The Story of the Chicken and the Beggar

Once upon a time...there was a starving beggar who stole a chicken. The beggar was hotly pursued by the chicken's owner and in his haste he buried the chicken in mud near a riverbank to hide it. Later that night the beggar returned and retrieved the chicken, its feathers covered in mud. He started a fire of twigs and branches to cook the chicken. But not having any utensils he placed the entire chicken directly into the fire. A tight clay crust formed as the fowl cooked, and when the crust was cracked open the feathers came right off,  exposing juicy tender meat and emitting an incredible aroma. The roasted chicken was so delicious he decided to start selling his creation to the villagers. Unbeknownst to him he had just invented one of the greatest culinary traditions of China.

 (From the Red Cook blog)

More recently...there was a Dutch girl who went to have dinner with friends in the Made in China restaurant in Beijing. There, they ordered the Beggar's Chicken, a famous dish from Jiangsu province. The chicken was covered in a layer of clay and had to be cracked open with a hammer.

With great strength, the girl cracked open the crust.

More experienced staff came to the rescue.

An incredible aroma was emitted. Inside the crust, the chicken was wrapped in lotus leaves.

The girl enjoyed the food with her friends!

In het Nederlands: Laatst heb ik voor het eerst "Beggar's Chicken" gegeten, of zeg maar "Bedelaar's kip." Het verhaal gaat dat het gerecht ontdekt is door een bedelaar die zijn gestolen kip snel in de modder gooide om hem te verstoppen. Toen hij later de kip, met modder en al, op het vuur legde kreeg hij een heerlijk gare kip. Voor je kan eten moet je de droge modderkorst even met een hamertje opentikken. Deze avond was die eer aan mij!

Educational Saturday - Trip to the water source

On a recent (sunny) Saturday, we took a little trip around the corner to explore the origins of our tap water. Because we live in a housing compound with modern houses with running water, heating, and air conditioning (and bathrooms), we are a bit separate from the rest of our Chinese neighborhood, the villages around us.

The water treatment plant -- it turns out -- actually takes water from a private well in the skimpy woods behind our compound and cleans it up before it is is pumped to the homes. In our house, we then have an extra filtration system at the sink downstairs, to further clean the water, before we drink it. (Everyone I know either has this kind of filter at home, or buys their drinking water in big bottles, the kind you use for water coolers. Sadly though, there have been quite a few reports of people tampering with these bottles of drinking water and just bottling unsafe tap water, sealing it, and selling it as drinking water.)


When we arrive at the plant, first we dress up as scientists. Thanks to a four-year science degree I still remember which way to button my lab coat.

We're off to explore.

We were lucky to have an English speaking guide. My Chinese lessons still haven't covered "water treatment" and "filtration."

Storage tanks with clean water. 

A personal tour by Thomas.

The m.a.d. scientist.

One of the lead scientists at the place.

Checking the pH. Phew, pretty good.

pH findings confirmed by a second assessment.

I felt right back at home, as if it was 1992 and I am taking "Waterkwaliteit 1", an introduction to water quality, at Wageningen University. I even explained the concept of color titration to the boys, though I am not sure it made a lot of impact considering the vast knowledge they already have about Harry Potter style experiments.

And this is what it is all about!

In het Nederlands: we maken een tripje naar een waterzuiveringsinstallatie die hoort bij de wijk waar we wonen. We wonen hier niet echt in een Chinese wijk, maar in een "gesloten" wijk speciaal aangelegd voor rijkere Chinezen en buitenlanders. De huizen hier hebben allemaal water, electriciteit en W.C.s, wat in China nog niet helemaal de norm is. Het water in ons huis komt van een bron vlakbij. Nadat het gezuiverd is, komt het naar ons huis. Daar filteren we het zelf nog een keer en dan kunnen we het drinken. Gewoon kraanwater kan je hier in China niet drinken.

The art of eating...

Recently we went to a restaurant in the Huairou district, which is a bit north of us, towards the Great Wall.

