Category Archives: Chinese food

food from Southwest (Yunnan, Sichuan) and Northwest (Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia)

Cold jelly noodles, the way I like them

Posted on July 27, 2014 by David Dettmann

Liangfen 凉粉, or cold jelly noodles, are creeping onto Sichuan menus in the US, at places like Philly’s beloved Han Dynasty.  Unlike the thick jelly noodle variety found there, this is how I best like them: The way I first … Continue reading →

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Lamian (pulled noodles) in University City

Posted on July 26, 2014 by David Dettmann

Life is starting to get easy.  A new place opened up next to the Wawa on 36th and Chestnut in University City that does a decent pulled noodle (lamian 拉面–see here for my more detailed entry about this noodle dish).  … Continue reading →

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Guilin rice noodles, part two

Posted on July 23, 2014 by David Dettmann

Now that the hard part is done with the preparation of the master stock, or lushui 卤水 (described yesterday), putting together a delicious bowl of Guilin rice noodles, or Guilin mifen 桂林米粉, is relatively straightforward.  If you want to make … Continue reading →

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Master stock for Guilin rice noodles

Posted on July 22, 2014 by David Dettmann

Guilin rice noodles, or guilin mifen 桂林米粉, is a delicious lunch or anytime snack that is popular not only in Guilin, but in large cities all around China.  There used to be a place right near my old school in … Continue reading →

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Tofu threads, a nice cold side dish

Posted on July 19, 2014 by David Dettmann

Back in 2010 I enjoyed a northeastern-style buckwheat noodle restaurant in Huhhot, Inner Mongolia.  On the table were several cold plate dishes to eat together with the noodles, among them was a small dish of tofu threads or tofu “silk”.  … Continue reading →

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“Big plate chicken” spice pack from Urumchi

Posted on July 16, 2014 by David Dettmann

I’m not big on non-perishables that are loaded with chemicals and preservatives.  I really appreciate fresh ingredients and the time taken to produce a beautiful stew.  That said, I couldn’t resist this very unusual find today at a local market … Continue reading →

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Purslane, fried as vegetable

Posted on July 15, 2014 by David Dettmann

I came across this vegetable recently in a local store.  It is known as purslane in English, machixian (馬齒莧) in Mandarin, and semiz otu in Turkish—I provide these names as I know of its culinary use in China and Turkey … Continue reading →

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Lanzhou pulled noodles and “secret” ingredients

Posted on July 13, 2014 by David Dettmann

For those who have experienced it, a trip to a hand-pulled noodle (lamian 拉面 in Mandarin) shop is a culinary highlight of China.  Often these shops are named after their product: “beef noodles”(牛肉面), or “Lanzhou pulled noodles” (兰州拉面). In China, … Continue reading →

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