I bought a bag of Sichuan peppercorns on a trip back to the US a few months ago, and last night I put them to the test. We’ve been craving real GongBao JiDing since we left China, so it was time to give it a try. I found a recipe online that looked promising and [...]
…Or at least let them die in peace? There was an article in the English version of one of the Norwegian newspapers today. Apparently their food editor was actually charged with animal cruelty for boiling crabs! Granted, dropping shellfish into boiling water is not my cup of tea, but isn’t animal cruelty charges taking it [...]
I wrote a post a few weeks ago about how I was glad to be watching the new Pirates of the Caribbean here in Norway, where it would be safe and untouched by the Chinese censors. This came up again, as the film release just hit Chinese cinemas last week. In line with the release [...]
In honor of the opening of Pirates of the Caribbean III today, I’d just like to say that one of the silly things I like about living in Oslo is that I’ll get to see all 165 minutes of the movie. We won’t see it today, partly because we have to pack for a brutally [...]
Gōngbǎojīdīng (宫保鸡丁)- the dish that anyone who’s ever lived in China knows (and probably loves)! Known as “Kung Pao Chicken” in the west, this spicy Sichuan dish is a favorite among ex-pats, although I never really figured out why. While it is tasty, I sometimes wonder if its popularity is due partly to the facts [...]
I was organizing some files today, and I found a small collection of amusing things that I saved from China and never got around to posting. For example, this was a page of China Daily that made me laugh when I first saw it. This is a good example of why newspaper layout people are [...]
When I was growing up, Meg wasn’t all that common a name in the US. There were plenty of Megans but not a lot of Megs. I used to have to explain that it was “Just Meg. No ‘an.’” And all those little pseudo-personalized knick-knacks you love as a kid like bicycle license plates and [...]
If you’ve ever played The Sims™, you know that according to the Sim law of appliance maintenance that a basic shower or bathtub will break down approximately every 5 days and flood the bathroom floor. I always thought this floor flooding was a little extreme and was introduced simply as a very clear visual cue [...]
Every year when the Oscar nominees are announced, there’s that tiny bit of regret that you’re not cultured enough to have seen all of the major nominees. After all, these are films that show particularly artistic merit and value, and having already chosen to see them reflects good taste, right? Living in Austin, thanks to [...]
Beijing Drivers Even the best city planning would be put to the test by the current auto market in Beijing. One statistic claims that an average of 1,000 new cars hit the city streets each day! As automobile companies lower their prices, more and more Beijing-ren can afford to forgo public transportation and drive themselves. [...]