The Khitan (契丹) had a unique script, a very cool aesthetic, and were devout Buddhists.
鵪鶉茄 Chinese eggplant from the 12th century
Nine hundred year old eggplant? Bring it on!
Cooling menu
Sour pickles on a hot summer day
Elm bark noodles 榆皮面
The noodles didn’t taste like much, and felt somehow inorganic. Nor was their brief stay in my gut a particularly pleasant one.
Yak four ways!
so much yak, so very much yak
Sesame oil noodles 香油葱油面
Can you really use sesame oil for frying? Let’s find out!
辣子鸡 Chicken among the red lanterns
Includes: one recipe and one uncle joke
something new in Chengdu!
the best sort of good fortune is the kind you fall in to back assward
鱼香肉丝 “fish-flavored, but not fish”
Yuxiang 鱼香 literally means “fish taste,” which is a mystery because this style of cooking has neither fish, nor fish taste, nor any other fishy credentials
Egg foo young 芙蓉蛋 — no, seriously
In my memory, this dish is a greasy mess of overcooked eggs, watery bean sprouts, and sauce that can only be described as “brown”
Thomas DuBois 杜博思 