Tuesday 27 August 2019

The yummy dishes you should not miss in Beijing

The yummy dishes you should not miss in Beijing
Beijing has so many delicious dishes and snacks that first-time travelers may not know where to start. Here is the list of must-try dishes in Beijing.

Peking duck

Peking duck
Peking duck is the one culinary event you definitely should not skip, no matter how long your trip is. Ducks are usually roasted over fruitwood until the skin is crisp and the flesh is juicy, before being sliced and served with pancakes, sweet bean paste sauce, cucumber, and scallions. The duck ticks all the right boxes and the vibe is satisfyingly local. Be sure to book in advance or be prepared to queue.

Zhájiàng noodles

Zhájiàng noodles
Firm, drained, hand-pulled wheat noodles are topped with minced-pork in a smoky yellow-soybean paste reduction in this classic Beijing noodle dish. To balance out the addictive saltiness of the chunky sauce, fresh vegetables are laid to the side, julienned cucumber, crunchy radish and, in modern Beijing, juicy bean sprouts or edamame (fresh soybeans). You turn the toppings through the noodles to reach the flavour-to-noodle ratio of your liking and quietly slurp away. Vegetarian versions swap the pork for tofu.

Chinese Egg Crepe 

Chinese Egg Crepe
A Beijing street food specialty, jianbing is the perfect start to any morning (or afternoon) in Beijing.
Watching the process of creating jianbing is almost as good as actually biting into one. First, your cook will pour a doughy batter (made of wheat and mungbean) on the grill, and spread it around using a flat stick. They will crack a few eggs into the mix and let the crepe grill until it is all ready.

Lamb hot pot

Lamb hot pot
The perfect dish for winter, Beijing-style lamb hot pot features a mild broth boiled in distinctive conical copper pots heated with charcoal, into which diners dip thin cuts of lamb and vegetables. Once cooked, the lamb is often dipped in sesame paste before eating.

Like many other traditional Beijing dishes, the southern and western areas of the city have the highest concentration of lamb hot pot places. Time-honored brand (laozihao) Dong Lai Shun is the best place for visitors to try this dish.

Mala crayfish

Mala crayfish
Crayfish are farmed in areas such as Hubei and Jiangsu, before being shipped up to Beijing. The current most popular preparation sees the spiny beauties cooked in a broth laced with chilies, Sichuan peppercorns, and other dried spices. Don a pair of disposable gloves and get cracking to reveal the tender meat inside the shells. Ghost Street is the most popular destination for crayfish, and mammoth restaurant Huda attracts the crowds for its lip-tingling version and other spicy dishes. Be prepared for a long wait.

Kungpao Chicken

Kungpao Chicken
Kungpao Chicken is a favorite among locals, travelers, and expats all over China. Every Chinese province seems to have their own version of this Sichuan favorite. You will find very numb-spicy chicken in Sichuan and veggie-loaded Kungpao in Yunnan, the Beijing variety features a sweet and savory sauce with a ton of peanuts.

See more: Top 5 historical sites in Beijing, China
Source Internet

Thursday 28 March 2019

Try the unique and weird dishes in Mekong Delta, Vietnam

Try the unique and weird dishes in Mekong Delta, Vietnam
While wandering around one local market in the Mekong Delta, you can find it easy to catch the image of rats, scorpions, snakes, etc. being sold everywhere. From fish noodle soup to flavorful bee worm salad, these are a lot of specialty foods in Mekong Delta that you should not ignore while visiting this beautiful and peaceful region.

Bee worm salad in Ca Mau

Try the unique and weird dishes in Mekong Delta, Vietnam
Ca Mau has a favorable location (in the Mekong Delta of Southern Vietnam). That is why it is endowed with a plentiful source of food supply, ranging from the tropical forests to sea source. So, it is not hard to understand the cuisine here is more special and impressive. It seems a pity to ignore its delicacy, called bee worm salad. Taken from U Minh tropical forest, bee worm dazzles tourists with buttery, greasy and even strange flavor.

After dipped in boiling water, bee worm will be then fried on the pan. Other ingredients, including fried onion, pepper, fish sauce, and a bit sugar, will be also added. The next step is to soak sliced banana flower in salty water. To tickle gourmets’ taste buds, fried bee will be mixed with fried groundnuts, sliced banana flower, some kinds of herbs, and finally seasoned with chili, vinegar, and fish sauce. You can sense all kinds of flavor from this bee worm salad, from sweet, salty, sour and spicy, to buttery and greasy. These are all flawlessly combined to leave an unforgettable impression on your mouth.

Dishes from mouse

Try the unique and weird dishes in Mekong Delta, Vietnam
Food from mouse is considered a delicacy in Mekong Delta. On the whole, the locals are keenly fond of catching mice that have been grown in the rice fields. Mice are often found damaging coconut trees. That is why people tend to hunt them for food. For them, if the mice ate what they use and eat, they have to be eaten as well.

