Wednesday, May 5th, 2010
I think the four marketing points say, “I’m American. I’m white. I’m cool… I’m Todd.”
Who would want to study from a guy named Todd, anyways!? (Hopefully I don’t have any readers named Todd.)
Category China, Chinese Caption Contest, General, I Find This Funny | Tags:
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Wednesday, April 28th, 2010
“Without rice, even the cleverest housewife cannot cook.” – Chinese Proverb
I’m no housewife, but oh how I wished I had practiced cooking rice before moving to China! The first few weeks here were brutal without this simple knowledge. My roommate and I and purchased a rice cooker, but I had no idea how to use it. The directions were in Chinese, obviously, and the pictures seemed to also be in another language. Thankfully, I’ve mastered the art of rice cooking and I can now easily make a bowl of mouth-watering rice whenever I feel like it.
My first try, I ended up with a bowl of watery slop. The second try, I overflowed the rice cooker and made a huge mess. I asked a Chinese friend how to use it and they laughed at me and said that rice is the easiest Chinese food to cook! They said to put in a cup of rice and then to add water up to the top of the rice, “just so that all the rice is covered.” That time, I ended up with a disgusting and overcooked hodgepodge.
I turned to my friends in Egypt for help. They told me a simple formula that saved my wannabe cooking life:
The only preparation needed might be to clean the rice. If, like me, you buy the rice from the outdoor market down the street, you might not trust it to be the cleanest rice in the world. Just rinse until the water becomes clear.
(For reference:
Chinese Food 101: Basic Cooking Utensils
Chinese Food 101: Basic Ingredients)
Let’s begin.
1. One Cup of Uncooked Rice
You can’t have cooked rice without uncooked rice… but which came first? The little cup that came with the rice cooker is a little smaller than an American-sized measuring cup, but I’m sure you could use it just the same. Remember to clean the rice if you don’t trust it!
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2. Two Cups of Water
Clean water, please.
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3. Mix in the Rice Cooker
Add both to the rice cooker’s bowl and mix together lightly, allowing the rice granules room to breath and cook evenly. Place back in the rice cooker, push the “cook” button and wait.
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4. A Fresh Bowl of Delicious Rice
15 – 20 minutes later, you should have a refreshing snack! Be sure to have some veggies, soup, or soy sauce ready…
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DK’s Fried Rice will be next, I think.
Category China, Chinese Food 101, Food, General | Tags:
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Friday, April 23rd, 2010
I came across this video the other day and was completely surprised. Is this really the city I live in? True, I haven’t been here during the summer yet, but STILL. Shouldn’t I have seen at least one of these places already? I think this is just good marketing trying to lure unknowing foreigners into its grasp:
http://tianjin.chinadaily.com.cn/m/tianjin/e/2009-06/11/content_8272914.htm
Would you live here?
Category China, Travel | Tags:
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Wednesday, April 14th, 2010
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You know you stand out from the crowd if you get interviewed for a big magazine in town when you haven’t even been here 3 months. Well, that’s what happened to me.
I met one of my good Chinese friends, Jonathan, on the subway. Apparently, he knew I was a foreigner right away. (How could he tell!?) This was back in December and I found out he had just gotten a job at Tomorrow Magazine – “An Extensive Living Guide for Foreigners in Tianjin.” In January, he wanted to interview me. I only found the publication recently.
Here is that interview in its embarrassing entirety:
Daniel Konold, a big boy from Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. Before moving to Tianjin, he worked with computers in support and design. He loves travelling. So far he has been to over 20 countries covering almost all continents on the earth. For leisure time, he likes basketball, American football, and rugby.
1. Why do you choose Tianjin as destination? Actually, I didn’t choose Tianjin, Tianjin chose me! The company I work for places me in different cities around China, and Tianjin happens to be the city they chose for me.
2. How long have you been living in Tianjin? I’ve been living in Tianjin a little over 3 months.
3. What do you do here? Here in Tianjin, I’m an English Teacher and a Web Designer.
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4. Did you feel difficult living in Tianjin when you just arrived, for instance? No, it wasn’t difficult at all to start living here. I think Tianjin is a good transition city with many similar things to my hometown, but still different enough to feel new.
5. How do you like Tianjin? Tianjin is not my favorite city in the world, but it’s a fine city to live in. The public transportation is very easy to use and I can find most food from around the world whenever I feel like it.
6. What do you think about Tianjin locals? Tianjin local people have been very nice to me, personally. Since the first day I arrived, many people have offered to help me move in and find things I’m looking for. No complaints about the locals!
7. By far, what do you think about Tianjin? I think Tianjin is, by far, the biggest city I’ve ever lived in but also small enough to start to call home.
8. When the day that you leave Tianjin comes, what will you miss about this place? Mostly, I will miss the people I’ve met along the way and all the nice Tianjinians who have helped me live here.
9. Tell me something about some interesting personal experiences in this city. One of the most interesting experiences so far was going to the TuanBo Hot Springs on the outskirts of town. I was definitely the only noticeable foreigner in the spa and I got a lot of stares. Dipping into all the different liquids was fascinating and I really felt rejuvenated after the visit.
Category China, General, Travel | Tags:
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Friday, April 2nd, 2010
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This one even has some English and I have no clue what it could mean…
Two questions:
Where can I get one!?
Where can I get another one?
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Wednesday, March 31st, 2010
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If God grants me longer life, I will see to it that no peasant in my kingdom will lack the means to have a chicken in the pot every Sunday.
-Henri IV
There it stood.
That multi-level “western” food flashiness: K. F. C.
I knew I shouldn’t, but its power was too great. I was on my way home and too tired to try and wok it up Chinese-style that night.
Excuses are stinky; I caved.
As I walked into this chain restaurant netherworld, I felt every single eye glaring at me. The place was packed, but I was completely alone in my inner humiliation. The walk to the counter was even more disgraceful. It looked exactly the same as the infamous fast food joint back home and I hadn’t been in a KFC for years.
What was I going to order? How was I going to order it!? These are questions that you think of way too late for impulsive crack moves like this…
The cashier said something in Chinese, which I understood as, “Welcome to KenDeJi, may I take your order?”
I had the fried wonderland at my finger-lickin’ fingertips, but I had no idea what to get. I quickly composed myself and a Chinese sentence, “I want a chicken hamburger.” (That was the only food I could translate at the time. If I had said, “chicken fingers,” I’m afraid they may have gone the literal route.)
The young lady didn’t have time for my poor Mandarin. She immediately handed me a full-page menu with color photographs and pointed at which “chicken hamburger” I really wanted. Honestly, none of them looked appetizing. Under so much pressure, I just randomly picked one. Note to self: never randomly pick one at KFC.
In total, my meal was about 35RMB, the same price I’d pay for many dishes of delicious Chinese cuisine. The sandwich was tiny. The meat was dark. And they only gave me a small napkin and one little ketchup packet, which I was warned about.
As I sat and ate this pitiful meal, I had lots of time to reflect… friends don’t let friends eat at KFC. Period.
Shame.
Heartburn.
More shame.
(It’s been almost 6 months, though… that ain’t too bad, right?)
Category China, Food, General | Tags:
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