baijiu balls

Coconut, Cashew, Ginger... unite!

It's that time of year, and the bells are ringing; the lights are blinging. Even here in Beijing.

drastic measuring

What's a Christmas gathering without rum balls? The only problem is that my cupboards are scant of rum.

This called for drastic measures: I altered the traditional recipe to create a simple holiday confection that is possible to make in even the simplest of kitchens, with a simply irresistible outcome.

My Coconut Cashew Gingers the Baijiu Balls will keep you warm and festive:

ingredients: Coconut Cashew Gingers the Baijiu Balls

100g coconut wafers, pulverized
300g cashew meat, pulverized
1/3c red sugar, powdered
1c white sugar, powdered
25g ginger powder (for ginger-shy folks, add only 10g)
1/3c baijiu* (rum, pinga, etc.)
3 T sweetened condensed milk
1c coconut flakes, powdered

*baijiu [白酒] is what I call China's White Lighting; a rice wine that varies from low 30% to mid-70% in strength.

method

Powder everything that is not already a powder nor is a liquid.

Stir with chopsticks or whisk until homogeneous. Below, I use a perforated ladle to sift out undesirably large chunks:

pulverized wafers and nuts and cane, oh my!

Add the liquor incrementally and stir just until everything is wet, but not soaked.

Add the sweetened condensed milk, stir. Lastly, stir in the the coconut powder:

coconut flakes, powdered like snow

Use your clean hands to form into balls; roll in powdered coconut flakes:

finito!

Garnish with shaved coconut or candied ginger:


Voilá! Coconut Cashew Gingers the Baijiu Balls. Enjoy!

Note: Access to Blogger is still blocked within China. Without access to a much appreciated VPN (proxy), I would be unable to publish to my blog from within mainland China. Thus, I am blessed and grateful to be sharing. With every post, I hereby protest the oppressive nature of the Chinese government blocking access to any part of the web.

tag: urinate!

October 1, 2009. National Day. The 60th Anniversary of the founding of The People's Republic of China.

As the capital city of Beijing's Parade and thus downtown were closed off to The People for the grand commemoration of the day, I turned my bike around in defeat and and stopped for a stroll in the park.

sidewalk sighting

the sidewalk is a urinal: urinate to commemorate?

地坛公园 [dìtán gōngyuán, Temple of Earth Park], downtown Beijing: a toddler* pees directly into the sewage.

This is a daily sight here in China.

No matter the [formal] education of the parents, the children urinate and defecate at will -mostly at the base of trees and in drain holes, but also directly on sidewalks and the street.

The practice is encouraged and thought to be normal, though no one will admit it upon questioning.

Just last week, I witnessed a 4-yr old defecating in the middle of a busy street that is closed off to cars - a street where, everyday, thousands of people roam and linger as they shop. And eat street food.

This collision [of lack of hygiene where there ought be hygiene] speaks not only of the role of the government in providing sufficient access to public bathrooms (there is a serious lacking here), but also the practical education and will of the people.

Any awareness of hygiene is overshadowed by apathy and disregard for one's impact on or the well being of any other living being.

word of advice in china

Watch where you walk and don't step in any puddles.

That puddle probably isn't rain-water, and that dog poo may not be canine.

*Interestingly, the mother (white shoes) pays no attention to her daughter and walks onward. The grandmother (squatting adjacent, right) had no part in helping the girl choose this location. The child chose this spot only as a second choice. Her first choice was the earthen ring surrounding a tree, but she hustled away in confusion when she touched the ground only to realize that it was not dirt, but concrete-set stones.

guilty dinner

My kitchen table is cluttered with the artifacts of my life - Mandarin books, painting supplies, imported chocolate, the days wages in pink Chairman Mao-graced bills, a deck of Yaoji playing cards, an address book.

And dirtied dishes from a hurried lunch, that might have been washed had I hot water in my kitchen.

Amidst the disarray, I set my dinner on the table one bowl at a time, before heading back to the kitchen for the next.

With nowhere to set my chopsticks and for the sake of time, I drive my chopsticks vertically into the rice, headlong, in the very way that someone in China never should.

vertical chopsticks: a big no-no

Standing one’s chopsticks vertically into their rice bowl conjures up images of the long sticks of incense that are burned at the wake of a loved one who has just passed away.

Standing one’s chopsticks vertically into a rice bowl is akin to smearing the name of a loved one.

In the West, it is impolite to play with one’s silverware; in the East it means dishonor.

A foreigner, fresh off the plane and ignorant of local ways, may be forgiven by locals, but will never be understood and will hardly be forgotten.

In my haste to delve into my steaming hot dinner, I thrust the bamboo chopsticks into my rice bowl and head back to the kitchen for the rest. I have done so not out of intentional disrespect, for truthfully, there is no one else within these walls to dishonor.

On this night, I eat alone, in a closed apartment on a quiet residential street of the capital city, with only the hum of an aged Hitachi R-176H refrigerator to keep me company.

I dine alone and so, have only this guilt to share.

the dinner

Sear the Anaheim Peppers: seared and succulent

ingredients: Sear the Anaheim Peppers
oil
garlic
dark soy
black malt vinegar
salt

Smash the Cucumbers: crunchy, savory, fresh

Ingredients: smash the cucumbers

2 asian cucumbers
6 cloves garlic
salt
roasted sesame oil
black malt vinegar

winter melon soup: soothing and refreshing

ingredients: winter melon soup

oil
garlic
sichuan peppercorn
vegetable bouillon
winter melon
salt
water
cilantro

bipedal rule

technology keeps the tradition in modernity:
biking around the Drum Tower in Beijing's Gulou district

modernity

Quite literally, the bi-pedal of the past still rules in the present, here in China.

In the above scene, a bike-on-green light is situated directly on, if beneath, an automobile light pole.

The nation's fleet of cars is expanding with each breath, but the sturdy and trusty bicycle hangs onto its equally dependent market.

Beijing is a modern city; she shines with lights when the sun calls it a day and turns in for the night.

Compared to the village, Beijing is filling quickly with over-sized vehicles, mostly showy and excessive. The countryside and smaller towns (populations up to 8M residents!) are visibly more about use, with fashion giving way to function, the ritz giving way to rust.

But Beijing cannot resist what of the past lingers on in the modern times of today, nor can she deny what many are still happy to continue. The tradition of bicycles.

the bicycle

My bicycle is my friend, and surprisingly loyal at that! We're close to celebrating a 2-yr anniversary since I first rode her home and locked her safely with a simple plastic-sheathed chain lock. She has not aged well, but still she toils at my command.

Newsstands store a tire pump, thought they do not advertise this. Wheel tuners position themselves out of the wind and often out of the way, but they are always to be found, summer and winter.

While in any part of the city, a taxi awaits my hail, I can be assured that my bike will be patiently waiting my next outing, wherever I shall ride it.

And so, with the help of lighting and a few programmable logic controllers, I will continue to ride safely on the same asphalt lanes that bargain with cars for the advantage.

I am happy that somewhere between the ancient buildings of Beijing and the transportation of modernity, I may share the road and can continue to ride my bicycle.

Note: Access to Blogger is still blocked within China. Without access to a much appreciated VPN (proxy), I would be unable to publish to my blog from within mainland China. Thus, I am blessed and grateful to be sharing.