proper care and feeding of a Taiwanese husband

People ask me all the time what kind of food I cook for Lawrance.  They want to know if we eat Taiwanese food or American food.  My answer is not simple: To Taiwanese, we eat what looks like western food, but to Americans we eat what looks like Asian cuisine.  It is our own unique fusion of east meets west.

I’m slowly learning the art of stir-fry.  I’m learning tricks to the trade and figuring out how to make things we both love.  And, I’m always on the lookout for new recipes to try to see how we’d like them.

Last week, I made this:

And it was a homerun!  Simple and delicious!  Yay for another dish to be part of our regular rotation.

I call it YaoGua JiDing with Peppers (aka Cashew Chicken with Peppers).  It’s not quite really “cashew chicken,” but it does have cashews and chicken in it.

Ingredients

·         5 tsp cornstarch

·         3 Tbs soy sauce

·         4 tsp apple cider vinegar

·         2 tsp rice wine vinegar

·         1.5 tsp sugar

·         1 tsp hot pepper sauce (such as Tabasco)

·         1 pound chicken breast tenders

·         1 yellow bell pepper

·         1 red bell pepper

·         2-4 cloves garlic

·         1 tsp fresh ginger

·         1 stalk of green onions

·         1/2 cup unsalted cashews

·         2 Tbs coconut oil (I use coconut, you can use oil of your choice)

Directions

1.     Combine 2 tsp cornstarch, 2 Tbs soy sauce, and next 4 ingredients (through hot pepper sauce) in a small bowl; stir with a whisk or chopsticks.

2.     Slice the two bell peppers, mince the garlic and ginger, and cut the green onions.

3.     Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces. Combine 3 tsp cornstarch, 1 Tbs soy sauce, and chicken in a medium bowl; toss well to coat.

4.     Heat wok over medium heat.

5.     Add cashews to pan to lightly toast, stir frequently. Remove from pan.

6.     Add oil to pan. Add chicken; stir-fry but don’t cook all the way (about 85% done). Remove almost cooked chicken from pan; place in a bowl.

7.     Add bell pepper to pan and stir-fry about 2 minutes. Add garlic and ginger; cook 30 seconds.

8.     Add the almost cooked chicken and the sauce (made in #1); cook until sauce is slightly thick (about 1 minute).

9.     Sprinkle with the toasted cashews and green onions. Turn mixture over a few times then serve.

One of the keys to stir-frying is to prep EVERYTHING before you get started.  Once you start, there is no turning back because it all happens so quickly once you get started. That is why I now include the prep in my recipes (#2 & 3) above.

This took me a little less than 30 minutes from start to finish my first time making it.  It made about four servings.

lunch with hubby

So, two nights ago, after feeling thankful for our trash dumpsters, as I was parking my moped I thought about how I could blog about the trash.  Then I decided that perhaps I should blog about things I’m thankful for, and then suddenly I rememered that it is Novemeber–the month of thanksgiving!  So, I decided I needed to do it for sure.

So, without further ado–here’s number two–I’m thankful for being able to have lunch with my husband nearly every day of the week.  And, I’m also thankful that sometimes he does the preparing of said lunch–like these awesome dumplings with a spicy dipping sauce!

breakfast with the wu's

On Saturday, Lawrance prepared breakfast for me and mom.  He made sweet potato “xi fan” (porridge) and fried eggs.



Taiwanese people eat pickled things with their xi fan.  Here are some of the pickled things Lawrance likes on his xi fan.



Wanna know what mom’s favorite one was?  She loved the Chile Odorous Frying Fish.  She loved it so much, in fact, that she asked about taking some back with her!!

mom is HERE!!

My mom arrived late Tuesday night.   Wednesday was a national holiday–dragon boat festival–so we had lunch with friends and then met some other friends at the boat races.  Thursday and Friday we did school stuff.  Then Saturday we had lunch with close friends, visited the Confucian Temple in Tainan, and ended the day with a Bible study.

