We Ate Our Way Across The Eastern Tibetan Plateau - 40 Different Dishes in 15 Days
That is correct, 40 different Chinese dishes in 15 days. The Chinese people love to eat...give three cheers...and so say all of us. We ate three meals a day, beginning with a breakfast of dumplings or noodle soup (made with fresh noodles in front of our eyes). Some humble dumplings were absolutely wonderful, while others so-so, and never cooked the same way twice. Steamed with different fillings of meat, vegetables, spicy and/or sweet, they were always filling.
The same menus are served for both lunch and dinner in China but we ended up not gaining a single pound for two reasons. The Chinese don't eat heavy, sugared desserts, e.g. cake, pies which I happen to love at home. Desserts are my weakness and I don't intend to give them up! And, the slivers of pork, chicken, yak meat, incorporated into any dish is so infinitesimal that it would be impossible to gain weight no matter how much you eat. ex-Marine and I would even have whispered conversations, "Do you think there could possibly be one-quarter ounce of pork in this?"
Sichuan food lived up to its spicy, hot reputation and below are just a few classic dishes. Did we eat them? I have no idea since it was impossible for me to pronounce the dishes and write down exactly what they were. There is:
"Mapo Doufu (Grandma Chen's Bean Curd) - red hot bean curd with pimento and hot peppers
Laitangyuan - rice dumplings
Gongbao Jiding - chicken breast meat, dry peppercorns and peanuts
Dandan noodles (Carrying Pole Noodles) - hot spiced noodles in sauce of dried shrimp, shredded preserved vegetables, sesame seeds, chili oil, vinegar and garlic
Fuqifepian - snack made of slices of oxen offal (This I know for sure we didn't eat)
Hotpot - A big wok is placed in the center of the table full of hot spiced oil or hot soup with plates of raw meat and different ingredients spread around it. Dip, cook and eat.
I began taking videos of the food we ate from the beginning of this Eastern Tibetan Plateau exploration with just one thought in mind. Video only different dishes. If we ate Sweet & Sour Pork once, the next clip had to be of Sweet & Sour Pork Meatballs, or Sweet & South French Fries (chips) - really, Sweet & Sour French Fries. This made a grand total of 40 different Chinese Foods over 15 days time. And the best part? If you weren't really thrilled with the taste of one dish, there were always three more to choose from!
Warning: Do not watch the video while hungry or you'll be phoning for "take-out" at your favorite Chinese restaurant. Enjoy...
