Cooking--Chinese style!!

Ever since we brought home Samantha and Piper 

we have been learning a lot about CHinese

cooking.  How to prepare, serve, and eat it. 

Samantha and I have shared many nights in the kitchen

cooking and laughing at each other.

  We always agree to more salt.....

but---never agree to what part of the chicken is best to eat.

A few things I have learned:

• Many Chinese like their rice as "soup"  also known as congee. Just cook the rice to the package directions and then add more water to make soupy.

• Anything resembling a barely cooked vegetable on top of the rice soup is great

• The hotter the better for any dish (this is a personal preference but my girls cannot get it hot enough!)
• NEVER throw away the juice of anything-- noodles, dumplings, cooked chicken, browned beef
• Remain hungry at all times when Samantha is cooking.  She expects you to eat some.
• The best part of the chicken is the dark meat. (Chinese think the breast meat is the worst part of the chicken---it is the least expensive part of the chicken to buy in China.  The wings and thighs are the most expensive.)

• Noodles and rice are breakfast foods....so are any vegetables I can find.

Below are some photos of our meal last night:

I served "Jiao Zi" and mussels. (much to my husbands dismay)

The kids love dumplings (Jiao Zi) - I can get them by the 50 pack at BJ's

and the kids put them down like

they haven't eaten in four days!  Sometimes we make our Jiao Zi 

but usually buying them is the way I go.

I also happened to have some mussels in garlic/butter sauce that 

were frozen so I thawed and cooked them.

I may have been awarded the "mom of the year" award

last night had a vote been taken.

My kids love mussels and Jiao Zi...Joey ran shouting thru the

house last night "Jiao Zi! Jiao Zi!"

They all came running

So, the dumplings were served in a bowl 

WITH the juice and then the mussels were added--with their juice.

Everyone was "fat and happy" at the end of the meal. 

Piper even drank the dumpling juice out of a glass.

She loves the juice!  (EWWW)

So, if you have learned anything from this post, its--

NEVER throw away the juice!