Elm bark noodles 榆皮面

The noodles didn’t taste like much, and felt somehow inorganic. Nor was their brief stay in my gut a particularly pleasant one.

Yak four ways!

so much yak, so very much yak

Sesame oil noodles 香油葱油面

Can you really use sesame oil for frying? Let’s find out!

辣子鸡 Chicken among the red lanterns

Includes: one recipe and one uncle joke

鱼香肉丝 “fish-flavored, but not fish”

Yuxiang 鱼香 literally means “fish taste,” which is a mystery because this style of cooking has neither fish, nor fish taste, nor any other fishy credentials

Egg foo young 芙蓉蛋 — no, seriously

In my memory, this dish is a greasy mess of overcooked eggs, watery bean sprouts, and sauce that can only be described as “brown”

Sichuan red oil 红油

Red oil – hongyou 红油 – is the heart of Sichuan cuisine

Sichuan picked peppers 泡椒

Once I got over my fear of barging into kitchens, I started making friends.

Tom teaches a cooking class!

Squeezed in between classes about composting and Chinese medicine, we made a basic fresh cheese, followed by two simple dishes of beets and kabocha squash

Sour bamboo shoots and crispy pork belly

Lao style means pickled, and these were hot, sour and very aromatic.