Day 12: January 15, 2013 Iron Chef China!

     Today started out as a normal morning of class and then a small lunch at the dining court. After lunch we had about an hour break until we got to go on yet another field trip! I got some quick Skype sessions in since it was really good timing for people in the US and then headed about 20 minutes down the road to meet our culture teacher. She took us to go see a real “wet market” meaning it has all live produce and tons of fruits, vegetables, and anything else you could ever want.

And the secret ingredient is - Pig face 

     
     We saw some pretty crazy stuff including pigs face, feet, brain and tongue. It only got “better” when we got to witness a weever being killed and gutted as well as a fish chopped in half still flopping around in a pool of blood. We also saw a chicken’s neck get sliced and thrown into a bucket that boiled it to get the feathers off. The man then cut off its head and feet to save and sell separately and then gutted the rest. 
 

Really fresh fish - they were still moving

Pick your favorite chicken

  
   The rest of the market contained a lot of seafood and meat as well as a whole second floor full of fruits and vegetables. I got some apples and bananas to take home since I knew I wouldn’t get ripped off with Weiqi there.

Fish bladders

Beautiful

     After we got what we needed, we headed back to get our cooking lessons. Our group decided to make the kongbao chicken and the three delicacies of the land: potatoes, peppers, and eggplant. The boys took on the chicken while the girls did the vegetables. The guys had to dice the chicken, chop some garlic and ginger, and add in some salt, sugar, and cornstarch. They then headed in the back and came out with an amazing dish full of all sorts of spices. The girls had to chop the potatoes, peppers, and eggplant in addition to the garlic and ginger. When we went in the back we cooked the potatoes in oil in the wok and then used a strainer to get them out and put them aside. We then did the same with the eggplant and poured the oil out and stirred everything in together. We added some salt, sugar, cornstarch, sesame oil, and hoisin sauce and cooked it for a few minutes until it was done.

"Allez Cuisine"

The Chairman and his crew

    All of it turned out absolutely delicious and was probably the best meal I have had since I’ve been here; definitely the best quality meat. We then got to try the other group’s weaver, which actually turned out to be really good. The chef also made us fried rice, noodles, beans, and sweet and sour pork in addition to our already surplus of food. Somehow we managed to eat it all and left beyond satisfied. In addition to the great food, it was really fun to hang out with Weiqi outside of class because she has such a bubbly personality and is so much fun to be around.


 

Hope it doesn't bite back

The finished product

    The trek home was much needed to walk off some of the food we ate and was actually pretty funny when we passed a sign for CD’s that included the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Metallica, and Cun’s n’ Roses. Yes Cuns, not Guns. We also passed a group of soldiers in uniforms running down the street and then passed a few stragglers drinking smoothies down the road, so I’m not really sure how strict sergeants are here. Once we got back to the hotel I played my first game of settlers, which I have been wanted to do for a while now! It was pretty slow moving and took almost 2 hours, but it was actually pretty fun other that the fact that I didn’t win. Catriona brought me back a Bacardi Breezer from 7-Eleven, which was delicious to drink while studying my Chinese for a quiz tomorrow and put me right to sleep.

Isn't it all?