Eating Hot Pot as a Social Event to Share and Enjoy

We Chinese Fancy "Hot Pot", which is a famous representative of Chinese food and eating culture.

Wherever you find Chinese people, you'll find them enjoying "hot pot." It is popular everywhere in the Chinese world, from Beijing to Canton and from Western China to Taiwan. It can also found in overseas Chinese communities all over the world. Hot pot has been popular in Korea and Japan, as well.

Hot pot is kind of simple enough to prepare, you just need a big boiler and soup, the key is to prepare all the vegetables and meat ready and clean for the hot pot. Nowadays, people often use induction cooker, which is very convienient to use and quite fit the hot pot style of eating. The basic soup in the hot pot had better to be bone soup or chicken soup to make it most nutrient and tasty, or you can just put ordinary water and then add some hot pot sause, which has lots of options in the supermarkets.

Almost any kind of food can be used to make hot pot--all kinds meats and vegetables are used. Also, tofu and noodles and other special foods can be added. The soup may become even delicious after all the different stuff has been put into it. I like tofu and bamboo shoot the best, and as to meat, I prefer mutton slice meat.

Eating hot pot is not just about the kind of food or a method of cooking. Eating hot pot is an expericence to be favored. It is best enjoyed as a social event, in the company of friends and family. Eating hot pot together builds friendships as people share the cooking and eating of the food. In other words, good company is another of the " ingredients" in hot pot.

Chinese Overview: 吃火锅吃的也是一种感情和气氛

In a Perfect World of Chocolate Fantasy

Forrest Gump: My momma always said, "Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get."

Soon will comes the Valentine's day to send gift chocolate to your loved ones. No one could resist the flavor, the smell of it.

The Chocholate Song for you

When you feel like you're hung over,But you didn't drink last night,And your eyes are like a road map,And your underwear feels tight;Gravity seems to multiply,And your organs are on strike,You're in sudden-death overtime,And the wheels are off your bike.

You need some chocolate,Soft creamy chocolate,Some chocolate ice cream,And chocolate mousse... mousse... mousse...Some chocolate cheesecake,Bavarian chocolate,Bring on the chocolate,We need a boost!We need a boost!

Now, they say it gives us pimples, it's addictive and it stains,It makes us fat and hyper, and clogs up all our veins;It puts migraines in our noggins, and it's worse than cigarettes,But all those things are easier than having a chocolate fit.Now there's lots of medical evidence to support our point of view,It's not all psychological, good news for me and you;It affects our seratonin, which reduces aches and pains,And does all kinds of cool things to the chemistry of our brains.

Chinese Overview：阿甘：生命就像一盒巧克力，充满未知！

The First Cup of Water in The Morning is Crucial

Good habits keeps our health in the long run, the key is perseverance, today my life perserving suggestion concernes a water drinking habit, that is, you'd better drink a cup of water every morning when you wake up, cause it's extremely crucial for your body health.

It supplements water for you body. You body really lost a lot of water during the long night through metabolism.

It prevents constipation feeling, since the first water wash your empty stomach and relieve the harm to it, to keep it the perfect shap and function for a brand new day.

The first cup of water is also good for the braind refreshment, it's said that the first water would do something to the blood, promotesblood circulation, to give you a refleshed brain.

Besides; for the women, you need to cultivate this habit since it really can do emination of toxicant stuff and good for face care. All you should remember is that the first cup of water needed to be taken when you are are with empty stomach, and taken slowly, because speedy drinking may do harm, may cause vomit. Then you gotta take notice that the water should be warm not hot or cold to relieve the stimulate to the stomach.

Chinese Overview: 早餐第一杯水是救命水

Eat Alone not as Bad as You Thought

Lonely when you are alone, eating alone, take a walk alone, tasty the loneniness alone.

There must be a time when you are along, when the family is not around, so what about the dinner.

When it comes dinner by yourself, don't always give it a random eat. You could treat yourself better by having a great dinner yourself.

Add some grape wines would be nice and music is also good to add the feeling and tone when you are eating alone.

