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Perhaps I have mentioned before, my great-grandfather came from the city of Quanzhou 泉州 in the southeastern Chinese province of Fujian 福建. The people there are descendants of indigenous (probably Austronesian) tribes and Han Chinese more than two millennia ago…
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English: Red Cotton, Red Silk-Cotton Latin: Bombax ceiba Chinese: Mumian 木棉, 斑芝树, 英雄树, 攀枝花 Thai: ngiu งิ้ว Vietnamese: Gạo Hindi: Semal सेमल Bengali: Shimul শিমুল Assamese: Shimul শিমলু Sanskrit: Shaalmala Bahasa Melayu: Kapuk, Kapok Bahasa Indonesia: Randu alas I…
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This Sichuan fish dish is a second favourite of mine, right after the Shuizhuyü 水煮鱼 (fish in chili oil). This dish packs such a punch and it is so appetizing, that I guarantee that your guests will come back…
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There are about three types of Zanthoxylum pepper used in the Chinese Sichuan region: Sichuan pepper, Majiao and Qinghuajiao. Majiao Chinese: Majiao 麻椒 Latin: Zanthoxylum bungeanum Colour: Brown Majiao is a species of Zanthoxylum closely related to Sichuan pepper (Zanthoxylum…
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During a trip to Amsterdam, I tried the famous steamed oysters at the Dutch Cantonese establishment of Nam Kee restaurant there. This recipe is a variant of their signature dish. What are the differences? Well, Nam Kee did what the…
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If you were to ask me to name one fad that is currently raving in the Chinese culinary world, I’d say it is Yipinguo 一品锅. While all westerners know about ‘Chinese fondue’ (also known as hotpot, or shabu shabu), not…
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Chinese: 发菜/髮菜 Latin: Nostoc commune var. flagelliforme ’Facai’ looks disgustingly like human hair, and that is exactly the meaning of its name in Chinese 髮菜: Hair Vegetable. What is it? ’Facai’ is a moss that grows under the sand in…
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Autumn is the time when leaves turn red, then yellow. It is also the time of the hunting season when game meat becomes readily available at the butchers’. I took part in an event organised by the Brussels Food Friends…
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Ever since I returned from Milan, I was hooked on truffles. Truffles are really peculiar things, aren’t they. So small and yet so pungent. So powerful, yet so delicate. One night, it struck me that I could try to incorporate…
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There is a dish that has continually been the favourite of Minnan people for the past millenium, whether or not they have been absorbed into other cultures, and that is ’tsaitaogwey’ 菜頭粿/菜头粿. Tsaitaogwey is basically a steamed daikon cake. The…
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