Sichuan/Chongqing Little Slurp w meat sauce and chickpeas

[ezcol_1half] COULD THIS WORK? THAT WOULD BE YOUR LAST THOUGHT, BEFORE THIS BOWL OF MAGIC POTION SUCKS YOU INTO AN UNSTOPPABLE WHIRLPOOL OF HAPPINESS. [/ezcol_1half] [ezcol_1half_end] Sorry I have been absent. Boy, do I have a good reason. Recently, I believe, we've all been experiencing a kind of peculiar surrealism in life.  I don't know about you, but for multiples times during the span of my day, I found myself staring at the mundane occurrences of my perceived reality - the sound of cars brushing through the street

M(Y) SHANGHAI’S COLD WONTONS IN SPICY PEANUT SAUCE

[ezcol_1third] YOUR ULTIMATE REVENGE TOWARDS THE COMING ASS-BINDING HEATWAVES A REFRESHINGLY PLEASURABLE PAIN, BEST SERVED COLD [/ezcol_1third] [ezcol_2third_end] It might say something about me, perhaps not in the most positive light, whenever I fell for a Chinese dish-inspiration from half way around the world while living right inside the epicenter of it all, where the "real things" are or so they say.  What kind of a food-blogger, who eats and breathes right off of the ground-zero of a very old, very diverse and rapidly morphing food-culture often generalized as "Chinese foods", would cook you a Chinese dish that comes from an Instagram of a New Yorker who took it at a restaurant that are, out of all places, in Brooklyn. Lazy?  Perhaps.  Utter dumb luck?  That's for sure.  Because you see, without this inconvenient loop around the globe it has traveled, the inspiration for this down-home Shanghainese summer snack, in one form or another, would have otherwise never found its way to melt in my warm embrace.  And this is, I guess especially for those who have experienced living abroad, a perfectly explainable social phenomenon. Thing is, I believe across all cultures, that the restaurants indigenous to where they are located, often times with great effort, focus on serving what they perceive as "restaurant-style/worthy" dishes only.

FIRE-CRUSHED CUCUMBER SALAD

[ezcol_1third] THIS IS A CONVICT YOU'LL WANT TO FORGIVE, AND EMBRACE [/ezcol_1third][ezcol_2third_end] I don't mean to sound self-absorbed and overly theatrical if I mustn't, but officers, I have a stalker. Please, listen to me before you dismiss my report after I tell you that, yes, it's a cucumber salad.  Harmless and gentle it may sound, but believe me when I say that this fella, is spicy

Wontons for Him

(简体)(繁體) There are about a hundred activities that are on my list of things to AVOID at ALL COST in Beijing.  Taking a cab is one of them.  I'm from New York, the international training-hub for cab-EQ and I thought I graduated smoothly with only one slip that caught me off-guard somewhere on Christopher Street.  So to say that I have NO tolerance for supposedly my favorite transportation in the world, is saying a lot.  If you think New York cab's got attitude, how about multiplying that by 10 folds then add these to top the cake:  a) The car is built to be as safe as a tin can.  b) Driver tells you that it's his second day on the job so that he's completely CLUELESS on the directions OR how to keep you alive for that matter.  c) A thick stench of body odor permeating throughout and you realized only a short stub of screw is left where the window control used to be.  d) It's 104 degrees outside but the AC doesn't work (they never do) PLUS the window STILL doesn't open and YES of course

Sichuan Chili Oil

UPDATES AVAILABLE: (sources for ingredients) I love and use so much chili oil (such as here) that I decided to forge my own.  It is the basis of all things sichuan which - IF were also your thing and it better be -  is totally worth it to make your own because it tastes so much BETTER than store-bought (which I often find very lacking in flavors).  The preparation and cooking itself practically takes no time at all, and it keep FOREVER in your fridge.  I promise that it will deliver the kick you've been looking for and guarantee to scorch and numb your face right off.  You are welcome. It goes without saying that HIGH QUALITY ingredients is the key to flavors for this oil.  Korean grocery stores usually carry pretty good chili flakes.  Sichuan peppercorn (fresh for dried) can be a bit tricky to locate since, I heard, that it was banned for awhile in New York for its alleged "narcotic quality".   When in doubt, I would check the Chinese medicine shops in China town. UPDATES 2013/2/20: sources for ingredients are added Another version of sichuan chili oil that I adore. Ingredients: 5 cups of canola, vegetable, or peanut oil First step: 1/2 large scallion or 2 small ones,

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