Are you a sensative and smart lady that manage to live your lonely dinner day full of tones ?

Chinese Overview: 一个人吃饭，一个人漫步，一个人尝试着寂寞，一个人懂得了孤独的滋味。

Eat More Mushrooms as You Could

Mushrooms if cooked in Chinease way into yummy dish, it would tast like heaven.

Whether it's been fryed with vegetables or made into soup with chicken, the finest cookers would made it taste similar to the most expensive fish, or exceed its flavor with its unique flavor words hard to describe.

You would feel so lucky if you are tasting the wild wild mushrooms, happiness is so easy to reach then. You could eat as much of it as you could since it's so good for your health.

Antioxidants

Mushrooms contain antioxidants, the Zena-Warriors in the fight against diseases like cancer and heart disease. The antioxidant specific to mushrooms is called l-ergothioneine. Shiitake, maitake and oyster have the highest levels of this powerful antioxidant followed by portobello and crimini and then white or button mushrooms following.

Immune System

Mushrooms contain beta-glucans, a complex carbohydrate glucose molecule or polysaccharide, which is a type of soluble fibre. These appear to not only have anti-inflammatory qualities but they can help rev up your immune system by creating disease fighting T-cells. With the flu season here we need all the help we can get. Wash your hands often, eat lots of fruits and veggies, and eat mushrooms regularly.

Chinese Overview： 野生菌菇，天堂般的感觉

Smile at 2009 New Kitchen Adventure

Everthing got a new start for 2009, so does my life in the kitchen.

Life's beauty requires a sensative eyes to catch with, so don't let those little magic passing around you with no record.

I need to continuously refresh the food recipe that I followed and make any better changes possible thus to make life full of surprise and joy. Life needs change once in a while.

I would also choose kitchenware that with cute designs, which can pass me great mood when cooking.

Food, Clothing, Housing, Playing

That's the four basic elements which makes our life. Food is the most important things of all. So if you can learn yourself a good skill of cooking, then so lucky for you and your families since you can enjoy life everyday, happiness is so close to you with those yummy food you made.

Love your kitchen, love your family, love your life.

Chinese Overview: 充满爱，充满期待，开始2009的味蕾之旅吧

Bright Lemon for The Refreshment

I love lemon a lot. Lemon drink is the most refreshing drink.

Remember Fool's Garden's famous single "Lemon Tree" ? Classic, Let's flavor it again.

I'm sitting here in the boring room,
It's just another rainy Sunday afternoon
I'm wasting my time, I got nothing to do,
I'm hanging around, I'm waiting for you
But nothing ever happens and I wonder
I'm driving around in my car, I'm driving too fast,
I'm driving too far
I'd like to change my point of view
I feel so lonely, I'm waiting for you
But nothing ever happens and I wonder I wonder how

I wonder whyYesterday you told me 'bout the blue blue skyAnd all that I can see is just a yellow lemon-tree
I'm turning my head up and down, I'm turning turning turning turning turning around,
And all that I can see is just another lemon-tree

I'm sitting hereI miss the power
I'd like to go out taking a shower
But there's a heavy cloud inside my headI feel so tired
Put myself into bed

Well, nothing ever happens and I wonder
Isolation is not good for me Isolation
I don't want to sit on the lemon-tree
I'm steppin' around in the desert of joyBaby anyhow
I'll get another toyAnd everything will happen and you wonderI wonder how
I wonder whyYesterday you told me 'bout the blue blue skyAnd all that I can see is just another lemon-tree

Chinese Overview：柠檬，柠檬，充满清新的幻想

Feelings about Eating When Travelling in America

I translated some life record about one Chinese men travelling in America, mainly concerning how he feels about the food culture. Very funny, keep reading:

I find what they are eating quite werid, ometimes cold, sometimes really hot, give me no time to prepare.

It seems that they can't live without ice cake, Since even the hallway in some ordinary restarants would have a spot for taking ice block.

Food must go with all kinds of strange sauce, Pretty ugly, it's just piles and piles of food, with no appealing appearance and seperate characteristics. And the flavor is very ambigulous and unclear to me, after seen them piling together.

