10 days in Shanghai and my stomach has not settled yet. This is mostly my fault since I refuse to stop eating things that are probably the cause of my "problem." The thought process: If I persevere through the stomach burning peppers, acidic strange vegetables and vinegars, clear gelatinous noodles, and endless beer chugging...my body must eventually adjust. I hope I am right. The midnight sweats followed by my morning stomach gripping ritual of being splayed out on the couch is a little bit of a pathetic thing to go through for food. But I gotta say it... The food here is dang good! And worth it for now.
Thus the introduction to my blog for today. The food...YAY!!!
It is ridiculous the amount of flavor available around every corner and what it is derived from. And that is a literal statement. One of the most delicious meals I have had yet was on this street corner near the Bundt region. A young man on a little horse cart with a wok made me the most delicious and large bowl of fried rice with crispy pork, spinach, eggs, several spices, peppers, garlic, onions, carrots, and at least 3 other greens and added sauces. A small fire, tossing of the wok, the poof of spices and Voila! The best fried rice for under a buck you can buy! Must experiment more with more street vendors.
As for sit down meals, the Chinese, much like many eastern cultures I've visited, eat together around a table and share many different plates. They believe in balance and in having one of everything; vegetables, rice, meat, fish, sauce. There was no scooping my portion onto my plate either. Everyone double, triple, hell...QUADRUPLE dips into every plate, which usually carousels around a lazy susan in the center of the table. Turn, dip your chopstick, turn, dip your chopstick. If you are as bad with your chopsticks as apparently I was, they'll stop the turning and correct you. This has happened to me several times, though I thought I was pretty good after all my sushi endeavors throughout the years. Guess not. "You must relaaaax and not hold your chopstick so low." I'm getting better:)
Needless to say with all this chopstick dipping, germs are something I had to push to the back of my worries while allowing respect and curiosity to take over. In some cases the last thing on my mind was germs and more fear and trying to hide any inkling that I might be squirmish. Like when we ate the bullfrogs, chicken feet, jellyfish, and duck tongue. There is no doubt in my mind Brian ordered these things to see if I could do just that...hide my fear and manage to show respect. I think I did okay though I let him have it later.
In other cases the shear joy of the flavors and wonder of the combination of spices and textures made me forget my own traditions and just dig in. Pork belly slowly braised in this wonderful gooey barbecue sauce is the closest thing to heaven I have eaten here yet. Silky, fatty, sweet, and spicy all at the same time just melting on the tongue. Shrimp cooked over stones on a stick in pepper and salt with the shell on...who would have thought eating a shrimp whole could be so tasty and crisp? In fact, the fish and seafood here in general are pretty darn good. The flavor of chili peppers here are a learning experience even though they are a wonderful addition to any meal. (And a costly one, if you know what I mean) They don't always hit you at once, but rather seem to be a symphony of many different notes of heat that arrive at different times and with a different level of intensity and flavor. Every dish has some spice, period. This can be hard on sensitive stomachs.
I would have to say, however, that my favorite food I have had here so far was the other night on my 2 year anniversary with Brian. We went out to a "Hot Pot" dinner. This style of cooking is very popular in China. Placed in the center of your table is a hot little mountain of steel heated by coals underneath. Around the steel is a moat of water boiling that you put herbs, garlic, and seasonings into. The waiter brings you spinach, raw meats, tofu, vegetables, herbs, sprouts, dumplings, meatballs, fake crab (which is gross) and all sorts of sauces for dipping. You add in the meats or vegetables you want to boil and then dip them in your own made sauces after they are cooked. It is so delicious and unique an experience to have and a great social event as well.
As for the food I could do without...One of the more unique peppers I've eaten here is actually a peppercorn called a Sechuan pepper, which is actually the outer shell of the pepper. It is spicy like a black peppercorn but it numbs your tongue after the initial bite and lingers with an almost menthol like flavor that numbs your whole mouth. It is unique as all get out but certainly not one of my favorite flavors. Another food item I can live without is the Chinese Bitter Melon. It looks kind of like a cucumber but when I bit into it my mouth filled with the most bitter mouth filling flavor I have ever tasted. Everything afterward tasted like it for a while. Even the Chinese don't like it, if that says anything! Jellyfish is also not very appetizing. It's more of a texture than flavor issue for me. It's what I imagine gelatinous cartilage to taste like.
Regardless of what I am eating, though, beer seems to be the preferred accompaniment with all our guests and/or acquaintances we have dined with. These people like to drink! Luckily, you get so full, it is literally impossible to get drunk. And the beer is partially to blame. The Chinese like to do a sort of cheers here called a "Gambay." If someone "gambay"s you, you must down whatever is in your glass along with them. And they will gambay anything...Even a $400 bottle of champagne, as Brian and I found out the other night. The trick is to keep your glass half full, which Brian also let me find out the hard way. Luckily I am a woman and there comes a point where they tell you that you are not required to join in.
All I can say is, thank God for all the walking I have to do here and for the fact my body can't seem to keep anything in. I would be in some serious trouble otherwise. Looking forward to returning home for the holidays and eating my mom's good ol' American classics, enjoying a full night's sleep, and drinking milk with my dinner again. Until then, More Pork and More Beer please!
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