Dumpling Lesson

Few weeks ago I was invited, with a group of friends, to Sue's house for a Dumpling lesson. Sue's husband works for Ford and they live in the same apartment complex as us. When we arrived Sue had already prepared the ingredients and had a station setup to make the dumplings. The meat mixture consisted of: ground pork, finely chopped napa cabbage, chopped green onions, cooking wine, lemon juice, soy sauce, and salt/pepper. The wraps can be made from scratch or bought at the local grocery store (pre-made). 

Step 1: Put a small amount of meat in the center of the wrap. 

Step 2: Wet your fingers with water and tap it lightly around the inside edges of the wrap. 

Step 3: Close the wrap at the top, then at the sides, and pinch it closed tightly. 

Step 4: Carefully place a few dumplings in boiling water. When the dumplings float to the top they are fully cooked (about 5-7 minutes). You have to carefully watch the pot during this step. When the water returns to a boil after you have put in the dumplings you need to continually add a little cold water to the pot. You don't want the water at a rumbling boil while the dumplings are in there otherwise they will burst apart. 

Step. 5: Eat them with some soy sauce. Mmmmmm.... 

Note: They were slippery little things and add that to my inexperienced chopstick skills and it was a comic show watching me get them to my mouth. I wasn't the only one and a few of us had a good laugh over this. 

While we enjoyed our dumplings Sue also prepared some traditional Chinese side dishes: deep fried green beans dish and a chicken and snow peas dish. They were delicious as well. It was a lovely day with new friends and good food. I will definitely be making dumplings for dinner sometime very soon. And hopefully more Chinese cooking lessons as well. 

Ciqikou

Recently we had the opportunity to visit a very unique location in Chongqing. It is called Ciqikou (sitcheekoo). This ancient village is over 1700 years old and it was famous for its production of porcelain. It is located on the Jia Ling River and was also used as a shipping port. Over the years the porcelain industry has faded and Ciqikou has turned into a tourist spot and a place for locals to setup their own shops and sell a variety of gifts and souvenirs. 

The architecture and ancient feel of the village has been preserved. As you walk along the flag stone paved streets you can find hand-painted art, traditional Chinese clothing, tea houses, scarves, photographs, jewelry, embroidery workshops, assortment of local food, musical instruments, carved bamboo pieces and so much more. I had the opportunity to go with a group of friends two weeks ago and we purchased outfits for our children to wear at a upcoming Chinese New Year party at school. My good friend Nikki purchased a beautiful embroidered print of pandas. The framed artwork was 6'x2'. At the end of the day four of us carried the artwork up over our heads through crowded streets and alleys to our car waiting outside the village.The locals were throughly entertained by the silly American women hauling this artwork all on their own.

 Then a week later I went back with Chris, the kids, Takila (our Chinese tutor) and Mr. Xiang. We had a hands-on Chinese lesson at Ciqikou with Takila. We learned some new phrases and words specific to that area. And she shared many Chinese traditions with us.

On the main street of the village with Jessica (left) and Alison (right). 

Wall of Chinese proverbs.

Alison and I stopped into this postcard shop. We bought some postcards and on our way out signed our name on this wall of signatures and message from visitors who can been there before.

Chongqing is decorated with these red lanterns for Chinese New Year. They are everywhere and it's beautiful. 

Artisan making glass figurines and jewelry. 

Peppers, peppers and more peppers. Locals like their food spicy. 

In the middle of Ciqikou is a temple. You can pay 5rmb (less than $1) to walk up to the temple and sit inside and kneel before a Budha statue and make your wishes for good things in the coming year. Locals come here 2-3 times a year to make their wishes and light candles. 

On the way up to the temple Casey and Jake put money into a small crevices of this statue and made a wish (similar to our wishing ponds). 

Tradition is for men (boys) to enter and exit the temple on the left side of the doorway with their left foot first, and women (girls) to enter and exit on the right side of the doorway with their right foot first. 

 

Jake and Casey at the top with our Takila. 

Looking down at the Ciqikou village and Jia Ling river is on the left. 

Along the river there is a food court type area and also a kids area with bounce house, rides and carnival games.

Deep fried Chinese cookies called ma hua.

 This guy is making potato noodles. The pot in front is the noodle batter. He puts the mixture (very thick) into the strainer. He then pounds the noodle batter through a strainer and long noodles droop and hang then he cuts them off and they fall into a pot of boiling water. They cook for 2 minutes then he pulls them out and puts them into the other pot of water. They sit there until they are sold. 

This is one of my favorite spots at Ciqikou where you can purchase sugar art on a stick. The technique of making these masterpieces is incredible. I could sit and watch for hours. 

Ciqikou is a place we'll visit often.

Haircuts & Trip to Zhao Mu Shan Mountain

Last Saturday morning after Chinese lessons at home (more info coming in a future post) we ventured out to get haircuts for Chris and Jake and then our plan was to hike a local mountain for some exercise and sightseeing. 

Their scruffy appearance and the fact that it had been 8 weeks since their last haircut was all the motivation to find a salon and experience this since arriving in China. Per a recommendation from our friend Jessica we went to a salon next to one of the local grocery stores we shop at. We asked Mr. Xiang to come in with us incase we had any problems communicating. We walked in and immediately Jake and Chris were brought back to the washing station. Mr. Xiang was very kind and stayed with Jake the entire time to comfort him. While the boys were getting a 10 minute wash and head massage I was trying to figure out how to communicate to the stylist what I wanted for Jake's hair. I looked around at the hair-do's of the stylists (all males) and many were big, poofy, and 80s inspired. Finally I found a stylist with a cut similar to Jake. After Jake sat in the styling chair I hand gestured the other stylist over to Jake's chair and pointed to his haircut and then to Jake's head and hoped they understood what I meant. 

Jake was a good trooper and sat nicely. I also peeked in at Chris to see if he was managing okay as well. He seemed to be doing fine. After their cuts they went back to the washing station for a second rinse and massage. Then back to the chair for a blow dry. The Chinese don't use hair products like gels, mousse, creams and hairsprays. Jake's hair can be styled without product however Chris's hair requires gel so that it doesn't become a big afro. After the haircuts we had plans to go sightseeing but we made a pitstop back at home to style Chris's hair with some gel. To spare him the embarrassment I didn't post a photos of his head with out the product. Next time we'll bring some of our own products for styling. Here are my handsome boys!

After the pitstop at home we took a short drive to a local park called Zhao Mu Shan. It's a large mountain with walking paths, ponds, ancient walls, buildings, and picnic areas. We hiked up the mountain enjoying each little new surprise around each corner.

We explored for 90 mins at Zhao Mu Shan and saw many wonderful things. Next time we go we'll pack a picnic lunch and make it a longer trip and really absorb all it's beauty. On our way back down the mountain we chatted with two locals. One spoke very good English and was a English teacher at a local university. His English name happened to be Chris. He was very excited to talk to us and find out where we are from. He has a daughter living in the States and he visits her 3-4 times a year. He is only in Chongqing until the end of February then he will be traveling to Mexico for 10 months for a teaching assignment. He asked us if he could meet again and show us an area of the city. We exchanged contact info and will try to see him again before he leaves. The second local only spoke Chinese and I was very impressed with the 5 minute conversation Chris had with him in Chinese. Chris was able to understand the questions he was asking like: why we are in Chongqing, how old are our kids, where we are from etc...When we reached the bottom we all smiled at each other said "Zaijian" (Goodbye) and we were on our way back home.