When going to the surpermakets, I would feel they eat quite..... How should I say, It's just nearly every kind of food would be added with some other stuff, For example, the milk would got some SKU, VE, VB, VD or calcium, whatever, it needs to put something in. So does the water.

As to the eggs, it seems pretty funny to me. The eggs were put into a paper box, and it's said to be no longer containing any fat, or any unwanted stuff, even some of them are without yolk. I joke that maybe after the next generation, the Americans would have no idear as to what exactly does Eggs look like. Pretty funny.

Anyway, I would just stick to Chinese dish after putting up all that.

I have to clarify that Haagen-Dazs is great in America, and it seems to be the most anticipated moment when having dish in America.

Chinese Overview: 正如美国人视我们的火锅为洪水猛兽，我们也不能理解为何他们需要那么多的酱

Apple Love - Fruits of God

I'm into apple, acturally, I like all the fruit there with beautiful colors, I chose apple as my typle of food since I eat them most often :) I feel so lucky that I natured the habit of having one apple eveyday.

Apples are sweet, juicy and delicious. The apple is a popular fruit that has been an important character in many myths and folklore throughout the ages. It is probably best known as the fruit that Eve ate from in the Biblical story of Adam, Eve and the serpent in the Garden of Eden.


The apple has been known as the Fruit of the Gods and the Fruit of the Underworld. It has also been known as a symbol of immortality. In some Wiccan traditions the apple is considered to be a symbol of the soul.

I like apples and oranges. Apples and oranges are so sweet . Apples and oranges are good to eat.
I like apples and oranges.
Orange juice is so sweet, Apple sauce is fun to eat,


Apple pie with ice cream -- what a tasty treat.


Chinese Overview: 水果之王 - 苹果

Flu Diet to Help You Fighting with Cold

While initially most people don’t want to eat when they have the flu, during their recuperation (which may be just a day or two or up to two weeks), healthy foods can help the body detoxify itself for a speedier recovery. While eating should not be forced, certain foods can be beneficial, such as:

Warm broth is a healthy flu food.
Fresh fruit juice (not heavily sweetened)
Unsweetened applesauce
Broth
Baked or broiled fish (only mildly seasoned)
Baked, roasted, or broiled chicken (skinless) Soups, especially chicken or vegetable soup
Citrus fruits

Green Tea
Green tea contains epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) which is an immune-boosting chemical. To get the most health benefits from it, steep tea in boiling water for about 4 minutes. If you don’t like green tea on its own, try adding fresh ginger, fresh mint leaves, a twist of orange peel, or a cinnamon stick. It is also important to make sure to drink at least 3 cups of green tea per day to keep your immune system up.

Garlic
Regular garlic consumption may make us 2.5 times less likely to get sick this season. The sulfur compounds in garlic have been shown to kill viruses. Fresh garlic has more immune-boosting potential than cooked, so add a clove of fresh garlic at the end of cooking your dish.

Chinese Overview: 如果从预防的角度来看，大蒜真的不错

More Chewing, More Healthy When You Eating

We all know we should eat slowly and chew our food properly, so why is it do difficult to remember to do it? Long-established habit rides roughshod over the best of intentions, and before you know it, you are gulping your food down again.

Maybe you lead a very rushed life and find you have to eat 'on the go', but rushing your food and not chewing enough can cause indigestion and worsen conditions like IBS. And what's more, eating too quickly can also make you fatter!

Digestion.

Eating slowly and chewing properly improves your digestion. It is well known that digestion begins in the mouth. The more we chew our foods, the easier it is to digest them.

Why you should slow down at the dinner table...

It takes around 20 minutes for the stomach to register being full so taking a break in between courses is advised
Experts suggest chewing a mouthful 20 times before swallowing saying that the longer you chew, the fuller you'll feel

Chewing breaks down food molecules and saliva begins the digestion process
Being preoccupied with TV or reading while you're eating prevents the signals about the food reaching your brain
Don't talk and eat at the same time as swallowing air impedes digestion

Professor Iso also said, "If you eat slowly then there is some feedback from the brain that this is enough, and this helps stop you eating before you are full".