We went for lunch (around 11:30am in good Chinese fashion) and had some yummy food. Because we were with Chinese friends, we were even introduced to a couple new dishes we had never had before. Hurrah!

The restaurant not only had great food, but it was also a pretty place to visit. Simon and I took lo-o-o-o-o-ots of pictures.


 

Walking in. (Number nine does not seem all that cooperative...)
 

The tables all consisted of four parts, each displaying some kind of item. The big circle on top is the part of the table that will later carry all the food. You turn it around in circles so that everyone can easily get to the food.
 

Ordering food is a breeze, especially when others do it for you :-)
 

Getting ready. Thomas is already swirling the glass top on which they'll later put the food.

So under all the table tops are these kinds of items. This is a close-up of one of them, presumably some white beans. Simon made it a true art project (and in the process killed the battery in my phone). Here's the art gallery:
 

 

 

 

 
 
 

Eventually, some items also appeared on top of the table!

 

This might not be your grandmother's home cooking (unless you are Chinese), but it is delicious.

 

And this is what a good swirl at the dinner table looks like :-)

 

 

In het Nederlands: Een paar weekjes terug waren we in een mooi restaurant een stukje buiten de stad. Het eten was lekker en de vele kleurtjes binnen waren een genot voor het oog. Simon maakte een hele fotoserie van de verschillende voorwerpen die in de bakken onder de tafels lagen. Bovenop de tafels zie je de typisch Chinese draaischijf (deze keer van doorzichtig glas) om de schalen met eten mee rond te draaien zodat iedereen er goed bij kan.

 

 

At work

Beijing, ni hao!

I am back in China's Northern Capital (Bei=north, Jing=capital). Back in the land of dumplings and chopsticks, the land of a billion people with black hair, and the land of middle-age guys who in summer pull their T-shirts up above their bellies. Yeah, I am back!.

I know it has been just a little bit quiet on the blogging front, but that was because I was very busy reconnecting with Dutch culture all summer. I sampled all the new drink yoghurt flavors, took Simon and Thomas to eat some kroketten, and tested if stores now finally are able to accept international credit cards (the answer is, no). And of course I had to watch "our Epke" win his gold medal.

But now I am back, and even back at work.

I haven't talked much about work in this blog, mostly to not put you to sleep immediately (did it work?). Since May, I've been visiting the Institute of Remote Sensing Application, part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, to work as an English editor. The work is excellent, and I am not just saying that because the Chinese government might be reading my blog every night.

I am sure you are all dying to know what this place looks like, so come with me:


This is the main entrance of the institute. It's located in the Beijing Science and Technology park, right next to the Beijing Olympic Park. (In 2008, Epke was also there -- at the Olympics I mean.)




The building next to it, on the left, is "my building." As an unofficial visitor I don't even have a card, but a friendly door man let's me in when I come.




Inside it's work, work, work. I edit like a maniac. I really do!

When the editing slows down, I cheer myself up with a Nescafe. (No coffee machines in sight.) I also drink enormous amounts of Chinese tea.

 

 

For hot water, we use this water boiler. If you've ever been in China you'll recognize them because they seem to be everywhere. Boiling hot water for your coffee, tea, or noodle soup.

 

 

 

And next to the water boiler is this handy contraption. OK, it's not the most tasteful picture, I know, but with everyone drinking tea, you need a tea-leaf-collector-bucket. And that is it's official name.




Roughly at 11:09am, I walk across the street to this cafetaria. If you know me from work before, you might be stunned to know I can eat lunch this early. Lunch time is from 11am to 1pm and I found out the hard way that going at 12:46pm for lunch does not get you the best food in the house.





This is the cafetaria inside.




On the way to the food.  The photo is blurred, but that is because it is a hectic place. You can pick from many different kinds of vegetables and other dishes, and combine them with a bowl of rice.



