Part F -Teaching in China - Fabulous Food

You don't know what you've got till it's gone.

Now there's an apt line from a song. I hadn't realised how much I'd miss cheese until there wasn't any around! Or cold beer, or any one of a number of items. 

Pretending that the egg is on a piece of crunchy toast.
Add purple potato, melon and a spinach dumpling & it's kind of like Eggs Benedict!
Oh, ok, it's not really, but a person can pretend can't they!

But it got me thinking some sobering thoughts: I can't imagine what it'd be like to have to flee your country of origin and leave behind everything you've ever known, all that's familiar and comforting, to make a life in a new and strange land ... especially one that's hostile to your role as an asylum seeker and vilifies you constantly. I missed some foods for a few short weeks ... that's nothing in the scheme of things.
...

The food was amazing. Our hosts were keen for us to try dumplings (above) and then Peking Duck, (below) but the day they'd planned happened to be an auspicious one for weddings, and everywhere was booked out, so we had to wait. 

Wedding - with a band and fire crackers!

The wait was worthwhile!
The resounding cry was - "The duck did not die in vain!"

Above L-R. ducks being barbecued, Lacey and Candy enjoying slivers of perfectly cooked and presented duck. Bottom - the chef cutting wafer thin slices from the bird.

Below was a lovely, light, delicate dough, shaped a bit like an oyster shell, toasted on the outside and soft inside. The intended filling was laced with chilli which made my eyes water freely as it wafted past on the lazy-susan, so this Aussie made it into a burger-like item with deliciously spiced egg and beans. When you're missing home food - improvise!

I was even given a cooking lesson in the restaurant kitchen. Lack of a common language wasn't a major issue and I've got an idea how to make another delicious dish with flat bread and greens. The skillet could be a bit of a problem though ...

You want a change? How about Korean Hot Pot! Emphasis on hot, so the foreigners (without the cast iron stomachs) were given the tasty, and more or less chilli free broth. 

A wibbly strand of tofu being unwound and
lowered into the boiling liquid. Delicious!

Our school hosts had arranged for our lunches to be eaten at a lovely local restaurant. Every lunch was a generous banquet! We found the massive daily amounts of food wastage a real challenge, and kept asking for fewer dishes to be presented for us. None of us are big eaters at home and simple lunches are the go when teaching. While we managed to eat large quantities at first, we all ate less and less as the time went on, as fronting up to classes requiring a lot of energy, with an uncomfortably fully stomach, added an extra layer of difficulty. It seemed rude, but we were there to teach, not eat!

The restaurant was in a large undercover area, complete
with fish in the moat around the eating area, and budgies
and other birds singing in cages hanging from the rafters!

Fruit signals the end of the meal.

Until the last few days, all our polite requests for "less" fell on deaf ears. But after two weeks working closely together, our genuine need for more simple foods was accepted - I hope without us appearing to be overly crass or rude, and that we haven't wrecked international relations between our countries forever!

Doggie bags are becoming more popular and common, but in the 30C+ heat, it’d be unsafe to take food home unless it was able to be refrigerated on the journey.

I'll continue with the food theme when I get to I - Illness and U - Unfortunate events ... what would a trip be without them?

My previous posts about Teaching in China were our Arrival, Banquets,  Culture and comfort foods, Driving and Exercise. The next one will be on Games!

  

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Crunchy wholesome career biscuits

A satisfying career is like a good biscuit recipe! 
(An imperfect but potentially useful analogy)

There's something to get your teeth into.

It's nourishing.

There are occasional interesting bits, to provide variety.

You can adapt it to suit you better as your tastes change over time.

You'll occasionally botch it up, but you can always learn from experience.

Sometimes it's worth trying something completely different to see what happens.

What at first appears perfectly acceptable can, on closer inspection, contain faults.

A small tweak can have a huge impact.

A huge change may have no impact.

They can both go stale if they're not looked after well.

Most biscuits and many careers have a use-by date.

Sticking to the recipe rigidly can lead to problems when ingredients aren't available.

Being flexible and open to uncertainty can be empowering.

Sometimes you need the services of someone more experienced to see how to make improvements.

Overindulgence can lead to illness and possibly require the services of a doctor.

There is no perfect biscuit. Many varieties can be enjoyed at different times in your life.


Inspired by this article by Jim Bright, Professor of Career Education and Development ACU, and the following recipe from the Family Circle Biscuits and Slices recipe book.

Cocoa Sesame Biscuits aka Crunchy Wholesome Career Biscuits
3/4 c plain flour
1/4 c cocoa powder
3/4 c rolled oats
1 c sesame seeds
3/4 c caster sugar
100g unsalted butter
2 Tablespoons golden syrup
1 Tablespoon boiling water
1 teaspoon bicarb soda
185 g melted chocolate bits

Oven @ 160C

Flour, cocoa, oats, seeds and sugar go into a bowl.
Melt butter and golden syrup. Add soda to boiling water - dissolve. Add to the butter mix.
Add the wet to the dry ingredients. Stir.
Put teaspoons of mixture onto baking sheet. (The original recipe called for 3 Tablespoons of mixture per biscuit there was only space for one on the tray, and it became the side of a dinner plate - there was clearly something wrong.)
After 6 minutes spin the tray around or they burn. Leave another 6 mins. Ladle melted chocolate on top when they're cool!

Of course I didn't stick to the recipe the first time did I. The sesame seeds only came in mingy bags and I got the last one at the store so I added a few more oats and some chocolate buds. I cooked one giant sized one as per instructions which spread hugely and was unmanageable. Because it lacked pizzaz I chopped up some crystalized ginger and added that to the mixture and adjusted the size to 1 teaspoon per biscuit. As for the chocolate topping, it was ho hum ... so I added bit of chilli chocolate for interest!

As for the second time I made them, experience told me that further small changes could be made to improve the outcome! (A large change of different oats or flour really wouldn't change the taste a lot). A gentle shake of black pepper found its way into the batter along with more generous amounts of crystalized ginger. The topping oozed chilli this time, and the book has been duly marked with the additions.

Next time I might try some rum soaked raisins instead of the ginger!

Whoever would have thought that careers and cooking biscuits could have so much in common!

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