We've always been told to chew our food properly, eat slowly and not to watch TV at the dinner table — maybe we should start to listen!

Chinese Overview: 多嚼几口吧，特别是美味的东西

Slow and Relaxed Eating Benifits Your Health

An increasing number of books advise eating slowly - but what evidence is there to back this advice? Finally a small study has shown that eating slowly really can lead to reduced caloric intake and an increased sense of fullness.

Regardless of calorie intake - I find that if you eat slower you tend to really taste the food (obviously) and hopefully enjoy it a lot more.

Fast eating makes you fat

When you eat, it takes time for 'fullness' or 'satiety' signals to travel to your brain. If you rush your food you will eat much more before these signals kick in, resulting in your consuming more food than you need. So by just slowing down when you eat you can mange your weight better not to mention actually being able to enjoy your food more.

Digestion begins in the mouth

The digestion of carbohydrate actually begins in your mouth, and then continues in your small intestine. Protein is digested mainly in your stomach. When you chew, your stomach is sent messages about what is on its way and so can prepare the correct enzymes. So eating slowly and chewing properly improves your digestion in many ways.

Such behaviours usually develop in childhood, they say, and therefore clinicians need to inform parents on how to promote healthy eating strategies such as serving appropriate meal sizes, eating in a non-distracting environment, eating with an adult and role-modelling slow and relaxed eating.

Chinese Overview: 生活节奏快了，导致我们吃饭也象赶集似的，但是，为了你的健康，请放慢吃饭的节奏

Treat Youself with Amazing Tea Time

Working so hard for the past few days, so you gotta a reason to buy yourself something luxury, something you wanted so long to give yourself a little extra bonus, for me, it's a classic shaped tea set, made in China porcelain, very fine quality porcelain that made me love at first sight.

The table cover along with this tea set is so beautiful too, the color, the patter, so in shape and perfectly fit together as a whole.

It really makes my relax time more enjoyable with a cup of green tea, instead of regular coffee, in fact, green tea got many benifits more than coffee, so giving yourself a great tea time once in a while is a great idea and healthy lifestyles too.


With all thease tea gadgets ready, what left with you is the tea making skill, the culture in it and the feeling. It's not jut simple as putting a few tea leaves there and add water, it's more than that, so why not learn more about Chinease tea culture, to understand the tone with all this style and feeling, all the tea set design, to enjoy better the green tea.


Chinese Overview：放松一下自己的身心，享受一下中国的茶文化吧，茶具也要小小的专业一下

Rice Porridge with Vegetables

Tipical Chinease Breakfast there it is

For many families in Asia, a typical day begins with a bowl of jook, or rice porridge. Oftentimes, vendors with pots suspended from the ends of bamboo poles haul the hot meal right to the front door.

Although rice porridge comes from humble beginnings, today it is served with a variety of exotic toppings, ranging from sliced raw fish (as here) to thousand-year eggs, or bite-size balls of ground fish or meat.

It's especially good for the sick ones, in case you catch the flu, you could add some ginger in it, which could improve your condition, yup, sounds magic, but it's true.

The water quantity that added when boiling this rice porridge is depending on you. It needs time, at least half hours, so you could get a little ealier to prepare this, but it would gonna deserve it.

So not with too much oily stuff in the morning and there is vegetables and water, very healthy and great for breakfast, you could also add one egg to the recipe.

Chinese Overview: 菜粥，很中国的，喜欢这样清新的早餐，生病的话，放点生姜，胜过良药哦

No Two Pepper Looks Exactly the Same in Your Garden :)

As the old saying goes: " there is not two leaves that looks exactly the same in the world."

So does pepper, there is not two pepper that looks exactly the same in your garden. :)

Very funny and cute shot there, those pepper all comes from the same garden, so it can tell that the garden hides many magic and funny things to itself, it needs your discovery.

