Cooking and Shopping and Eating Oh My!

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Sunday.

After reading about taking Yangshuo style cooking classes from our beloved Lonely Planet travel book, Staci and I decided to reserve the morning to do just that. I woke up early and went down to our hotel entrance where Lily happily made the reservations for us at the Yangshuo Cooking School for the same morning. After waking Staci up, we got ready and went downstairs where we were to be picked up be the school and taken to our class.

One of our instructors came on a tiny motorcycle and the first thing that crossed our minds was that both Staci and I were going to have to hop on and be taken away motorcycle style. Luckily we just walked a bit down the road where the instructor parked her bike. While walking, the first question she asked us was if we were vegetarians.

...Wow... Did someone just ask ahead of time if we were vegetarian?!

Since I'm not, it doesn't really matter. Bring on the meat! However, Staci being a vegetarian, it was a pleasant surprise not having to mention it ahead of time, having it be totally awkward with explanations, justifications, and constant reminders, as it has been the majority of our time here. Our host followed up asking whether or not Staci ate fish. Staci does not, and again, our host couldn't have been more accepting and kind about it. She just wanted to know so they could have substitutes ready for Staci to cook with.

We then walked across the street to meet the rest of our cooking classmates, a group of about 8 more people. We were the only ones from the USA in the group, while others ventured from Holland, Poland, Finland, and England. We met our cooking instructor, and split up in two groups to explore the nearby farmer's market to see and learn about the various foods used in Chinese cuisine.

The first section was primarily produce, but the occasional live frog could be seen trying to hop out of it's individually wrapped mesh baggy. We learned what lotus root looked like, along with tons of other seasonal vegetables and fruits. We came across the "Tofu Lady", who had an enormous amount of fresh tofu on display. Our instructor previously warned us not to take any photos of the Tofu Lady, as she becomes exponentially upset with each click. Lucky for us, the only camera we had was 13 hours away, bruised and damaged.

Once again, our host kept true to her thoughtfulness towards Staci and warned her that the next section would primarily be meat--live, dead, almost dead, cooked, and almost cooked. If she wanted, Staci could wait outside and meet up with us afterwards. Staci, very appreciative, declined and marched the path to vegetarian damnation.

I can now say I know what a full pig's bladder looks like and that if you grind your teeth at night, drinking the contents will be just what the Chinese doctor ordered! Most of all, I could have done without the dog being skinned in the background. It was what is was. Shocking and gross. But that comes from an American whose values, habits, and concepts are different. Not better or worse, just different.

After our instructor bought chicken hearts to feed her own dog, we went off in vans to the cooking school. The school itself is located not too far from West street, where most of the shopping and eating can be found. It lays right on the river with spectacular countryside views. As a group, we all enjoyed the scenery, sat down together, and enjoyed complementary beverages as our hosts gave us a basic outline of the day ahead of us.

In the cooking room, where the views were still fantastic, each of us had a station with a wok, gas stove top, cleaver, seasonings, oils, and water. We also had a plate of various foods we would be chopping and cooking. After putting on our navy blue aprons, our first dish was Eggplant, one of our favorite dishes we order almost every time we go out to eat! Now we can make it!

The key to cooking with a wok is temperature. First, you must turn the heat up so much so that the wok starts to smoke. Then, you add a bit of oil and start cooking. Of course, you turn down the heat, add other ingredients, turn the heat back up and down, add water, stir, cover, etc....UNTIL BAM, THE BEST EGGPLANT DISH EVER!

I promise, once we return, we will cook for you this wonderful eggplant dish. If you are not a fan of eggplant, then maybe the other four dishes we mastered would suit your palate just fine.

We stuffed vegetables with ground pork and seasoning (Staci had an alternative of mashed potatoes and carrots to stuff with). Those were then steamed for about 15 minutes.

We learned how to cook the famous Yangshuo Beer Fish. Every restaurant nearby boasts to have the best, but I beg to differ....WE MADE THE BEST! Staci, on the other hand (or wok) made the best Yangshuo Beer Tofu.

Also on the menu was Cashew nut chicken (or for Staci, lotus) and greens with garlic.

Again, we all sat together and enjoyed the meal each of us cooked, overlooking the river and mountains. Nothing could have been better. Such an amazing time--money well spent, and bellies well fed.

We purchased the official Yangshuo Cooking School cookbook that has all the recipes we prepared and a few more. Again, we will cook for you, just as long as you douse us first with boxes of Cheez-Its, and anything Trader Joes.

After the class, it was an easy walk back, and we decided to open up our wallets to the endless amounts of souvenirs. Primarily, we took care of some Christmas type gifts for family. We also found an amazing stand that had blended coffee. The portion was huge, and Staci was for sure in la-la land.

After hours of shopping, we headed back and rested at our hotel. Jimmy and Cali got back from their long hike, and we went out to our favorite cafe, Kelly's. Staci changed it up a bit and got spaghetti instead of the veggie burger and I tried some sweet and sour chicken. Again, we ended the night at LOOVE and the riverside with a few drinks before bedtime.

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Comments

[Jenny]

Can't wait for dinner!
:)