 
Taking different trains
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Vendors set up at the Dragon Boat Races
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While she can claim that she saw some races, it was really crowded and ended up not being as exciting as other races I’ve seen in previous years.
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She’s also been braving my moped. :D
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And, she’s met some of my students.
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Corrina is like my big sister . . . and she is also our matchmaker and neighbor, so lunch with her family was special for all of us.
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Mom has also had her first taste of mango bing (ice). YUMMY!
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At the Confucian temple
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Tea time with some of my adult students included an awesome bowl of tropical and the most amazing tea made from lemongrass, sage, and rosemary.

making pizza in taiwan

wuhoo! it's wu family pizza :)

If anyone asks Lawrance what his favorite food to eat that Amanda makes is, he answers enthusiastically “pizza!”

Taiwanese people who hear this answer assume it would be a common answer since of course all Americans eat is pizza and hamburgers.  But, the looks on some of the American’s faces have been precious. Most assume he has misunderstood the question since it would seem very difficult to make pizza in Taiwan. Then once they realize he totally understood, and I do make pizza here, they want to know how.

Actually making pizza in Taiwan is quite easy. I get both my pizza sauce and crust at a “local” bakery supply store called Wang Lai; it is about a 45 minute ride from our home by moped. I’m sure other bakery supply stores probably also sell pizza sauce and crust–I know the “pineapple man store” in Kaohsiung does too. The small jar of sauce pictured below is our favorite and will cover about 10-12 small pizzas.

The pizza cheese (mozzarella) can be found at the bakery store too, and sometimes we are able to find it at our local grocery store as well. It’s not cheap, but frozen the cheese will keep awhile and this one bag will last us about 16 small pizzas.

products we use to make our pizza

In addition to the cheese, we top our pizzas with ground beef or pork that I have seasoned generously with Italian seasoning that we can get at Costco (thanks Larina!!) and Tony’s that I carry back from the States. We also typically top it with yellow and red peppers, onions, and for Lawrance’s pizza frozen corn (that I purchased at the bakery store too–just for his pizzas).

I then bake them two at a time at 160c for about 10 minutes on our nifty pizza pan that was wedding gift from Sarah and Kevin (thanks guys!!).

a sprinkle of cheese, then they are ready to be baked

Like the Americans who hear Lawrance’s answer, I had always assumed that making pizza (in Taiwan) would be hard. I guess if I had to make the crust and sauce from scratch that would totally up the difficulty factor making it a very special, rare treat. But, the way I do it right now takes less than 30 minutes from start to finish–that’s faster than ordering from Pizza Hut!

I know it is no culinary masterpiece, but I share this here because I am constantly searching for how to easily make things both Lawrance and I enjoy eating, and I thought others who live in Taiwan might be too.

"pizza without corn just isn't real pizza" --Lawrance

apricot chicken delight

The first half of this semester was hard.  Weird schedule, lots of new pressures and responsibilities, and a lack of energy.

Unfortunately lack of energy is a vicious cycle--no energy to cook good stuff = eating out; eating out = not always eating the best foods; not eating healthy = no energy. 

So, during the midterm week, when I wasn't grading tests or catching up on laundry.  I searched for some recipes to turn into the 30 meals project that Carrie, my RD in college (well, and my college roommate's sister-in-law) told me about on this post. (BTW, thanks Carrie!!)

My requirements were that the recipes:

• could be made in less than 20 min,
• needed to be low-carbish,
• needed to delight mine and my husband's taste buds, and
• could be made with things easily found in Taiwan.

Finding meals that meet all four requirements was no small task!

Although Lawrance is generally easy going and not too picky about food, finding things we both love to eat often has proved to be a challenge.

So, my first recipe test was something I found at Cooking During Stolen Moments: Apricot Chicken.

It was SO easy and best of all packed full of flavor!!

I kinda went a bit overboard using freshly cracked black pepper and might have used extra garlic--so our's was not only tangy, but spicy too--she does say to season to taste. :)

This is probably the least low-carb recipe I collected since it uses apricot jam, but it is definitely something I'll be making again before too long.