When you plant those vegetables in your garden, it's a very interesting thing to watch them grow day by day. There comes the most exciting moment when you go to pick them for your dish. You could come across such beautiful and funny impressions often.

Every little things in the garden can turn out to be a great shot and full of philosophy to life.

Chinese Overview: 花园里不会有两串相同的青椒哦，小小的美，你发现的吗？

Valentines Day Tips from the Wine Critic Susan Sterling

Some part of the conversations which I selected, all concerning wines, which maybe useful to you guys who likes wines.

Susan Sterling tells:

I wanted to talk to you about what men should do to make for a good Valentines Day, specifically with wine selection. Be it for a night at home or a night out on the town. Give me some wines that you would recommend for both situations.

Also how far is too far when it comes to a guy displaying his wine knowledge at a restaurant? I know that many women can appreciate a man who knows the difference between a Shiraz and a glass of Zinfandel but throwing out too much information can make him look pretentious and just kill the night

A little bubbly can go a long way towards making a living room seem like a happening lounge, and you don't have to spend a fortune.Cava, a Spanish sparkling wine, is a great bargain. Segura Viudas and Codorniu are two high-quality, reasonably-priced brands that really deliver value for money. Both come in under $15.From Italy, there is Prosecco, and a personal favourite of mine is Villa Sandi for under $20. If you're feeling a little flusher, you could splash out $24.95 for Trius Brut from the Niagara region. Made from traditional champagne grapes varieties, in the traditional champagne style, this fizz delivers serious bang for your buck. (Pun not intended) All of these options should show up on a wine list, and are sometimes available by the glass, so keep them in mind if you do decide to go out for dinner.

When ordering a bottle of wine in a restaurant, try to keep things simple. Find out what your date is having for dinner, think about what you're having, pick out a dominant flavour, and try to find a wine that can match both reasonably well. (Obviously, this will be challenging if one of you is having Dover sole and the other is having rare steak) When in doubt, ask the server. He or she should know the wines and the menu well enough to make suggestions. In the end, it might be easier for each of you to get a single glass.

Chinese Overview: 老外对于喝酒和品酒都很在意哦，也是男人在餐桌上的炫耀资本

Valentine's Day Wine, What along with Chocolate?

Valentine's Day conjures up images of wine, roses, and chocolates. Yet every year young and old lovers alike are disappointed when they try to pair a Valentine's Day wine with chocolate. Either the chocolate overcomes the wine or the wine overcomes the chocolate.

In the spirit of the holiday, a panel of wine experts share their thoughts on what romantic wine pairs well with Valentine's Day chocolate:


The perfect bottle for such a sweet occasion is Louis Guntrum's Scheurebe. Not only is it a very good white wine but it comes in the quintessentially perfect Valentine presentation of a bright red bottle!

The Scheurebe grape is similar in character to Riesling but perhaps more food friendly. It is the right price at $16.99 to gift along with a lovely box of chocolates.


So, not only does this wine go well with a lovely dinner but it has enough richness but a dry enough finish to pair well with chocolate! This bottle should be on every table of every restaurant on Valentine's day. It brightens up the room and puts a warm smile on every face that sees it.

Chinese Overview: 情人节即将来临，欧洲的情人们习惯消费美酒，咱们中国人也学习一下美酒的知识吧

Aging Wine – Myth and Truth

A commoon question considering aging wine:

"Can you tell me, how do I know how long I can keep a wine? How do you know that a wine will be good 5, 10 or 15 years from now? I have friends that will visit wineries and buy a 1/2 case or more of a wine they like. Then they opened a bottle that is only 3 or 4 years old and they complain that it's not as good as when they first bought it."

Aging Wine – Myth and Truth

It's a myth that all wine will get better with age. There are various factors that contribute to a wine's age-ability. The most common of these would be the presence of tannin, mostly found in intense dry red wines. Tannin is part of the make-up of a wine that gives it the mouthfeel and, in some cases, astringency that needs to soften with age. You may already be familiar with tannin from a strong cup of tea. That dryness left on the tongue after swallowing the tea is actually tannin as tea has a great deal of this component.

