Did you know that in Chinese culture, “Have you eaten? (吃了吗, Chi Le Ma?)” is the most common greeting, rather than “Hello”?
I am still thinking about how much fun I had at Día at the Clark Pleasant branch recently. This year, I was invited to participate in storytime, to tell people how to say hello in my home country’s language, Mandarin Chinese, and to serve visitors Chinese walking noodles (chilled noodles).
Walking noodles is a recipe that I created for one of my cooking demonstrations at the Trafalgar branch, “Cooking Noodles Three Ways.” The dish consists of chilled noodles paired with julienned cucumbers and homemade dressing. I thought this staple dish eaten during the summer in China would be great to share with local people, especially children.
The name was inspired by walking tacos. I also want people who attend my cooking classes and eat the noodles to have fun, so we used vegetables as choices for toppings for the noodles: julienned cucumbers with carrots, mushrooms, fresh/frozen corn, cherry tomatoes and peppers. We bagged the noodles in snack bags, making them easy to grab and go.
Growing up, I always enjoyed helping in my parents’ kitchen. My parents are great cooks. They like to make meals from scratch, using seasonal vegetables from their garden. My mom makes her own chili sauce. She likes to use Chinese aromatics, such as green onions, fresh ginger and garlic. She uses no soy sauce, cooking wine or Chinese vinegar. My mom made 清汤面, Qing Tang Mian (translated in English as Clear Soup Noodles) for our birthdays to wish us a healthy and long life. Since I have moved far away from them, my mother reminds me yearly to eat noodles on my birthday.
My husband, Kiyoki, was also a great cook. He liked to use soy sauce, Chinese vinegar and cooking wine. I learned how to make 青椒肉丝, Qing Jiao Rou Si (Shredded Pork/Beef and Pepper Stir Fry), 麻婆豆腐, Ma Po Dou Fu, (Mapo Tofu), 红烧排骨, Hong Shao Pai Gu (Braised Pork Ribs) from him. I love reading recipes and learning about different cultures.
My cooking philosophy is this: You don’t need fancy cookware to make a healthy and delicious meal. When I don’t have an ingredient that a recipe calls for, I substitute or skip it. When I cook, I look at what I have on hand and then come up with a meal. I don’t use measurements, just “eyeball” the amounts. For the past five years, I have tended to use fewer ingredients. The Japanese way of cooking has taught me to bring out an ingredient’s own “umami.”
I am a big believer in food as medicine. A healthy diet goes a long way. When we take time to cook, we nourish our body, mind and soul; we also create memories for our loved ones. Creating and writing recipes for my cooking demonstrations has taught me to be more mindful of my ingredients. I have learned to be more flexible in creating allergy-friendly, vegetarian and vegan recipes. If you’re interested in finding new recipes, JCPL has a variety of great cookbooks and magazines to help get you started.
Food connects people. My more than 15 years of experience in customer service-related fields have taught me the value of creating unique and tailored experiences for patrons who come into the library. I hope attendees find value in my cooking demonstrations.
If you are interested in learning Chinese culture, cooking Chinese food, seeing old friends, and meeting new friends, please join me at the upcoming cooking demonstration, “A Taste of China: Chinese Cooking 101,” at the Franklin branch at 6 p.m. June 5. For more information or to register, go to https://bit.ly/JCPLcooks. You can also download my recipe for walking noodles there.
Kayou Li is circulation manager at the Trafalgar Branch. JCPL staff members share in writing this twice-monthly column. Send comments to [email protected].