Side-note to anyone in Taiwan wanting to give this a try: I used half of a jar of Carrefour brand apricot jam (french name on bottle) to cover 6 chicken breast quarters.

dinner at dudu cafe

One of our favorite restaurants is called DuDu Cafe.  It is a family style restaurant that serves food that is most similar to Chinese dishes you might find in the States.

Here's what we had. . .



{bamboo shoot, served cold}

{cashew chicken}

{kung pao chicken}

{pumpkin seafood soup}

{beef with green peppers}

Now do you see why we like it?  DELICIOUS!!!

how do ghosts eat?

Sarah Beth, an MK in Peru, asked on my last post:

That's
interesting. Who ends up eating the food? In Peru we have something
very similar. They put tons of food on top of the graves of their
family members and leave it for several hours. But when midnight comes,
the family eats the food! I wonder about the logic... what is it like
there??

Something similar happens here.  The food and drink offerings are made first before the paper money is burned.  In order to offer the ghosts (at ghost month), ancestors (during ancestor worship), and idols (at temples and Chinese New Year), incense sticks are stuck into the foods or food packaging.

After a set amount of time--it varies from family to family and holiday to holiday and probably other factors too--the offering table is taken down and the food brought inside. 

The family will then eat the food. Many college students have told me waiting for the tables to come down at Chinese New Year (after midnight) so that could eat the goodies was one of their favorite parts of the yearly holiday.

I have been told that the "spirit of the food" is eaten, they are after all feeding spirits.  Some have told me that because the spirit of the food has been eaten the food tastes bland and stale.  Others have told me that because the spirit of the food has been eaten the food tastes better, as if it has been blessed.  And, then others admit to the food not being that much different at all.

The offering tables are set up differently from area to area and family to family, just like every American family decorates their Christmas tree differently.  But there are also differences in setting up an offering table to idols, ancestors, or ghosts. 

At Ghost Month, often a basin of water and a hand towel can be found on or near the offering table so that their "honorable guests" can wash their hands before partaking of the meal being given to them. These two flickr photos (here and here) show ghost month tables with the typical basins with hand towel out front. 

Not to be confusing, but I don't have any Ghost Month photos easily accessible.  What I do have is photos I took last November outside of my school.  I noticed everyone was setting up tables with drinks as the main offering.  (I have no idea who or what was being worshiped.)  And, at many tables instead of the traditional little red wine cups, there were bottles of coke and tea boxes.

{seven traditional little cups with rice wine}

{seven cans of beer from a restaurant}

{seven lemon tea boxes from a resturant}

{seven bottles of coke}

{coffee boxes from a grocery store}

snacks for the ghosts

Today is the start of Ghost Month, so this weekend when Law and I walked into Carrefour we saw lots of snacks on sale.  Piles and piles of snack food.  At first I was like "why?"  Then it dawned on me--offerings for the ghosts.

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People are setting up tables like this with snacks and drinks and fruits in order to worship their ancestors.

honeymoon muffins

(aka Grandmother Smith's To-Die-For Carrot Muffins)

I'm not sure how many of my cousins were given a batch of these to eat on their honeymoons, but I know my sister and her groom got a batch, and so did we. 

That's how good they are . . . you will want to eat them on your honeymoon.  (Ok, so maybe the real reason you want to eat them on your honeymoon is because you are trying to save money broke after the wedding and they are easy to pack and carry.  BUT, being practical doesn't make them any less yummy).

So since I've not enjoyed these treats in nearly a year, I was really craving some.  So, I pulled out my grandmother's recipe and made a batch.  If you follow her recipe you are going to get a "yeild" of several dozens of muffins.  I mean come on . . . it calls for 9 eggs, 6 cups of carrots, and 3 cups of oil!!

At first I was trying to figure out how to half the recipe--but how do you put in 4.5 eggs?  Then I figured out she must have TIPPLED the recipe.  There was no way I was only going to make a mere 1/3 of a batch . . . I wanted extras to freeze for later. 

So, on Saturday I made this GREAT, BIG, HUGE batch of carrot muffins!  YUMMY!!!!

