Archive for February, 2013

Asian Secret #25 Making Vegetables Taste Good

ben.piscopo
Feb 18 |21:29
cauli sausage3 Asian Secret #25 Making Vegetables Taste Good

Cauli-sausage! Yum!

Boiled peas and carrot cubes might be easy to make, but they taste like wet socks to kids and not much better to adults. If you have children there’s a way to get them addicted to vegetables and I believe Koreans, Japanese, and Chinese have the solution.

The #1 best way to get kids to eat vegetables is to connect them to their favorite meats. Try cooking sliced pork, sausage, steak, or chicken with almost any vegetable you plan to serve. Blurring the flavors of these two foods will get any meat-eater to eat all their veggies.

If you’d like help with the first dish, try my great Cauli-sausage recipe. Read More…

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Asian Secret #24 Visit Farmer’s Markets

Ben杰明
Feb 16 |21:28
China Food Prices Farmers Market in Beijing 300x1902 Asian Secret #24 Visit Farmers Markets

Meet your Farmer

Last week I visited Hengshan and found a big open-air market that had everything from bai cai, to toufu, to peppers and countless spices, to slaughtered animals, and many other natural products you could expect in a Chinese farmer’s market. What’s so enjoyable about these places is that they not only allow you to get close to the food you eat, but also let you shake the hand that harvested it.

Back state-side, farmer’s markets have gotten quite popular in recent years and shopping at them has become a weekly ritual for city and country folk alike.

Putting a refrigerator truck and 200 miles between you and your farmer has somewhat of a desensitizing effect, so it’s a good idea to try to get around the convenience of supermarkets and learn more about what’s up for grabs at farmer’s markets. You might be surprised by what you find! Read More…

tafbutton blue16 Asian Secret #24 Visit Farmers Markets
 

Asian Secret #23 Embrace the Unusual

Ben杰明
Feb 15 |16:43

benCartoon1 Asian Secret #23 Embrace the UnusualAlthough cartoons seem childish, they are very popular across Asia. Not only are superheros enjoyed by all, but also kids cartoons.  Avatars (virtual images of ourselves) and funny cartoons are not just for children and can also be part of every adults personality online and off-line.

Here’s a funny drawing a university student made for me a couple years ago. She was kind enough to give me more hair than I have in real life… hehehe.

Embrace the unusual and have a great day! Read More…

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Chinese New Year 2013: A Retreat to the Mountains

Ben杰明
Feb 14 |16:32
IMG 20130211 132834 300x22513 Chinese New Year 2013: A Retreat to the Mountains

Ben @ the peak of Hengshan

It’s New Year time in China once again and this time I’ve decided to do something a little different. For the Year of the Snake my girlfriend and I are spending 3 days in a quiet, snowy mountain town in Hunan province called “Heng Shan”. It’s one of the 5 “sacred mountains” of China, although this could just be a marketing ploy by the locals… Anyhow, it’s importance to Taoists and Buddhists goes back all the way to 25AD, so there must be something desirable up there! Read More…

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Longjin? Wulong? The Green Tea Comparison

Ben杰明
Feb 9 |15:18
ALLgreenTeas1 Longjin? Wulong? The Green Tea Comparison

Longjing, Gaoshan, Tieguanyin, Wulong

For those who are just getting aquianted with East Asian tea varieties, I suggest visiting a previous article I wrote called “Understanding the World of Tea” that describes the main differences between a large range of teas and how they are produced. Today we are going to discuss a few specific types of Green Tea that seem quite similar to the naked eye. (Click the images to zoom in) Read More…

tafbutton blue16 Longjin? Wulong? The Green Tea Comparison