There are many ways to cook mouse in various dishes, like steamed rats, grilled rats, deep fried rats, and so on. The chef will carefully remove the mice’s heads, feet and fur. In addition, their organs are also cautiously removed because they may become poisonous without being carefully handled. Residents fall in love with eating mice because it was also part of their delicacy during the war. Thus, do not be hesitant to give this food a try once you set foot in Mekong Delta!

Gourami fish

Try the unique and weird dishes in Mekong Delta, Vietnam
As a specialty dish in Mekong Delta, Gourami fish (or Elephant ear fish, to the way local residents often call this fish) is always added to a list of many visitors who step into this region. Although its name sounds a bit weird because of its appearance which looks like an elephant ear, enjoying the fish can be a great experience. The dish is often found in many restaurants or kinds of homestay in the delta.

You are quite able to enjoy this dish in several restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City. But, to gain its true flavor and taste, it should be cooked in a traditional Mekong style. At that time, the chef will fry the whole fish to crispy perfection. Then, it will be cut into pieces and served upright. To get the most out of its flavor, you should roll a piece of fish, pickles, and vegetables in rice paper and then dip the roll in fish sauce, lemongrass and chili.

Various insects

Try the unique and weird dishes in Mekong Delta, Vietnam
If you do not want to stay anywhere near smelly food but still want to challenge yourself with adventurous food, go for fried insects. In many Asian cultures, eating insects is a common thing. The types of edible insects vary from grasshoppers, bee larvae, and white crickets to scorpions.

But why insects? Are we running out of food or is there any particular reason to eat those bugs? Lately, the United Nations has recommended people to consume insects instead of meat as it is a great source of protein, fat, and vitamin. In fact, it might sound weird but very healthy to ingest.

Frog

Try the unique and weird dishes in Mekong Delta, Vietnam
Frog is a “less scary” food compares with many others that will follow in the list and it is not only just a beer snack but Vietnamese also have it as a meal. The frogs used in cooking are small ones with long legs. They can usually be spotted in the Mekong Delta all year round, but the high season is in spring or during the rainy season. After skinning and gutting, it will be fried, steamed or grilled and then served on the dining table. You can enjoy it with rice or just have BBQ frog with lemon, salt, and pepper. Other than boiled or grilled, you can choose to eat frog curry, frog porridge, or sauteed frog with lemongrass and chili.

Source Internet


Thursday 18 October 2018

What you need to know about Thai cuisine


Thai food is internationally famous. Thai cuisine is essentially a mix of old Eastern and Western cuisine. The characteristics of Thai food depend on who cooks it, for whom it is cooked, for what occasion, and where it is cooked to suit all palates.

What you need to know about Thai cuisine

Thai cuisine is known for its unique combinations of seasoning. Although it is hot and spicy, Thai cooking is carefully balanced to bring out all the different flavors in a dish. Curries (dishes made with a spicy powder called curry) are a mainstay of Thai cooking. Hot chilies appear in many Thai dishes. Other common flavorings are fish sauce, dried shrimp paste, lemon grass, and the spices coriander, basil, garlic, ginger, cumin, cardamom, and cinnamon. Soup, eaten with most meals, helps balance the hot flavors of many Thai dishes as do steamed rice, mild noodle dishes, and sweet desserts.

1. Nothing is baked

What you need to know about Thai cuisine

It is not easy to find an oven in the home of a Thai person. Baked dishes are certainly not in abundance here, with fried and grilled treats and meals having seemingly taken over the tastebuds of those who call Thailand home.

2. Dishes are region-specific

What you need to know about Thai cuisine

Those making their trip through Thailand may find a particular dish and fall in love with it. Often the dishes that steal the hearts of travelers in the north of Thailand cannot be found in the south and vice versa. That is because dishes in Thailand are region-specific.
Khao Soi, one of the most devoured dishes in Chiang Mai, is super specific to the north of Thailand.

3. Chinese influence

What you need to know about Thai cuisine

Thai food is certainly unique, but it did not get this way on its own. Some 2,000 years ago, many Chinese immigrants came to Thailand, and they also brought their cuisine. From soy sauce to rice, the staple of the Thai diet originated in China. And Thai people put their own spin on most of these dishes and traditions.

4. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner

What you need to know about Thai cuisine

Regardless of the time of day, Thai people will eat whatever they like, whenever they want. For each meal, there is no difference between breakfast, lunch, and dinner. There are some Thai dishes that are more popular in the morning, however, they are also eaten for lunch or dinner.

5. Not everything is spicy

What you need to know about Thai cuisine

Many tourists come here and worry about spicy food. While many Thai dishes are incredibly spicy, some are not spicy anymore. It does not mean that dish is less delicious, it simply means it is not spicy.

Source Internet