Missing Beijing...

So you probably know this if you know me but I lived in Beijing for a bit and once in awhile I miss it. It was such a fun and different kind of experience! By far one of the things I miss is the cuisine!! Seriously, I love chinese food and always have but since living there no Americanized Chinese food really satisfies. There are several differences in the food here and the food there, just as there were several differences in what the Chinese called "American food" there and what we have here.
An example of this would be the "pepperoni pizza" I ordered from a restaurant that was actually canadian bacon with onions, peppers and raisins. Yes. Raisins. It actually didn't taste bad but definitely is NOT what we refer to as pepperoni pizza here.

Anyhow, the reason for this blog is that, even though I miss Beijing's cuisine, I sometimes get a close second. I have found a Kung Pao chicken recipe that is the closest to the Kung Pao I used to get at one of the dining halls at Renmin University (where I stayed).
This weekend my very best friend, Jenny, visited and I was able to make her a DELICIOUS meal of Kung Pao Chicken, Jasmine sticky rice and crab rangoons (even though they don't really have rangoons in China).

The rangoons I made are actually a recipe that I made up by experimentation when I was 13 and its pretty stellar.

Below are some pics of the process!! Also be watching out for my next attempt at giving myself a taste of Beijing. I am going to try to make homemade dumplings! YUM!


Here are the rangoons from start to finish:








Kung Pao chicken... BAM!





Of course the rice:



And the finished product:




The Jenny likes :)