Now that I’m back in the U.S., one of the things I miss most about my two-year stint in Beijing is a spicy Sichuan hot pot meal. I miss the warm restaurants we’d walk into in the fall and winter. My frozen fingers would immediately thaw in the presence of dozens of bubbling, steaming pots
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Life & Travel
Fall is officially in full swing. As I was driving to the grocery store today, I noticed that the leaves on the trees had already begun to change. When I got to said grocery store, there was a huge bin full of on-sale pumpkins outside the entrance, bags of Halloween candy on display by the
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General Tso’s Cauliflower is a delicious alternative to classic Chinese takeout General Tso’s Chicken. It’s crispy, super tasty, and might just be better than the chicken version! Cauliflower: A Great Vegetarian Stand-In We were starting to think cauliflower recipes were beginning to go out of style, or perhaps that people had exhausted all of the
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At dim sum houses, the server with the steamed crystal shrimp dumplings, commonly known as “xia jiao” or “har gow” in Cantonese, is always the most popular person on the floor. I’ll even dare to stick my neck out and claim that har gow might be the #1 dim sum item of all time. At least, I wouldn’t
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By now, I think Korean food has become mainstream enough that just about everyone who gives a damn about Asian food has eaten a decent bibimbap. I myself always thought that it was a rather complicated dish, what with all those fancy hot stone bowls out there, but the truth is that bibimbap just means
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Sweet, savory, garlicky, and not as spicy as they look, Sichuan spicy wontons (aka Hong You Chao Shou, 紅油抄手, in Mandarin) are a delicious combination of sweet soy sauce, raw garlic, roasted red chili, and a touch of vinegar to balance things out. In the U.S., we’re in the midst of a huge explosion in the
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If you’re dim sum brunch veterans like we are, you’ve probably had all the usual dumplings, buns, and rice and noodle dishes (Cantonese soy sauce pan fried noodles, anyone?). Over the course of your weekend indulgences, you’ve probably started looking for new dishes you haven’t tried before–perhaps you’ve had a chance to sample fried duck tongue
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Rice. The ultimate side dish. A versatile accompaniment to everything from stir-fries to stews. One of the most important staple foods in China and the world over, and the one (very large) barrier to me going on a low carb diet. I’ve known how to make rice since I was in the second grade. I
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