Dynasties aren't the only thing that determines China's history, geography plays a role too. China is composed of different climates with different features in different regions of the country. Natural products are largely dependent on rainfall. Some of its exports include wheat, barley, rice, textiles, silk, an a variety of teas. During the Stone Age there was a lot of cultural change such as how people began living together in settled places. They also cultivated land, domesticated animals, and made polished stone tools. Also a 4,000 year old writing system enabled the Chinese people to communicate with each other and maintain a cultural identity.
Can you think of any Disney princess who is Chinese? Congratulations if you guessed Mulan, and if not I don't think you know your Disney princesses that well. In the 1988 animated film, the main character Fa Mulan takes her father's place in a current war against the Huns. She goes to the training camp and pretends to be a guy there (no one suspected a thing. You'd think someone would notice.) and trains to fight. Well the inspiration came from a legend called The Ballad of Mulan, where there is the same plot as the movie except for the fact that the main characters name in the legend is Hua Mulan.
Sunday, February 21, 2016
Monday, February 15, 2016
Feedback and Recipes of China
Today I made dumplings and chicken fried rice from China in honor of Lunar New Year. Here's the feedback and posted below is the recipes for the dishes.
- The food was AMAZING! Maybe try and make food for the vegetarians.
- I'm not really a dumplings person but the rice was great. It had incredible flavor, and I think the peppers made it. 9/10
- I only had the chicken fried rice but it was really good. It tasted like ti was from hibachi.
- Your food was great. I only had the rice, yet it was a 10/10 meal for me. Each of your cooking has benn amazing and gives me more of a reason to enjoy Fridays.
- I really liked the rice and dumplings. They had a good combination off flavors.
- Perfectly executed! Bring more portions!
- AMAZING JOB! The dumplings wee great and the rice was absolutely amazing!
- I loved your chicken fried rice. It was a good combination of flavors and had a good texture.
- I really like the chicken fried rice! At first when I had the dumpling I thought it was plain but then I put the soy sauce on it and it was very good! Nice job!
- I thought the rice was perfectly evened out in terms of the ingredients. I especially liked the bit of chicken. The dumplings were a little too doughy in my opinion but they were still good.
- I really enjoyed your dish today and was happy to eat one of my favorite meals. The dumplings were really good, although my second one had a bigger dough ratio than meat. The rice followed by soy sauce was great.
- I thought your food was amazing! I absolutely loved the dumplings and they tasted even better with the soy sauce! I loved the rice too. I can't wait for the next time.
- The rice was very good and I was cooked perfectly and I don't know what other things you put in there but it worked! Oh, I usually don't like peppers but I liked that.
-Rice- amazing; maybe add a little more spicy.
The dumplings were not my best presentation but everything came out good so I guess that's what counts; the flavor (not my personal motto as I will try to do better next time) Here's a picture of how they turned out.
- The food was AMAZING! Maybe try and make food for the vegetarians.
- I'm not really a dumplings person but the rice was great. It had incredible flavor, and I think the peppers made it. 9/10
- I only had the chicken fried rice but it was really good. It tasted like ti was from hibachi.
- Your food was great. I only had the rice, yet it was a 10/10 meal for me. Each of your cooking has benn amazing and gives me more of a reason to enjoy Fridays.
- I really liked the rice and dumplings. They had a good combination off flavors.
- Perfectly executed! Bring more portions!
- AMAZING JOB! The dumplings wee great and the rice was absolutely amazing!
- I loved your chicken fried rice. It was a good combination of flavors and had a good texture.
- I really like the chicken fried rice! At first when I had the dumpling I thought it was plain but then I put the soy sauce on it and it was very good! Nice job!
- I thought the rice was perfectly evened out in terms of the ingredients. I especially liked the bit of chicken. The dumplings were a little too doughy in my opinion but they were still good.
- I really enjoyed your dish today and was happy to eat one of my favorite meals. The dumplings were really good, although my second one had a bigger dough ratio than meat. The rice followed by soy sauce was great.
- I thought your food was amazing! I absolutely loved the dumplings and they tasted even better with the soy sauce! I loved the rice too. I can't wait for the next time.
- The rice was very good and I was cooked perfectly and I don't know what other things you put in there but it worked! Oh, I usually don't like peppers but I liked that.
-Rice- amazing; maybe add a little more spicy.
The dumplings were not my best presentation but everything came out good so I guess that's what counts; the flavor (not my personal motto as I will try to do better next time) Here's a picture of how they turned out.
Recipes
Dumplings:
- Ginger root (fresh, 2in x 1/2 in) shredded
- 1 pound of ground pork
- 1 tablespoon of rice wine
- 1/4 cup of scallions
- 1/4 cup of celery
For the dumpling wrapper, use 3 cups of flour and 1 1/4 cups of water and mix to create a dough.
Knead it and let it sit for five minutes then knead for three minutes again. Let it sit until you are done with the pork preparations.
1) Add the minced (cut as very small cubes/ cut thinly) of scallions, celery and the shredded ginger to the meat and mix it.
2) Once the dough is ready, make circles and place some meat inside. Seal the dough so that the meat can stay inside.
3) Place in a pan with water that doesn't exceed the height of the dumpling and steam for about 25 minutes. To check, take a dumpling and open it and taste it to check if the pork is cooked properly. You could buy dipping sauce specialized for Chinese dumplings.
Chicken Fried Rice:
- 1/2 tablespoon of red pepper (diced)
- 1/2 tablespoon of scallions (thinly sliced)
- Depending on how many people you are cooking for determines the amount of white rice you used. Make it a day before because it is better when it is cold. Let it cool out.
