Can you say Kung Pao?

Two weeks in Beijing made me realize that for those of you foodies, this may not be the city or country for you. The answer to that age old question - "is it like the Chinese food we have here" is YES. i was shocked (and disappaointed). The vast majority of the food in Beijing is very similar to our American Chinese food - a little less soy and a little more veggies in cornstarch sauce or pickling juice. The clearest demonstration of this you ask? Kung Pao is indeed exactly like we have it here and on the menu at every restaurant, and no, I didn't even go near the tourist restaurants - I was there for buisness afterall.

That being said, I did manage to venture out and find some unique (and sometimes tasty) bits:

Fish soup: for this, you pick a fish (and by that i mean you point to one in a tank and they take it out and strip it for you at the side of the table) and they put it in with many herbs. What I liked best about this dish is they use Chinese Peppercorns, which look a lot like typical peppercorns, but are within the Opium family, so when you eat them, first your mouth goes numb and then as you digest, your entire body gets a fabulous dose of what i would call superman strength aspririn (or vicadin).

Street food: two main streets are lined with street vendors, who for the most part have skewers of meat and fish that they put dry spice on and grill quickly, although some fruit does exist as well. I tried 4 skewers: Octopus, Lamb, Beetles, and Fruit and 2 dishes: fried egg on sweet potato and pork bun. The Beetles were by far the best.

Peking Duck: I am a self-proclaimed duck lover, but after this trip I have amended this to be a self-proclaimed FRENCH duck lover. Peking Duck was drier than i exepcted and you don't get to relish in the wonders of the fattiness or rarity that makes it so juicy.

Fried Rice & Wontons

After years of watching my grandmother make Chinese food in my kitchen, I was inspired to try and take her knowledge of Chinese flavors and combine that with the needs of my vegetarian friends in order to make something I've never done before. Originally, I was planning on keeping it simple and making one type of wonton, but due to the dietary needs of my dinner companions, I ended up making 3 different types. The good thing about wontons is that they freeze well and you can really put anything you want in them.

Wonton Ingredients:

• Chinese Cabbage (about 3 leaves for 25 wontons)
  
• 1 Large Carrot
• 1 Scallion
• Fresh Ginger (finely chopped should be about 1 tablespoon)
  
• Mushrooms (any type)
• Dash of White Pepper
• Dash of Salt
• 1 Package of Wonton Skins (for vegetarians, some skins come lined with pork so make sure you read the label carefully)
• Vegetable or Corn Oli (enough to cover 2 inches of your pan and about a tablespoon to stirfry)
• Bowl of tap water (about 3 tablespoons)
  

Cooking Instructions:
1. Finely chop scallions, ginger, mushrooms, and cabbage
2. Grate carrot
3. In medium pan, combine above ingredients with 1 tablespoon oil, salt, pepper, and cook for about 3-4 minutes
4. Remove from heat and set aside to cool (about 15 minutes)
5. On dry surface, take wonton skins and lay out about 3 at a time
6. Take a small teaspoon of mixture and place in the center of the wonton skin (this might take time to figure out right amount, but you wanna make sure you don't overstuff skins because they rip easily)
7. Dip your finger lightly in water and run finger along sides of wonton skin. Fold wonton skin over so that you create a triangle. Place a bit of water on the bottom ends of the triangle and fold together.
8. Heat oil in wok or saucepan on medium-high
9. Place wontons (about 4-5 at a time depending on size of the pan) in oil and let cook until outside is golden brown (about 2 minutes).

(I also made a shrimp and mushroom version of the wontons. About 4-5 cooked shrimp can be chopped and added into the recipe for about 20-25 wontons)

Fried Rice Ingredients:

• About 2 cups cooked rice (brown or white rice is fine)
• About 2 handfuls of green beans
• 2 eggs
• 1 Scallion
• 1 handful of broccoli floretts
• Dash of salt
• 1/4 White onion
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
• A few dashes of light soy sauce

Cooking Instructions:
1. Cook rice according to package instructions and set aside
2. Chop green beans in half
3. Cut broccoli into bite-sized pieces
4. Finely chop scallions and white onion
5. Heat wok or saucepan with olive oil and garlic.
6. Break eggs into pan and scramble
7. Add green beans, broccoli, onions, scallions
8. Cook for about 3 minutes and then add cooked rice to pan
9. Stir all ingredients together and add a few dashes of soy sauce (add soy sauce so that rice is an even light brown color)
10. Add salt to taste

(I served the wontons as an appetizer, so I bought vegetarian egg rolls to accompany the rice.)