I also discovered that Grandmother must shred her carrots because I grated mine . . . . and there is a difference (in texture, not taste).  So, if you are wanting to "hide" the carrot aspect from children, I recommend shredding, not grating the carrots.  But, if you are wanting them to feel more "hearty" then grate them instead.

So, without further adieu . . . here is my grandmother's recipe for Honeymoon Muffins. :)

6 cups flour (I used 2 cups whole wheat, and 4 all purpose)
3 ¾ cups sugar
6 t soda
6 t cinnamon
1 ½ t salt
6 cups grated carrots
1 ½ cup raisins
1 ½ cups coconut
1 ½ cups pecans
9 eggs
3 cups oil
3 shredded apples (I left the skin on--this makes them SO moist)
6 t vanilla

In large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, soda, cinnamon and salt.  Stir in carrots, raisins, coconut and pecans.

In separate bowl, combine
eggs, oil, apples, and vanilla. Add to flour mixture. Stir only until
combined. Spoon into lined or greased muffin tins.

Bake at 350°F for 15
– 18 minutes.

Like I mentioned before, these muffins freeze very well.  Either let them thaw on their own or pop them in the microwave oven for just a bit and eat hot.

I bet you can't eat just one!!

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Also, thanks for the several ideas about recipe storage.  They were very helpful!! :)

ten years ago, I wrote my first "blog"

Ok, so actually it was written on what is called a website . . . but still I was trying to make it like a blog before blogging platforms were abundantly everywhere. 

Ten years ago, in a school's computer room somewhere in northern Taiwan, I became a blogger, and I didn't even know it!

To get my printed photos online, I began using using a scanner in Chinese and yahoo's geocities to record my daily life here in Taiwan.  The photo quality is terrible . . . and the layout was tedious, but, if I do say so myself, the design was better than many "homemade" websites from the late '90s. 

But OH!  if I had had flickr and blogger back then, not to mention a digital camera  . . . how sweet that would have been!!!! 

In fact, I carried my mom's 35mm film camera in my purse daily for a year.  Soon after that I got my first digital camera, and so for nearly 10 years now my purse has always housed a point and shoot camera.  It is essential--more important than lipgloss and a driver's licence!

Anyway, Geocities is closing later this year, which made me want to take a walk down memory lane.  Feel free to click through and see what life was like for me as an exchange student in Taiwan in 1999. 

Here was my very first "blog." (nothing is there now besides the "first blog," which I didn't even know was a blog at the time.)

I had an index/home page (which originally was set up kinda of like flickr's sets page), that I changed when I started using another site and then changed again when I moved to blogging.

Here are the "1st pages of each group of photos":

flying cows in taiwan
summer in taiwan
studying in taiwan
residing in taiwan
friends in taiwan
sightseeing in taiwan
holidays in taiwan
classmates in taiwan
religion in taiwan
vacation in japan

Based on these "album" names, can you guess what I called that very first site? 

That's right "amanda in taiwan."  And, yes, my love for not using capital letters in my online world titles started with this very site . . . ten years ago!! (Can you tell I'm having a hard time accepting it was a decade ago that all this happened!?!?!)

Bye-bye, my dear first online home.  Rest in peace.

lawrance cooks on fridays

We both work mostly in the afternoon and evening--somewhere between 3-9ish.  So, we usually have our mornings together, so our "big meal" is lunch time.  Monday to Thursday I do the cooking, but since I have class on Friday mornings, Lawrance has been cooking on Fridays recently.

When we married he could fry an egg and boil instant noodles. 

Law's mother is an excellent cook, and she prepares three meals a day every day.  They hardly ever ate out.  Moreover, she grows her own vegetables organically.  Very healthy, very frugal.  (Confession: this knowledge kinda scared me after I found out . .. I knew I'd never be able to live up to that.)

Anywho, one day he got the random idea to call her and ask how to make shrimp and fried eggs.  Then he started playing around with other dishes. 

Let's just say . . . I'm blessed. :)  I always look forward to lunch on Fridays.

my first birthday married

I made the traditional birthday cake for my mom's side of the family.  It is a peppermint cake.  It is really easy--add a few drops of green food coloring and a 1 teaspoon of peppermint oil to "white" or plain cake batter.  Layer with chocolate frosting and crushed peppermints.  DELICIOUS!!!