- 1/2 tablespoon of garlic
- 1/2 tablespoon of ginger
- 1 cup of fried chicken cut how you like it.
- 1/2 cup of soy sauce.
1) Pan fry the red pepper, garlic, ginger, scallions, and chicken. Then in a separate pan fry the rice with the soy sauce.
Monday, February 8, 2016
Recipes and Feedback (Greece)
Feedback: On Friday I made a classic Greek salad and Tzatziki Sauce.
-I really liked the olives, they were a good balance to the salad. The dip was a little to garlic-y for me but nonetheless it was still good.
-I really enjoyed the pita bread and the sauce. The salad was the bomb. Good job.
-All delicious. I didn't eat the dip but only cause I don't like sour cream.
-Tastes very good. I like the salad and how it was different than what I usually eat. The pita bread and dip reminded me of something I had before and was very.
-The dressing to the salad was delicious and reminded me a lot of Italian dressing. Personally, I am not a fan of feta cheese but I think it would match well with this salad. The dip was very good as well and I really liked the consistency. (Although there was a bit too much of garlic)
-I liked the salad a lot and the dressing and the cheese tasted really good with it. The chips were a little hard to bite into but they were still rally good. I liked the dip a lot.
-I think that your food was a really good combination of flavors. I like the bread and the dip together. You did a really good job and I think everything as very tasty together.
-The food was, as usual, very good. I usually am not a huge garlic fan, but this is done well so it's not so overpowering. The salad was great (I love salad), since the dressing compliments it well.
-Very good once again! Loved everything as usual! thanks for the yummy food!
Recipes:
Classic Greek Salad
- Depending on the amount of people, one-two bundles of lettuce, cut about an inch
- 1 red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 (6 ounce) can of pitted black olives
- 1 green bell pepper thinly sliced
- 2 tomatoes chopped
- 1 cucumber sliced
- 1 cup of crumbled feta cheese (optional to preference)
- 1 teaspoon of dried oregano
In large bowl combine the ingredients and add your preferred dressing on top.
Tzatziki Sauce
- 1 large English cucumber, peeled and grated
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 4 cloves of garlic minced (could be less if you are not a fan of garlic)
- a teaspoon of lemon juice
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 2 cups of sour cream
1) Sprinkle the cucumber and salt in a bowl and let it sit for about 10-15 minutes. This will help take out the juice from the cucumber.
2) Place the sour cream in a separate bowl. Dump the cucumber and its juice onto sturdy, dry paper or cloth towel and squeeze as much moisture as possible from the cucumber. Add the cucumber into the sour cream and mix together with the garlic. Season it with salt and pepper to preference.
3) Cover with plastic wrap and stick it in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours or overnight.
-I really liked the olives, they were a good balance to the salad. The dip was a little to garlic-y for me but nonetheless it was still good.
-I really enjoyed the pita bread and the sauce. The salad was the bomb. Good job.
-All delicious. I didn't eat the dip but only cause I don't like sour cream.
-Tastes very good. I like the salad and how it was different than what I usually eat. The pita bread and dip reminded me of something I had before and was very.
-The dressing to the salad was delicious and reminded me a lot of Italian dressing. Personally, I am not a fan of feta cheese but I think it would match well with this salad. The dip was very good as well and I really liked the consistency. (Although there was a bit too much of garlic)
-I liked the salad a lot and the dressing and the cheese tasted really good with it. The chips were a little hard to bite into but they were still rally good. I liked the dip a lot.
-I think that your food was a really good combination of flavors. I like the bread and the dip together. You did a really good job and I think everything as very tasty together.
-The food was, as usual, very good. I usually am not a huge garlic fan, but this is done well so it's not so overpowering. The salad was great (I love salad), since the dressing compliments it well.
-Very good once again! Loved everything as usual! thanks for the yummy food!
Recipes:
Classic Greek Salad
- Depending on the amount of people, one-two bundles of lettuce, cut about an inch
- 1 red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 (6 ounce) can of pitted black olives
- 1 green bell pepper thinly sliced
- 2 tomatoes chopped
- 1 cucumber sliced
- 1 cup of crumbled feta cheese (optional to preference)
- 1 teaspoon of dried oregano
In large bowl combine the ingredients and add your preferred dressing on top.
Tzatziki Sauce
- 1 large English cucumber, peeled and grated
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 4 cloves of garlic minced (could be less if you are not a fan of garlic)
- a teaspoon of lemon juice
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 2 cups of sour cream
1) Sprinkle the cucumber and salt in a bowl and let it sit for about 10-15 minutes. This will help take out the juice from the cucumber.
2) Place the sour cream in a separate bowl. Dump the cucumber and its juice onto sturdy, dry paper or cloth towel and squeeze as much moisture as possible from the cucumber. Add the cucumber into the sour cream and mix together with the garlic. Season it with salt and pepper to preference.
3) Cover with plastic wrap and stick it in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours or overnight.
Greece's background
Greek customs are a very important aspect of Greece and its culture and also its traditions. In America, most people believe Christmas is the most important holiday however in Greece they treasure Easter more than Christmas. On Good Thursday and Good Saturday, women dye eggs red and bake buns. On Good Friday, the day of mourning, they decorated Epitaphios, the tomb of Christ with his icon, in flowers and carry it around the village then return back to the church where the believers would kiss the image of Christ. They also believe in superstitions as well. For example, instead of Friday the 13th they believe in Tuesday the 13th with the same things applying. They also celebrate a festive called Carnival (In Greece it is called Apokries) where they feast for two weeks. Everyone is dressed up and parties take place in the streets and bars, throwing confetti to each other. Right across Turkey is Greece. It is surrounded by water on three sides and is slowly going underwater economically and geologically.
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