NanRu Cubes

“NanRu” is a red fermented bean curd which is often used as a thickener in Chinese food. It also gives the food a distinctive, somewhat spicy aroma. I use it in my Beer Duck recipe, but it can be used as part of a sauce for many other recipes.

Dou Ban Jiang (Chinese Bean Sauce) (asianliving.me)

Recipes for Healthy Kids (oldwaystable.org)

Duck, Pork, and Cabbage with Rice = $1.69

Good food on a budget is a specialty not only in China, but across the developing world. In countries which have recently joined the world economy, or only within the past 20-30 years, local food traditions have stayed strong. And although Western food is becoming more popular in these countries, their preference for local traditional dishes is unlikely to change in the near future.

The one common remark that students studying abroad make about their experience is that food doesn’t meet their standards. For example, the pizza, pasta, sandwiches, and salads option that fill cafeterias in the US provoke a homesickness that is unavoidable. Looking at the common dish I had for dinner last night, could you blame them for missing home?

Right outside my apartment is the “Sichuan Room”, a Cantonese-style Sichuan restaurant which serves amazing food at a low price. When I’m tired after a long day of work or study, I find comfort in a short visit to this restaurant. When I’m not interested in the $.25 options in the university cafeteria here at JNU, I take a two-minute stroll to a nirvana of tasty food.

Greens, Eggs, and Meaty Cauliflower = $.79

Chinese, Koreans, and Japanese all enjoy their local food more than foreign styles. Their dishes are full of vegetable, meat, and fish options. Although we in the US consider these cuisines to be non-native, and therefore an occasional experience, it would be much healthier if we started following more of this kind of tradition.

Check out my Asian recipes in AL.ME’s Cooking section!

Ku Gua "Bitter Gourd"

Have you tried “Bitter Melon” (苦瓜, Ku Gwa in Chinese)? Probably not. After the first bite you’ll say “What the… How can people eat this stuff on a regular basis??” And I agree, it is bitter and rough to get down. But many vegetables which have rather potent flavors in nature are full of great nutrients for our bodies. Think of it like a bank protecting its vault. The more valuable the contents, the more heavy-duty the lock! An appreciation for such vegetables is often steeped in the food culture of the local people where these mini-banks grow naturally.

Why don’t we make these choices too? Well, somewhere along the way of building our commerce-driven empire, we began allowing business to dictate what we should eat rather than carry forward traditions from the Old World. And after years of recalibration to the new norm, it is not going to be easy to switch back. We believe that healthy food isn’t delicious food because our preferred tastes have led us to diets full of sweet and salty “food-like substances,” a term I’ve borrowed from Michael Pollan’s book, In Defense of Food. If our parents, friends, and coworkers began to redevelop the habit of traditional, ethnic cooking, we would certainly notice a difference in our waistlines and overall health.

A dish made with Ku Gua

My  last thought: If Korean children are stating publicly that their favorite food is Kimchi (a spicy, pickled cabbage dish), and not ice cream, then there is a lot we can learn from the survival of traditional food values in a small but very modernized country.

Stir-Fried Udon Ingredients

Here is a picture of all the ingredients basically prepared. You’ll need to do some shopping at the asian market for 1 or 2 things. (All of the Cooking recipes on Asian Living require a trip to the Asian Market.)

* Sesame Oil, Soy Sauce, Shitake Mushrooms (See the bag  of dried 香菇, let them sit in water first), Chicken Broth (granulated is fine), a pinch of sugar, and bag of prepared Udon noodles (乌冬面, usually its a Japanese food); VEGES: Broccoli (cut up), Scallions (cut in 1 inch segments, not too short), garlic (1 or 2 cloves), green pepper (sliced), and an egg (for good measure). MEAT: Choose any meat you want, but don’t cut up a huge steak or anything… I sliced up some pork, as you can see.

1~ Boil U-Don noodles for a few minutes and set them aside.

2~ Put Sesame oil, or vegetable/peanut oil, in a wok. Heat it up and start cooking the meat, garlic, and scallions. (I like going rogue.)

3~ Soon after, throw in the broccoli and mushrooms, or other veges you have.

close up

At this point, a little water helps steam the veges well. Cover it up if you have a cover for your wok.

4~ Add Soy Sauce for a few seconds. Mix it all around. Then, add your Udon noodles (strain them first). Mix, mix, mix! If the color is not dark enough, add more soy sauce, and a pinch of sugar.

5~ Finally, make an empty space in the wok somewhere and crack your egg into it. Chop it up while it cooks, don’t mix too much.

6~ Push it all into a bowl/plate and enjoy!

Udon Noodle Dish

Nong Xin Ramen- 5 pack

My favorite “fast food” in all of Asia is actually a Korean Ramen called “Shin Ramyun” or 辛拉面 in Chinese. It’s basically a brick of ramen, some dried veges, and a packet of seasoning. This is not a meal in itself, nor is a Cup Noodles. Asian teenagers often eat this as a snack, but I’ll show you how college students often turn it into a proper meal.

1~ Boil water in a pot, add chopped onions, sliced mushrooms (shitake are nice), and let them cook for a minute or two.

2~ Add the ramen brick. Move it around with chopsticks or a fork. Loosen it up. Add the seasoning packet.

3~ Then, crack a couple eggs into the pot. Don’t move it too much while they cook.

4~ Test a noodle to make sure it’s soft. When its ready, turn off heat and pour a serving off into your bowl.

5~ Add water if its too spicy. You don’t need ice cubes.