I was going to try and write about something other than food, but a recent radio programme was a bit depressing. I know I should be trying to listen to Chinese talk radio to pick up more of the language, but getting one word in fifty isn’t helping much, so thankfully I’ve found two mostly English language radio stations in Beijing.
Hits FM plays non-stop western music and is decent enough, but only seems to be available sporadically. Their slogan seem to be ‘Dreams come true!’ and ‘Life is Partay!’, or at least that’s what the DJs keep shouting. The music is mostly modern rap music and R&B, interspersed with the occasional 90s ‘classic’ like Vanilla Ice.
The other, which is on every day except Thursday, is more talk oriented, and makes me disappointed every time I tune in. The callers are all expats who seem to have made no effort to integrate whatsoever. The typical call-in would go as follows
Kung Pao Chicken
DJ: Today’s topic is ‘What is your favourite Chinese food?’
Caller 1: I don’t eat any Chinese food – I stick to Pizzas.
Caller 2: Kung Pao chicken and rice
Caller 3: Kung Pao chicken and rice
DJ: Another one! Anything else?
Caller 3: No, I don’t know what anything else is. The whole family only eats Kung Pao chicken when we go to Chinese restaurants.
Caller 4: Ribs (baked spare ribs are a popular cheap Chinese meat)
DJ: Excellent, and where is your favourite rib restaurant
Caller 4: Texas Pete’s Smokehouse (serving Texas-style Hickory ribs)
DJ: OK…
Caller 5: We don’t eat out, China is too dirty.
DJ: …
Caller 6: Kung Pao chicken and rice
Kung Pao Chicken is a western dish which is simply a combination of cubed chicken breast, peanuts or cashews, onion or leeks, and occasionally green peppers, doused in a chilli sauce of varying strength.
Sichuan Pepper
Gong Bao Ji Ding is the original Sichuan version of Kung Pao. It is much hotter and contains Sichuan Pepper husks, which if incorporated into a spicy dish have a distinctive numbing effect. Eaten alone I find the Sichuan pepper quite unpleasant.
In ‘On Food and Cooking’ Harold McGee describes them thus: “they produce a strange tingling, buzzing, numbing sensation that is something like the effect of carbonated drinks or of a mild electrical current (touching the terminals of a nine-volt battery to the tongue).
Sanshools(1) appear to act on several different kinds of nerve endings at once, induce sensitivity to touch and cold in nerves that are ordinarily nonsensitive, and so perhaps cause a kind of general neurological confusion.”
As you might imagine this makes the taste entirely different from Kung Pao chicken.
I love both the Chinese and Western style of Kung Pao chicken but I wouldn’t eat it every day. If you’re not willing to try something too different at least go for a simple beef noodle, or egg and tomatoes.
Food here is so cheap it’s worth getting at least one new dish alongside your regular chicken and rice, just to try it. Who knows, you might even like it.
(1) Sichuan peppers contain 0.3% hydroxyl-alpha-sanshool. No idea.
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I really love to eat Chinese food, especially the Kung Pao Chicken its my favorite Chinese food of all time.
Sigh. Seriously? People don’t want to eat anything but gloopy Western stuff?
Down here in Shanghai we are constantly being told by the English language media that we’re not as good as the foreigners up in Beijing who are much more integrated into Chinese culture, language and cuisine. And it’s true that there is a lot of amazing foreign food here but I know that at least 50% of our meals out are very very Chinese and they certainly aren’t kung pao chicken! My god, the western version sounds just dire.
We tend to go for Hunanese or Sichuan or Dong Bei places, with sojourns to the little Lanzhou la mian joints for a dose of noodles and dumplings. Most of my breakfasts on the run are jian bing or baozi or similar. Love tea eggs. Are people really so freaked out by the supposed dirtiness? After 3 years here, I’ve never gotten sick from the food.
What’s so scary about Chinese food? I mean really- aside from the more daunting meat dishes (bullfrog, jellyfish, chicken feet), I find everything else really lovely and quite accessible.
You’re absolutely right – given the choice between fresh Chinese ingredients, cooked to order, and western food (often made by a Chinese chef who has never even seen a pizza or whatever), I can’t understand why people refuse to even try.
Despite the size of Beijing, there are but a handful of Western restaurants I’d consider being anywhere near decent quality, and when the prices are above those in London the food is no longer enjoyable. In general we eat out at either Chinese or South East Asian places, just because it’s always fresh and great value.
Having a Chinese partner I’m obliged to try certain of the odd ingredients, especially when served at family occasions, and am often pleasantly surprised. I’d rather have Sichuan pork lungs than that freaky Spaghetti Bolognese made with pounded mystery mince that seems to be so prevalent in Western restaurants here.
The bolognese is something I’d never order outside the West, though Doug keeps trying. Oddly, one of the best he ever had (and I sampled it and can vouch for it) was is rural Burma, in an open air cafe, whose chef had been taught how to make pasta and various sauces by a passing Italian chef/tourist. Conversely, he had one in Jakarta (at a high end airport hotel) that had peas and baby corn and pickles in it… gah!
My old job teaching in a uni got me exposed to a lot of interesting Chinese dishes, both in the school canteen and at official banquets. I had to try everything or else the Higher Ups were very disappointed in me, their lone foreign teacher. Still don’t know how I feel about that infamous cold offal snack plate… I did, however, try everything and most things were perfectly fine. Intimidating to look at or think about but fine.
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Well that’s just so disappointing, why even go to a country and not try their food? I’ve not even been to China yet but I’ve tried loads of Chinese dishes, courtesy of my lovely Chinese teacher. We went out for food a few times and cooked at home and everything I’ve been asked to try has been marvellous so far. I even abandoned my total and utter initial disgust and went and tried chicken feet…still alive, no harm done, was actually yummy! I’ll never understand people who travel to/live in another country but only ever moan about everything that is bad about said country and keep as far away from learning about the country’s culture as they possibly can. I actually see it a lot over here in Ireland and it makes me a little sad sometimes.
You’re lucky to have a teacher to wean you onto Chinese food – the difference between what I’d had in the UK and the real thing is immense – it’s so much more flavourful here.
I am not ashamed to say one of my favorite things to eat is kung pao chicken. A couple of years ago I found this authentic recipe for “gong bao” complete with mouth-tingling sichuan peppercorns (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90206117) and now my husband and I can’t go a week or two without it. In fact, he requested it for dinner on his way out the door this morning. It requires a trip to an Asian grocery store, but it’s well worth it. I live in the states, but have traveled to China and under the guidance of my aunt who lives in Beijing (http://outside-in.typepad.com/) have enjoyed many wonderful, authentic Chinese dishes that linger in my memory. Truly one of the great joys of traveling is immersing oneself in local cuisine, though it certainly helps to have someone there to interpret intimidating menus (as my traveling comanions and I learned in Beijing after ordering “chainsaw chicken” a number of times when left to ourselves. “What?? Again??!!”). Until I can get myself to China again, which I (and my tastebuds!!) hope is sooner rather than later, I’ll continue to enjoy my gong bao!
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Come on out to the west side of town. There’s a local place that has the best gong bao ji ding in the city. Maybe in the country!
Sounds good – do you know the name or street?
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