But . . .  there was one huge disappointment . . . the "peppermints" I bought here in Taiwan had some extra "flavor" (menthol).  That's just not right on a birthday cake!! :)

My birthday present was the purse sitting behind the flowers . . . I got to pick  it out. 

And, on the Saturday before my birthday, Lawrance came home with the flowers.  At that time all the lilies were closed.  It was fun watching them one by one throughout the week.  He is SO thoughtful!! :)

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And, Lawrance took me out to a stake place called "Tasty."  They have a set meal that is 7 courses--for most of the courses you get to choose between 2 or 3 items.  It was very nice! 

I think they have some of the best wait staff in Taiwan. 

Not all of the courses and also not in the correct order, but to give you the basic idea . . .

Maybe not the best dessert they have but definitely the coolest (as in most unique) is a fried chocolate wanton that you break and pour over vanilla ice cream.  Then you get to eat the rest of the fried chocolate wanton.

not suitable together

(No, no, not me and Lawrance  . . . we are perfectly suitable together! :))

That is what the manager at McDonald's told me when I asked for mayo on my cheeseburger the other day.  In fact, my request was so not ok, the clerk had to go get the manager.  She wouldn't do it because beef and mayo are not suitable together. 

She said she would be happy to put some mayo in a cup and allow me to put it on my own burger but she couldn't couldn't add it to my cheeseburger for me because they "don't go together."

What!?!?!?!

It's been a looooong time since something has shocked me culturally . . . but this sure did.  I mean totally . . . mouth hanging wide open in total culture shock.  I felt like I must be an alien for wanting mayo with my beef.

But, "why?" I asked her.  Her only answer was "well, people in Taiwan don't think mayo goes with beef." 

In my head I'm thinking, "WHAT!!!!! You guys put mayo on EVERYTHING . . . even fried shrimp!!"

Up until this point our whole conversation was in Chinese.  Seeing I was still suffering from acute culture shock the manager switches to English to ensure me that I heard correctly, "they are not suitable together."

Ok, fine, whatever.  I'll take it on the side and put it on myself.

I'm still not satisfied and I've continued to try to think about why . . . is it something to do with ying and yang?  something with the fact that cheeseburgers don't have lettuce and mayo in Chinese is only called "salad dressing" (doesn't work--what about the shrimp)?  something she made up to get me to leave her alone? 

Anyone out there with a another "suitable" possible reason?

She was nice in that she did give me the mayo--enough for 15 hamburgers, no joke--on the side in a sundae cup.  She must have felt really bad for literally sending me into acute culture shock.

(FYI: pic on left is from a few years ago when Sam was here . . . he ordered his dessert in Chinese by himself.  I was so proud of him.)

tong yuan tradition

For the first time in 30 years, I went to school (aka: work) on Christmas day as did Lawrance.  In fact, since he didn't come home till after 10, there was no point in cooking a special meal.  So, in order to still do something special, after lighting our advent candles and opening gifts, we made tong yuan. 

We also made these sticky sweet dumplings right after we decorated our Christmas tree in late November. 

Below is a video of Lawrance showing you how to prepare tong yuan.

a shower

A few months ago . . the weekend before Lawrance came to America, there was a "Smith Family Bridal Shower" where all of my aunts and most of my cousins came to shower me with blessings.  It was the first time in two years that I had seen most of them!! 

My mom and sister did all the decorating . . . and they did a great job.  It was so colorful and fun . . . because, well, they used gerber daisies. 

See how cute? And yes they made those really cute daisy cookies!!

We ate at a local Chinese food place that does the round table, everyone share thing.

Mom made me wear a silly veil for awhile while we played some shower games:

And, the girls blessed me with some cute stuff for our master bathroom, things to use in the kitchen, a great cozy blanket for two, and some beautiful lingerie too.

One last photo . . . of me with mom, Sarah, and Grandmother.  I am blessed.  Oh, so blessed!! :)