special noodles are spicy and incredibly flavorful, and we all bowed down…
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1 Day, 4 People, 4 Directions
Updated:View Post: 1 Day, 4 People, 4 DirectionsSo this past week, we found ourselves back in Jersey for a week of relaxation, visiting with family, and a lot of cooking and/or eating. We took the time to have our grandparents come over, visit my mom’s cousins, go…
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We’re Sarah, Kaitlin, Judy, and Bill– a family of four cooks sharing our home-cooked and restaurant-style recipes.
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