Beijing Spring Break

Glen and I went to Beijing for spring break this year. It was perhaps a little foolish to go so far for only a bit over a week, but United Airlines has a non-stop Washington to Beijing flight, and I was able to book with miles, which made it seem reasonable. The jet-lag is on the other side of the ledger, but one doesn't really know about that until after the trip.

Neither of us had been to mainland China before. I have been through Hong Kong a couple of times, but that is really different. I was impressed, though, with how relatively easy it is for a Westerner to visit Beijing. Clearly they are set up for us. It was very easy to get around in the excellent subway, and many signs and other resources are provided in English.

I was a little derelict as far as food and restaurant research goes, so we pretty much made it up as we went along. There were some hits and some misses. One of our favorite dinners was at a place in the Gui Jie (Ghost Street), where they do the Sichuan hot pot. The idea is that you have a bubbling pot of broth in which you cook your dinner yourself, using the meats, vegetables, and noodles that are available. This restaurant offers the option of having both the super-spicy broth and a chicken broth in the same pot, separated by a divider. Wanting to hedge our bets, we opted for this, and both were really tasty, as were the tahini and garlic-oil dipping sauces.

After visiting Prince Gong's mansion one morning, we stopped for lunch at Chengdu, a restaurant in Lotus Lane that had the most beautifully presented food. We had a salad made of chicken braised in xiaoxing wine, served with pomegranate seeds on a bed of crushed ice, some pork spare ribs that were glazed in a plum-lemon sauce, and lotus root cooked with a variety of mushrooms. Everything was gorgeous, and the restaurant offered nice views overlooking Houhai Lake, not far from the Forbidden City. This was clearly a hopping part of town, with lots of bars, restaurants, and clubs, even reggae!

One thing that really struck me was how much the Beijingers seemed to enjoy their food. In just about every restaurant we went, every table was covered with more dishes than the diners could hope to finish, though they made a valiant attempt. The era of state-run restaurants must have been miserable! After struggling with the menu at one restaurant, we told the waitress just to bring all of the dishes that the neighboring table had ordered. It was delicious, but there was no way we could finish it all.

One thing we didn't really experience much of was street food. It seemed that there was never anything that looked very good when we were hungry. I did have the candied hawthorne apples that you see everywhere a couple of times, and Glen braved a kefir-like drink in a little brown ceramic crock that just about every food stall seemed to offer, but neither of us had deep-fried scorpions or pork intestines or any of the other things that you see. I guess that will be on the next trip.

The most interesting food experience we had actually involved a home-cooked meal. While shopping, we popped into a little shop that was full of Yixing teapots, which are made of a special porous clay. After drinking much tea, and receiving a demonstration of the Chinese tea ceremony, and the purchase of two teapots, the proprietor invited us to share the lunch that her uncle had prepared. I'm not entirely sure what we ate, but it was a fun experience, and I wasn't really all that enthusiastic about trying the donkey meat restaurant that was around the corner.

Seared Scallops with Cauliflower Puree and Quinoa Pilaf

I wish that I could have spent some time in the garden today, but the weather did not cooperate. It rained last night and this morning, so I think it would have been too wet. Instead, I did laundry, cooked some, and lamented that the Congress got its act together and agreed on a budget, which means that I won't get Monday off. I was kind of looking forward to a government shut-down.

I have been wanting to try the cinnamon-raisin bread in Bread Baker's Apprentice, so I went ahead and tackled that project. I just had a couple of toasted slices as my dessert, and it was really delicious. I do need to work on shaping uniform loaves, though, even if it still tastes wickedly good.

For dinner I made the menu referenced in the title to this post. It seem like I have been seeing lots of seared scallops and cauliflower puree on restaurant menus, so I decided to try my own version. I roasted half of a fennel bulb in olive oil with a few cloves of garlic, letting them caramelize nicely. While that was underway, I steamed about half of a head of cauliflower (this was just for Glen and me, so I decided to save half of the head for something else) until it was tender. I also toasted some fennel seeds, grains of paradise (peppercorns would be a fine substitute), and coriander seeds. Once toasted, I ground all of the spices in a spice grinder and used them to season the cauliflower and fennel, which I pureed in the food processor with some butter and a dash of cream. I seasoned the puree with salt and added a bit of lemon juice, just to brighten the flavor.

We had the puree with some seared sea scallops, and I also made a quinoa pilaf with carrots, asparagus, and red onion, all dressed with a vinaigrette I made from olive oil, a fig-infused white balsamic vinegar, and a touch of Dijon mustard. The only downside of the whole meal was the rather bland appearance of the scallops and puree; I think I needed some parsley. A little garnish can go a long way. Fortunately, the taste was anything but bland.

Polenta with Zucchini Carpaccio and Roasted Peppers and Onions

The dinner in the adjacent picture was supposed to be pork chops, but I ended up not making it to Whole Foods after work. As a result, we were virtuous and ate some of the vegetables in the bin.

Polenta with Zucchini Carpaccio and Roasted Peppers and Onions

Halve and core two red peppers, and cut into fat strips. Similarly slice a red onion, and place with the peppers in a roasting pan or, even better, a cast iron skillet. Drizzle with ample olive oil, and add salt and pepper. Roast in a 375 degree oven for about 30 minutes or so, until vegetables are soft and starting to brown a bit. Meanwhile, thinly slice one medium zucchini lengthwise. Spread the slices in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet, and brush both sides with olive oil. Lightly salt and pepper. Put zucchini in the oven when the peppers still have about ten minutes to go. The zucchini are done when they are nice and tender.

While the vegetables finish cooking, julienne a good handful of basil leaves, and mince one clove of garlic. After taking the peppers out of the oven, stir in the garlic, and pop back into the oven for a minute or so, just to take the bite off. After taking them out of the over, toss the peppers with the basil, and drizzle with some balsamic vinegar.

Meanwhile, prepare soft polenta. (I typically use quick-cooking polenta, which is done in just a couple of minutes.) If available, stir some mascarpone cheese into the polenta.

When ready to serve, put soft polenta into bowls, drape zucchini slices over, and top with roasted peppers and onions. Add a grating of parmesan, if desired. Some toasted pine nuts would also be good.

We did end up having the pork chops last night, coated in powdered porcini mushrooms, pan-seared and then roasted for 15 minutes. They were delicious with pureed garbanzo beans, which were scented with cumin and Spanish smoked paprika, and oven roasted asparagus with a squeeze of Meyer lemon juice. But that menu was probably a little less virtuous.