Tag Archives: Recipes

Lixia 立夏, Summer begins

China’s traditional agricultural calendar is a marvel.  Perfectly timed to the movements of the sun, the calendar breaks down four cardinal seasons into twenty-four cycles (节期). Big moments like the summer solstice hit precisely in the middle of the season, with three, two-week cycles on either side.  It’s all quite tidy. This is a calendarContinue reading “Lixia 立夏, Summer begins”

Celery and crab roe

—a love letter to umami Chinese food has exactly five flavors. That’s not just my opinion, it’s a formulation that appears in at least 2,500 years of Chinese food writing. The five flavors—sweet, salty, sour, spicy and bitter—are the essential, indivisible components of cuisine. Actually that 2,500 years is just the point that the fiveContinue reading “Celery and crab roe”

Chinese beef balls 牛肉丸

Ah the humble beef ball.  Subject of countless dirty jokes, smutty nicknames, and at least one trashy Hong Kong movie that makes liberal use of both. More than their lesser-known pork cousins, beef balls command a cache that makes them culturally iconic. That’s in part because they are scarce, at least the good ones.  ProperContinue reading “Chinese beef balls 牛肉丸”

Dine like a poet

Structuralism and the successful dinner party FEB 01, 2025 China is one of the world’s great and oldest literary civilizations. It is also one of the great culinary civilizations. Put those together, and you get a truly vast body of Chinese food writing.  China’s earliest known food texts date back about 2500 years, and theseContinue reading “Dine like a poet”

No, New York Times, I don’t want your kung-pao tofu

a treatise on culinary disrespect  DEC 11, 2024 I hadn’t written to my sister for a few days. All the while, she goaded me with bits of news, open-ended questions, and threats both veiled and traditional. Fed up with receiving little more than the occasional proof-of-life grunt, she brought out the big guns. Being theContinue reading “No, New York Times, I don’t want your kung-pao tofu”

Hanlu 寒露 and these drying times

China’s fourth season of Autumn (October 8-23) The fourth season of autumn is called Hanlu. Meaning “cold dew,” the name strikes a tone significantly more ominous than the season of “white dew” just a few weeks back. White dew sounds like it could be a refreshing dessert. Cold dew is nothing less than a portentContinue reading “Hanlu 寒露 and these drying times”

Qiufen 秋分 and the delights of porridge

Welcome to the fourth season of autumn (September 22-October 7) A twenty-four season calendar moves pretty quickly, especially if you are committed to writing on each approaching season. As of this morning, qiufen 秋分 is upon us.  Qiufen is the midpoint of autumn. The moment that fall becomes undeniable and inescapable. The first tinge of regret for havingContinue reading “Qiufen 秋分 and the delights of porridge”

Bailu 白露 (White dew)

September 7-21 Welcome to China’s third season of Autumn. Meaning “White Dew,” Bailu started on September 7th, which makes me about a week late to the table. Here in Beijing, it’s finally starting to feel like fall. Over the past month, the muggy summer air started drying out, but the heat at midday could stillContinue reading “Bailu 白露 (White dew)”

立秋 Li qiu (Beginning of Autumn)

How to eat in China’s 13th season Summer’s been brutal. Crazy heat, lots of travel, plus of course all of the activity surrounding the publication of China in Seven Banquets: A Flavourful History. But summer’s now officially over. At least it is in Beijing, where we just marked the season of li qiu 立秋, the Beginning of Autumn. MostContinue reading “立秋 Li qiu (Beginning of Autumn)”