In Hangzhou, I acquired two new "favorite dishes." No, one of them was NOT the
famed "beggar's chicken"
-- though I would have loved to try it, restaurants were selling it for a pretty
penny and I decided against the splurge. Perhaps it was because I was being fed
so well for so cheap at Zhejiang University.
Both nights I ate at the university, I feasted on this gorgeous dish of fatty
pork and mei gan cai, a leafy vegetable which provides the deep brown
color. From what I understood from my guides, it actually is the leaves of some
plant or vegetable. I'm not sure if it's naturally sweet, or if sugar defines
its flavor in this dish, but it was earthy and filling, absorbing the fatty
pork's unctuousness superbly. The pork's crispy outer skin was almost an obscene
compliment to the already-rich and smooth texture. It was just delicious on a
pristine bed of white rice.
On the healthier side, I became fond of this bean curd dish, which is apparently
a Hangzhou specialty. It features baby bamboo shoots sauteed with fungus and
wrapped up in 2" bundle, using a paper-thin sheet of bean curd. The bean curd
sheet is actually quite long; all bunched up, the sheet is soft but has a
marvelous texture. It's a nice contrast to the crispy snap of the bamboo and the
fungus.
When told how lucky I found them to be, having access to such food every day, my Chinese guides (Zhejiang University graduate students) nodded their heads enthusiastically in agreement. They did not, they said firmly, like Western food.
Posted by Astrid at October 8, 2004 11:27 AM