原鸡汁笋丝 Spring Bamboo in Chicken Broth

Pinyin: yuán jī zhī sǔn sī

It's November now and this dish really hit the spot. It's a combination of spring bamboo, mushrooms and assorted vegetables served in a bowl of some of the tastiest chicken broth I've had in a good long time. It really brought back memories of mom's home cooking after a long cold day of playing outside.

Real authentic Chinese food is sometimes so dangerous as it more often than not brings fire to the table in the form of a small plate of napalm underneath a bowl of food, as was the case with this dish, but it's also great to know that the food will be hot until you finish eating it. Somehow I can't really see this style of cooking going over well in the all too paranoid safety conscious American society, but I'm certainly going to enjoy it over here.

I will certainly be hunting this dish down again, and it's simple enough and tasty enough that I might even give it a try in my own kitchen.

笋干老鸭煲 Slow Cooked Bamboo with Duck

Pinyin: sǔn gān lǎo yā bāo

Bamboo is such a very Chinese thing, from pandas to chopsticks it seems as though everything can be made from bamboo. There are a thousand different ways to eat bamboo, but this slow cooked bamboo with duck is one of the best I've discovered. The aroma is full flavored with hints of savory duck wafting up from the steam. The bamboo is soft yet still crunchy making it just the perfect texture to satisfy. The broth itself is sweet yet salty and bursting with flavors from the duck and bamboo. This dish is special, it must be simmered for long hours before ripening, but it is worth the effort. Find a local Yunnan style restaurant and be sure to give this dish a try, your taste buds will thank you.