Making Chinese fried noodles

Date: 2012.05.11 | Category: Chinese Food, Me | Response: 7

My Chinese boyfriend is usually the cook in our house and he can even make a few Finnish dishes as well! But sometimes (when he isn’t at home) I’ll cook my self too. Recently I’ve been making a lot of fried noodles, which is an easy, but tasty meal. And cheap! Just few RMBs.

Cooking this dish takes only 10 to 15 minutes. I noticed that after coming to China and especially recently I’ve been eating much less meat. I make my noodles with onion, paprika and cabbage. I also love tofu, so often there isn’t a need to have a meat dish. And if there is meat, it’s usually just for the taste in a form of few slices in a dish.

Cooking at home is great for someone in a student budget like me. The cost of this dish per one person is about 2RMB which is 0,24EUR or 0,32USD. For few slices of pork I would need to add 2-4RMB.

These are the prices when you buy your vegetables and meat from outside markets. It might not be the most hygienic, but I’ve never got any problems even after eating meat that has been on the table on the heat for hours.

I’m sure there are much better cooks among my readers, right?

Sara’s Mandarin Monday: 吃惯中国菜吗？

Date: 2012.03.05 | Category: Chinese Food, Mandarin Monday (中文博文) | Response: 9

有的人是为了活着而吃饭，但中国人是为了吃饭而活着。跟他们见面的时候他们会问“吃饭了没有？”。来中国之前我以为“吃饭了没有？”这句话不是真的，怎么会用这样的话来问别人他们怎么样？但是来到广州后我发现了，这个就是真的(真的是这样)！

中国人对吃的东西特别感兴趣。他们常常问我有没有吃惯中国菜，其实这个问题很难回答。什么是中国菜？在芬兰中国餐厅的菜跟真真(真正)的中国菜完全不一样。在中国每个地方每个民族(都)有他们的特色菜，所以回答不了这样的问题。那我吃惯了粤菜呢(那我吃惯了粤菜了吗)？我不好意思地告诉你们，我还不太清楚粤菜包括那些菜。

广东人什么都能吃，比如说狗肉是很容易找到的(比如说狗肉是很容易找的到) （猫肉我没看到）。他们认为没有一个动物比别的动物重要(, 所有的动物都是平等的)，如果我们能吃牛肉那为什么不能吃狗肉呢？(所以)从我的家走路不到五分钟，就可以找到卖狗肉的餐厅。我自己狗肉吃过两次，第一次是在阳江，跟我男朋友的家里人见面的时候，那时候他们带我去狗肉饭馆。可能他们想试一试这个老外是谁呢！第二次也是在阳江，我跟男朋友和两个芬兰朋友旅游时，男朋友问那些芬兰人想吃什么，他们回答“随便”后，我的男朋友带我们去吃狗肉火锅。

芬兰菜和中国菜完全不一样，中国人会觉得芬兰菜没有什么味道！在芬兰我们一般一次吃一个(道)菜（可能也有沙拉），不是跟中国那么丰富(不过不像中国菜那么丰富)。如果你想尝一尝芬兰菜怎么样，那你可以去IKEA吃土豆和牛肉丸，那个(样)瑞典菜跟我们差不多。有味道吗？

Life in China is as adventurous as going to the supermarket

Date: 2011.07.15 | Category: Chinese Food, Everyday adventures, Life Abroad | Response: 27

Life in China is full of surprises and adventure. Even when you visit the French supermarket Carrefour and head to it’s meat section. It’s not problem if you’re not sure what to cook or which ingredients fit together. You can just pick one ideal-meal-package that includes all the meat and vegetables you need! In Finland we would just choose a ready made macaroni casserole and eat it with ketchup. So boring!

In Finland there’s a growing demand to avoid food additives and eat less processed food. More and more people want to know what they are actually eating. In China finding out is easy because even in Carrefour you can have a close look what kind of duck is it that you are planning on buying.  In Finland we would just google it.

I’m not an expert, but then there’s something I’m not sure is it for humans or for animals. I am sure that my cat Lucy would love to try her teeth on this juicy piece of meat, but I wouldn’t be too thrilled to share (I mean she can eat it all by herself!). It feels strange that there aren’t any covers for the fridge-kind-of-thing. It must waste a lot of energy.

The best part is something I can’t share with you through a blog. You have to experience it yourself. Go to the middle of the meat section in any store or supermarket or just a market in China and breathe. Breathe through your nose to be exact. You will know what I’m talking about.

Am I exaggerating? Tell you the truth I have no idea how are the supermarkets in the States, in France or in Malaysia. If you have a supermarket story on your blog (no matter from where) please share the link in the comments!

From Thursday noon until Friday evening I spent in Hong Kong and learned a lot. 1. Digital cameras aren’t cheaper there. 2. When someone knows English, there’s is more ways to fool you. 3. Some rules you can bend, but not the ones you really want. More about my Hong Kong trip will be posted  during the following days!

My favourite dishes in China

Date: 2010.09.04 | Category: Chinese Food | Response: 5

菠萝牛肉

The first dish usually goes quickly.

Pineapple and Beef.

牛肉炒面

It’s a battle. Rice or noodles? This time my favourite won.

Fried noodles with beef.

酸辣大白菜

In Chinese it’s called big white vegetable.

Sour and spicy Chinese cabbage.

宫保鸡丁

I think the chef almost forgot the nuts.

Kung pao chicken (spicy diced chicken).

What are your favourite Chinese dishes?

Chinese food I enjoyed during my 5 week trip in China

Date: 2010.06.21 | Category: Chinese Food | Response: 0

Still an adventure. In my first week in Beijing I thought

that 20元 (20CNY is about 2,3 euros) is an extremely

good price for a meal.

Soon I found out that I can get a simple meal for 5元.

That’s only 60 cents.

The best food is usually found where there’s no

English menu. Just step off from the main street

and head to where locals eat. If you’re lucky they have

pictures and you can point. If not, then look what they are

eating around you. One dish is around 20元.

If you have a bunch of friends look for a hot potplace.

At best it is messy, loud and delicious.

Be careful if you order the spicy soup in Sichuan!

In China I have eaten the best and the worst food.

My mom should be proud because all those strange green

things have been coming to my bowl!

I have also eaten calamari, pig’s stomach and dog.