Lunch:
Who cares? Dinner is what mattered tonight. (And I forgot to take a picture of it beforehand, it being: stir-fried green beans, thinly-sliced, stir-fried turnips and pickled veggies, stir-fried napa cabbage, and white rice.)
Dinner:
It began with asking two students during their final exam, an oral interview, what her favorite food around here is. She talked about it: xiao kao (so it rhymes with "cow," pronounced "shao cow"). Bar-b-que! On long, thin, bamboo skewers! All the veggie goodness choices of the world, plus different kinds of tofu, and quail eggs! (Can get meat, too, but I'm not doing that any more.)
I hurried from exams to yoga class, where I sat in a calm lotus pose, thinking xiao kao, standing tall tree thinking xiao kao, reaching to heaven and xiao kao. After class, fellow teacher Jessie agreed to go out to xiao kao with me, bless her:
Not a drop of alcohol did I have. China has a very strict zero-blood-alcohol-content law, and I wasn't about to enjoy some wine or beer alone. However, I felt so tipsy-happy drunk off of that meal!
Note the corn. Corn exists in practice here, but it's only a vague shadow of its sweet, crispy goodness as exists in the U.S., especially when you get it day-old from your organic farmer. But now! I know of xiao kao korn. Roasted, salted, sprinkled with powdered Sichuan-famous numbing spice - heaven on earth, I tell you!
Note the mushrooms.
Note my happiness. Long live xiao kao!
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