As we
prepare to return to the states in less than two weeks I am more aware than
ever of the everyday things I have become used to that will no longer be the
norm. The random things that I see all
the time here in China; street vendors
selling wares in the alleyway, noodles from
a cart made to order with a dozen sauces to add (most we have no idea
what they are), the happy panda shaped
buns and exotic starfish sold at the local grocery store and one of my guilty
pleasures takoyaki.
I haven't eaten any starfish but have eaten more than my fair share of takoyaki. Takoyaki is a small ball shaped snack of batter cooked in a special pan and filled with diced octopus, bits of tempura scraps and onion. Several are put in a to-go bowl then a dark takoyaki sauce , a wasabi sauce and a mayonnaise based sauce are drizzled over them and then finally shavings of bonito are sprinkled on top. Bonito is dried, fermented, smoked tuna that is sliced sliced paper thin, tasty but not a favorite of mine as they stick to the roof of my mouth. I usually skip the bonito and go for double wasabi!
Takoyaki is a traditional Japanese snack which is a version of the Danish ebelskivers. The overpriced Danish ebelskiver pan can be found in the Williams Sonoma catalog along with “ebelskiver turners” for $12.95 otherwise known as wooden chopsticks here in China. My older sister and I went through a phase of making those sweet ebelskiver concoctions on vacations and when I saw a street vendor in China making a similar pastry it brought many memories of vacation breakfasts in Bear Paw. Instead of sweet chocolate and maple syrup I get savory squid, wasabi and dried tuna but I have to say the savory ones are even more delicious.
I am not sure if the Danes or the Japanese invented this wonderful snack first, but I think they have been perfected here in China.
I haven't eaten any starfish but have eaten more than my fair share of takoyaki. Takoyaki is a small ball shaped snack of batter cooked in a special pan and filled with diced octopus, bits of tempura scraps and onion. Several are put in a to-go bowl then a dark takoyaki sauce , a wasabi sauce and a mayonnaise based sauce are drizzled over them and then finally shavings of bonito are sprinkled on top. Bonito is dried, fermented, smoked tuna that is sliced sliced paper thin, tasty but not a favorite of mine as they stick to the roof of my mouth. I usually skip the bonito and go for double wasabi!
Takoyaki is a traditional Japanese snack which is a version of the Danish ebelskivers. The overpriced Danish ebelskiver pan can be found in the Williams Sonoma catalog along with “ebelskiver turners” for $12.95 otherwise known as wooden chopsticks here in China. My older sister and I went through a phase of making those sweet ebelskiver concoctions on vacations and when I saw a street vendor in China making a similar pastry it brought many memories of vacation breakfasts in Bear Paw. Instead of sweet chocolate and maple syrup I get savory squid, wasabi and dried tuna but I have to say the savory ones are even more delicious.
I am not sure if the Danes or the Japanese invented this wonderful snack first, but I think they have been perfected here in China.
Cheers and
Good Eating!
No comments:
Post a Comment