And this is my lunch. In fact, this is my favourite lunch here. It's some cold noodle with (what appears to be) a sesame dressing, cucumbers, and spicy speckles. The white rolls on the side are also excellent. Well, actually, the rolls are boring and tasteless, until....you dip them into the red spicy sauce. The doughyness soaks up the spice and the result is  absolutely delicious.

 

 

This is on the way back to my building. (The careful observer might notice this picture was taken on another day (pollution index 250) than the blue-sky image above (pollution index 19, acceptable even by European and U.S. standards).

 

Wasn't this a great tour? I know, you all want to be here. Stay tuned for more updates from your fine reporter on the ground. There might just be another one this year.

In het Nederlands: Na een superleuke (en drukke) vakantie in Nederland is het echte leven weer begonnen. In deze blogpost staan wat fotootjes van een nieuwe werkplek bij het Chinees instituut voor remote sensing application. Ik werk als een editor, wat betekent dat ik help met het schrijven (in het Engels) van hun wetenschappelijke artikelen. Het is leuk werk, en dat niet alleen vanwege de lekkere noedels in de bedrijfskantine.

 

 

 

 

 

Wet Market

One of the English words I learned shortly after moving to Beijing was "wet market." Perhaps that in some foggy memory cell this word had been stored, but when people mentioned the "wet market" to me I wondered if I had to bring scuba gear. I guess that happens when you grow up in a land with supermarkets.

Turns out "wet" just refers to the fact that lots of animals and other products are still very fresh at these markets. "Fresh," as in "still alive," and thus wet (if you are a fish or a crab).

On my recent birthday, the one where I turned 21 again, my friend Meike and I went to a cooking class, which was tied to a visit to a local wet market. I loved this market. It's just amazing to watch all this beautiful food. Some of it is pretty strange for our appetites - pig feet anyone? Cow stomach? - but the more I see these things, the more I start appreciating them. (From a distance though, mind you. Not yet on my plate.)

(OK friends, a small admission: I have long ceased to be a vegetarian, and while I still don't eat much meat and do not like how the consumption of animals hurts ecosystems and endangers species, I do quite enjoy seeing those markets and seeing food presented and purchased in such an honest way.)

After this moral interlude, here are some pictures. See for yourself if you can "stomach" one of these markets...

Meat extravaganza. It's almost a puzzle game to try to match each shape with an animal...

Any kind of vinegar, oil, or spice you would like. (Well, Chinese only.)

More noodles than the eye can see.

Beautiful garlic. (I think!)

Colorful display of fruit and veggies. Most if not all of Beijing's wet markets are inside now. It's better for hygiene and also more comfortable shopping during the cold winters. Inside a huge space lots of small businessmen rent a stall to display their goods.

Animal feet.

Ground beef or pig feet - your choice.

More meat on display. Admittedly I got a bit carried away with the pictures here. I guess the omnivore in me was catching up.

I thought these were a bunch of old rags sitting in dirty water. Turns out they are stomach. I am not sure how to prepare stomach.

Kidneys or liver? Check your biology book.

Chunyi Zhou, with whom Meike and I did the cooking class. Here she shares some background information on soy sauces and vinegars for Chinese cooking. For more information about Chunyi's great cooking classes, see www.hutongcuisine.com.

The pretty courty yard in the Li Shi hutong where Chunyi holds her cooking classes.

The kitchen. About a million times cleaner than the average restaurant kitchen in Beijing, if you ask me.

Shanxi vinegar. One of the best to buy.

Everything is cooked with the wok.

In het nederlands: Voor mijn verjaardag - al begin september - gingen een vriendin en ik op Chinese kookles en naar een lokale "wet market", een markt voor verse groentes, fruit, vlees en vis. Sommige produkten ken ik niet en soms als ik ze herken (varkenspoten, koeienmaag) heb ik weinig interesse om ze te eten, maar het bezoek aan zo'n markt is wel echt een belevenis. Na de markt gingen we naar de kookschool van Chunyi Zhou om Chinees te leren koken.