Eats around A2, part 2

During my last few weeks in A2, E and I started having pretty regular walks 2-3 times a week. We'd either cook something at my place and then walk a few miles or go out to central campus to get dinner and then walk back to north campus. The last few times we met up, we made dumplings and we also went to TK WU for dinner! Ok so we went twice but I found it pretty good and satisfying for Chinese food in A2 :) The service was also not bad and we even got free dessert once :D

The first time we went, E had Rice and Roast Duck and I got the Rice with Chinese Beef Stew. I didn't try any of E's but mine was quite good..of course it helps that I <3 beef tendon lol.


Rice and Roast Duck


Rice and Chinese Beef Stew

The second time we went, we shared two dishes: Hunan Chicken and Kung Pao Tofu. Both were spicy, especially to me who is sadly very weak when it comes to spicy food. But nevertheless I thought they were good, but I preferred the tofu to the chicken though. There's just something about tofu that's crispy on the outside and yet still soft on the inside. Oh the wonders of frying lol. We were also pleasantly surprised when they gave out bowls of mango ice to everyone that night for dessert :)


Hunan Chicken


Kung Pao Tofu


Free mango ice!

Ok, well that's it for now. I think I have one more update and then I'll be done with A2 food...sadly. I wish I had gone out to eat more often :(

Green Onion Pancakes

Mmm, I can't even count how many times my mom made these when I was growing up. These are one of my ultimate comfort foods! I even called my mom from Japan to get the recipe so I could make it overseas..and I was so happy I did lol. The big plus to green onion pancakes is that they're super simple to make! Most people will have all the necessary ingredients in the house pretty much at all times. A great variation is to fry the pancake with a beaten egg..also quite delicious..and reminiscent of stall food in Taiwan ::sigh:: These also store well in the freezer and don't require defrosting when you go to fry them :) In any case, I never measure exactly how much of each ingredient I use, except for flour and water, so I won't put down measurements for the ones I didn't measure. Eyeballing is always great and also experimenting on your own ^^;



Green Onion Pancakes

Ingredients

3 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup cold water
1 cup hot water
shortening
salt
chopped green onions

Directions

1. Mix the flour and the hot water until combined.

2. Add in the cold water and work dough until smooth and the sides don't stick to the bowl. Add additional flour or water to achieve this consistency.

3. Cut dough into 4 pieces and shape into balls. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let rest for one hour.

4. Flour a work surface and rolling pin and roll dough into appx 10-12 inch circle, the dough should be fairly thin. Spread the shortening on the dough to cover, followed by salt, and green onions.

5. Starting with the edge closest to you, roll the dough up into a tube. Pinch both ends closed and then roll them towards the center, making an "S" shape. Fold the top of the "S" onto the bottom and flatten slightly. Cover the dough with a damp cloth until ready to use.

6. Flour a work surface and rolling pin and roll out the finished dough into a circle, about a 1/4 inch thick. Heat enough oil in the pan to cover the bottom and fry the pancake on both sides until golden and crispy. Be careful not to use too little oil, the resulting pancake won't be as soft inside as it should be.