Another factor of age-ability is acid level. Acid is its own preservative, and will keep a wine longer than a low acid wine will keep. Other things must be considered before buying some of it to age. If you are in a winery, somebody there should be able to tell you if that wine has the potential to get better. If you are at a place where people are honest, they will tell you that certain of their wines are better if consumed within a year, maybe two, while they hope that others have the potential to age well.

Chinese Overview: 鉴别怎样的酒存放的越久越好

Too Much Strong Coffee, Not So Good

I bet many people have the habit of drinking a cup of coffee in the morning to start your everyday work, right? If you gotta work at night, coffee would be your life straw again to lift your spirits.

So day by day, unconsciously, some people have coffee indulge problem, which would not be so good for your health.

The wisdom of the ancient Chinese proverb "when a thing reaches its extremity, it goes on the reverse course" might be the great convince of it.


Here is an coffee related lyrics, very interesting to share:

Call it obsession, call it fanatical
I am not trying to make this a spectical
But I have this craving that justifies behaving
I really need some of that...
Chorus: Oooh, good coffee, strong coffee
I need to have some Oooh, good coffee, strong coffee
Oh Cappuccino, Double Espresso I need something with a really big kick

You ask me 'bout creamer, you ask me 'bout sugar I tell you those things make me sick! In my...

Chinese Overview：咖啡不要喝太多哦，物极必反 When a thing reaches its extremity, it goes on the reverse course

Your Dining Room Color Choice

Every woman knows dining room is more than just a place where meals is eaten. It's a separate little world that means a lot for any family. It's a place where everybody can gather and talk about future plans, discuss the past day, share news or funny stories.

Psychologists have proved long ago that dinner is the best way to maintain peace and good relationship between family members. Certainly this is impossible in case your dining room is not convenient or cozy. On the other hand, if everyone feels comfortable, even simple meals seems to be much more delicious.

Colors affect our minds, our physiologies, and our social interactions. The colors you choose when decorating a room can have an effect on any occasion that you hold there.


The dining room is a place of delicate social situations that occurs between the most intimate of relationships. By first considering the psychological effects of the following colors, one can help to make the dining room a more relaxing place to eat and gather.

The first thing to consider when choosing a dining rooms colors, are the effects they will have on appetite. The color blue is a well known appetite suppressant. This is because there is very little blue food found in nature. The color blue isn't exactly a weight loss program; it simply causes a slight psychological change that makes people feel less hungry. Avoiding this color will help guests to better enjoy they're meals.

Chinese Overview：餐桌是一个家庭很重要的场所，不光是吃饭的地方，更是交流，分享的地方，所以，这里的设计和色调一定要把握好

How Many Eggs A Day

A dozen eggs stored in the fridge is the most convenient of protein foods, always on hand for a quick omelette, frittata or simple supper of scrambled eggs on toast.

Eggs appeal to all ages from babies to older folk who find them soft and easy to digest. Unfortunately, the good name of the egg has been marred since the '70s, when its cholesterol content gained it a reputation as a trigger for heart disease.

Eggs are incredibly nutritious. They supply every vitamin except vitamin C, as well as a number of key minerals, including selenium, iron and zinc, which are vital for a healthy immune system.

They are a good source of lutein and zeaxanthin, antioxidants that may prevent the loss of eyesight with age. Two medium eggs provide about 13g protein, 10g fat (of which only 3g is saturated), 375mg cholesterol and no carbohydrate or fibre.

With carb diets all the rage these days, it makes one wonder about the health dangers of too much cholesterol in the diet.


Eggs are one of the top offenders when it comes to cholesterol with the USDA recommending that individuals consume not more than one egg per day, and this includes any egg that has been inserted into the recipes we consume throughout the day - eggs that may be hidden.


Chinese Overview：一天到底吃几个蛋合适呢？还是那句话，物极必反！

Tableware Appeal - Not Just a Serving Utensil

Tableware is not a simple serving utensil, it's an very important decor elements for your dining table, especially in certain special ocassions.

Great food deserves amazing tableware to go with it. Fine tableware is a piece of art that please your mood and appetite.

The left picture showcase beatiful bowls with characteristic patterns that may appeals to sombody. It represents a feeling of enthusiam and hospitality to me, and I personally prefer more lowcase designs which contains simple yet elegence feeling.

Chinese Overview: 餐具有时候是一种艺术，让吃饭变得更加有趣。

Tempting Valentine's Day Treats - Ice Creams

Looking for a yummy Valentine's Day dessert? Tired of sending chocholate all the time?

So try ice cream this time.

Ice cream is delicious frozen milk with cream, and it is very sweet. If I eat ice cream, I have nice time and feel relaxed. I associate ice cream with a good feeling. Often I walk with my friends down the street or sit in the sun with them, and we eat ice cream and feel happy.

But since it's cold, some peole such as me would get a stomachache if I got too much of them. It's a pity. So, I just eat a little and enjoy it a lot!

Send the most delectable and temptalicious ice cream sundaes and icy treats to your loved ones. Now summer will soon come, cold winter has passed, we might eat more of this delicious dessert more often now.

Chinese Overview: 冰淇淋不仅是little girls 的幻想，我们都爱。

Happiness in the Bowls - Braised Pork

Just imagine the feeling: The pork is so tender that it melts in your mouth.

Ingredients
One slab of pork belly, about 1 1/2 lbs
One package of Mui Choy
1 tablespoon sugar
few drops of sesame oil
4 tablespoons dark soy sauce
4 tablespoons light soy sauce
few pieces of rock sugar to taste

Instructions
Soak the mui choy for 15 minutes to wash of any sands and salts, squeeze dry and cut into small pieces.
Bring a pot of water to a boil and blanch the whole pork belly for few minutes until it turns white, remove and cut into chunks, about the size of mah jong.
In a large pot, dry fry the mui choy for a few minutes until fragrant. Add the sugar and sesame oil and fry for another few minutes. Add the pork belly and soy sauces and stir fry for a minute or two.

Add enough water and rock sugar and bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium low and cook for 45 minutes.
Switch off the stove and let stand for 30 minutes.
Switch on the stove and bring the stew back to a boil and lower heat to medium low and cook for another 30 minutes. You may adjust the taste of the dish along the way according to your preference.
Switch off the stove and let stand for another 30 minutes.
Skim off the fats.
Serve with steamed rice.

Chinese Overview: 正宗的红烧肉，入口即化，香而不腻. 这道菜讲究文火的应用。

Playing with Cups and Color in the Kitchen

A different color, a different style, a different mood and a different tone.

All the variety just because of the color change. Similar to our life, seasons chage and we change, green spring, red summer, yellow automn, and white winter.

Color makes our life lively and vivid.

Playing with my cups in the kitchen, I began brainstorming, en:)

I'm such a sensative woman that always care about the every little beauty in life and maganify those little magic moments. Plain or spendid, could be both.

Chinese Overview: 一种色调，一种风格，一种心情，一种情调

Serving Ideas for King Corn

Corn is not my main food here in Southeast China, since our place won't be able to grown them, but I think it's a great and healthy food to fill our stomach when I'm hungery yet don't have enought time to cook.
I just put them in the water to boil, don't need any sauce or condiment, I like to eat the nature corn with no extra seasoning or cooking:) So very simple to make.

A Few Quick Serving Ideas:

Eat corn on the cob either just as is or seasoned with a little organic butter, olive oil or flaxseed oil, salt and pepper, nutritional yeast or any other herbs or spices you enjoy.
Healthy cooked corn with green chilis and onions. Served hot, this makes a wonderful side dish.

Enjoy a cold salad with an ancient Incan influence by combining cooked corn kernels, quinoa, tomatoes, green peppers and red kidney beans.

Add corn kernels and diced tomatoes to guacamole to give it extra zing.

Adding corn to soup, whether it chili or chowder, enhances the soup's hardiness, let alone its nutritional profile.

Chinese Overview: 本色玉米，水煮OK，简单当饱

Sausage and Egg Fried Rice

Another tipical chinease food made in one chinease kitchen.

I can't resist the smell, the flavor of it, simple yet yummy.

Few tips for making this dish:

1, Leftover rice: the fresh cooked rice would not achieve this flavor since it contains too many water, keep out the water of the rice, that's the key.

Some delicate restarants even use Carbon fire to drive the water out. That will make the rice tasty more wonderful.

2, Good skill with the chinese large frying pan over a high heat: The frying process need to be quick and wild, maybe move the pan up and down just like the chef would do.

The food flavor all depends on the fire manage

3, Little green Onion is indepensible: little but important, it may add the good smell, unless you are allergic to this, which would be a great pity.

Chinese Overview: 隔夜米，关键在于去除米中水气， 还有，会用中式炒锅吗？美食的关键在于掌握火候！

Lost in Strawberry Thirst

Strawberry is so cute looking and taste like heaven. I want to have some of them everyday, but not possible since they are a bit expensive, really can't afford it everyday.

Now I would come across them in the fruit market everyday, it comes the season to eat them, there would soon be a time when the price going down to the bottom, then I would eat much of them as I can to fill my long restrained thirst for it:)
I wonder if I can plant them in my garden, I told my mum about this, but it turns out to be a joke, because it's not a city to grow strawberries here.

I would not rattle about their huge benifets here, everybody know it. Strawberry even got some magic functions as to fight cancer DNA according to some sayings.

They are so delicate, strawberries squash easily. So everytime I bought them, be most careful. Remember Strawberry cannot be frozen. It's better to eat the fresh ones, enjoy every sake of it.

Nice red color and in heart shape, it's also a great gift to send to girls in the upcoming Valentine's day.:)

Chinese Overview：草莓的美味和保健功能地球人都知道，马上就要到吃草莓的季节了，赶快行动阿！

Cute Dumplings Inspiration for Lantern Festival

The 15th day of the 1st lunar month is the Chinese Lantern Festival because the first lunar month is called yuan-month and in the ancient times people called night Xiao.

The 15th day is the first night to see a full moon. Historical celebrating this holiday would be like: there should be thousands of colorful lanterns hung out for people to appreciate. At this time, people will try to solve the puzzles on the lanterns and eat yuanxiao (glutinous rice ball) and get all their families united in the joyful atmosphere.

Yuanxiao is the special food for the Lantern Festival. It is believed that Yuanxiao is named after a palace maid, Yuanxiao, of Emperor Wu Di of the Han Dynasty.

Yuanxiao is a kind of sweet dumpling, which is made with sticky rice flour filled with sweet stuffing. And the Festival is named after the famous dumpling.It is very easy to cook - simply dump them in a pot of boiling water for a few minutes - and eaten as a desert.

Chinese Overview：正月十五中国元宵节，吃过不一样的元宵吗？

Welcome Post: A Kitchen Poems Share with You

Welcome to my new kitchen blog.


I gonna rattle about fun life in the kitchen. Keep tuned for my upcoming posts, what will it be.

Just Let it Be

It's life. Do it in style.


Cook happily and food filled us with nice mood. By having the right kitchenware, you could turns a good meal into a great meal, just like a magic.

OK, Let me share with you a Kitchen Poem not by me:)


Kitchen poem

This is a poem for you as yousit in the air in your kitchen

This is a poem for your egg plants and green peppers sliced with the same knife that once caressed your tender wrists

I writewith longing for the taste of steela poem for the light that is now beneath you as you float past the spice rack that holds your passions carefully bottled

you have cut free from all gravityas your plaintive beets bleed in your place

you have cut loose from me Ican only watch as vegetables are burning longing for the cold caress that cuts allliving from the never lived and lost

Thisis a poem for you as youhover over cold elements and I am burningat long last on the forgotten floor

Chinese Overview：套用Beatles 的经典歌名：顺其自然！Let it Be. 这里会充满漂亮可口的美食，实用的餐具，养眼的厨房设计.....所有的关于吃喝，烹饪的一切，当然了，还有我的一点小情调，小脾气，会统统的纪录。