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Autumn snacks #2

Posted on | October 23, 2009 | Comments Off

In the last post, I mentioned roasted sweet potatoes and candied fruit skewers sold on the street. Let’s take a look at them in more detail.

Yam? Sweet Potato?

sweet-potato

It’s hard to tell the difference between yams sweet potatoes. Specifically, yams are supposed to have a drier, starchier texture (more info: Library of Congress). In China, it seems like everyone has a different name for each. Anyway, when you go on the street and the sweet aroma of sweet potatoes roasting drifts toward you, just ask for a roasted sweet potato: 烤红薯 kǎo hóng shǔ.

Sugar and fruit on a stick:

糖葫芦 táng hú lú

tang-hu-lu

A step up from caramel apples, these skewers of candied fruit have kiwi, orange slices, strawberries, and haw fruit, and sometimes they’re dipped in nuts or raisins after they’re dipped in boiled sugar. When the sugar dries and hardens, you have an extremely sweet treat. Haw fruit (山楂 shān zhā) (also called Chinese haw or haw berries) is the small, round, red fruit that sometimes take up a whole skewer. It’s slightly bitter and sour. You can get haw berry flakes, haw berry juice drinks, and haw berry roll-ups at the local supermarket.

shan-zhaNext time when we wrap up, we’ll have a few more foods plus a few things to be careful of when eating street snacks (街头小吃 jiē tóu xiǎo chī).

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Category: Language
Tags: food > useful

Autumn snacks #1

Posted on | October 16, 2009 | Comments Off

One of my favorite things about autumn is the food. Not only do we have mooncakes 月(yuè)饼(bǐng), but roasted sweet potatoes 烤(kǎo)地(dì)瓜(guā), roasted chestnuts 栗(lì)子(zi), and candied fruit skewers 糖(táng)葫(hú)芦(lu) appear on the street.

But one of the best things that appear is the fruit – especially dates 冬(dōng)枣(zǎo). Small and green in color with patches of red/brown, they have the crunch and consistency of apples but a different taste. You can wash them easily and take them with you easily as snacks. Watch out for the hard seeds in the middle, though! And if it’s entirely red/brown with no trace of green, and it tastes sour, it’s probably gone bad. Throw it away.

By the way, don’t forget to wash your fruit at least twice (three rinses if you can manage it). Soak once with vinegar and water for 10 minutes, once with salt and warm water for 10 minutes, then rinse with cold water. If not, then one soak with salt and vinegar, then one rinse.

What are your favorite autumn foods? Let us know in the comments.

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Category: Language
Tags: food > useful

The Mid-Autumn Festival

Posted on | September 18, 2009 | 2 Comments

mid-autumn-festival The Mid-Autumn Festival（中秋节）zhōnɡ qiū jié, also known as the Moon Festival, , is a popular harvest festival celebrated by Chinese people. It is held on the 15th day of the eighth month （(八月十五) in the Chinese calendar. The eighth month is also called zhònɡ qiū (仲秋), so 中秋节 also called 仲秋节.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is the second most important holiday in China, as the  Spring Festival is the most important. Traditionally, on this day, Chinese family members and friends will gather to admire the bright mid-autumn harvest moon, , and eat moon cakes, dates, pomegranate and other fruits.

Stories of the Mid-Autumn Festival：

—-Houyi and Chang’e (后羿- hòu yì和嫦娥- chánɡ é)

There are so many variations and adaptations of the Chang’e legend; here we share one of the more widely-known and accepted versions：

Once upon a time, the earth had ten suns. They burned the crops and people suffered from famine. Houyi, a lesser god and a highly-skilled archer, felt sorry for mankind, so he decided to shoot down nine of the suns. After he shot down the suns, he became a hero. He had a beautiful wife name Chang’e (also a lesser god) and they lived happily together. Houyi gathered many followers and one day they all went hunting together regularly. One day, on Houyi’s way back home the Jade Emperor (the highest god) gave Houyi a pill which granted eternal life as a reward for shooting down the suns. He warned Houyi, “Make no haste to swallow the pill.” Houyi loved Chang’e very much and did not want to leave her, so he gave the pill to Chang’e and let her store the pill in a safe place. Chang’e put the pill in her jewelry box. But one of Houyi’s apprentices, Peng, discovered this secret. He decided to steal the pill.

One day Houyi and some other disciples went to the mountain. Peng pretended he was sick so that he could stay at home. Everyone went to the mountain except Chang’e, who stayed at home. Peng burst into Chang’e’s room and forced her to give him the pill. Chang’e knew she was no match for Peng so she took flight and flew far away. She did not want to leave her husband, so she stopped at the moon which is close to Earth. After Houyi discovered what had happened, he was very angry and heartbroken. He looked up into the night and called Chang’e’s name. He saw that on the moon there was a shadow that looked like Chang’e, so he ran and ran and tried to get to the moon. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t reach the moon.

As for Houyi, he built himself a palace inside the sun as “Yang”-阳 (the male principle), with Chang’e as “Yin”-阴(the female principle). Once a year, on the 15th day of the full moon, Houyi visits his wife. That is why the moon is full that night.

The moon cake (月饼- yuè bǐnɡ):

The moon cake is a traditional symbol of the Mid-Autumn Festival. There are  many legends surrounding the moon cake. In one tale, moon cakes originated in ancient times to pay homage to the moon. According to other sources, the moon cake was invented as a way to honor the Moon Goddess Chang’e. In what is perhaps the most famous tale, it is said that during the end of the Mongolian- ruled Yuan era Han Chinese rebel Zhū Yuán Zhānɡ distributed a secret message baked in moon cakes giving the instructions “revolt on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month”.  On the night of the brightest moon these revolutionary fighters successfully attacked and overthrew the Mongolian army.

Traditional moon cake fillings:

The most common fillings are Lotus seed paste, （莲蓉- lián rónɡ）Sweet bean paste,（豆沙- dòu shā）Jujube paste（枣泥- zǎo ní）and five-kernel （五仁- wǔ rén including rice, two kinds of millet, wheat grain and beans）. I personally like Jujube paste filling the most even though I usually don’t eat it that much.

Here is a video that gives you an overview of the Mid-Autumn Festival and the moon cake:

Hope you have a great Mid-Autumn Festival! Let us know what fillings you had and what your favorites were in the comments.

Comments: 2 Comments
Category: Culture
Tags: festivals > holidays

Today, Honor Your Teachers

Posted on | September 9, 2009 | Comments Off

September 10, 2009 is Teachers’ Day. Students all over China will present flowers, gifts, and cards to their teachers to show appreciation for their hard work.

In 1985 the National People’s Congress designated September 10 of every year National Teachers’ Day to honor teachers for their hard work. See an excerpt from Chinese Festivals by Límíng Weí and Lang Tao on Google Books about the origins of this day.

I’m thankful for all the good teachers I’ve had growing up who’ve taught me more than knowledge. And while Rosetta Stone is good, it can’t answer questions. My Chinese teachers have helped me understand Chinese culture, history, and food, and basically have helped me to adjust to life here. Instead of just learning vocabulary and grammar from my teachers in my one-on-one classes, I’ve had many great conversations with my good friends.

Anyway, hope that you have a chance to honor your teacher today. You can send a text, give flowers, write a card or give a present. You can use these phrases:

节日快乐
jié  rì  kuài lè
Happy Teachers’ Day

老师, 辛苦了!
lǎo shī,  xīn kǔ le
Teacher, you’ve worked hard!

And if you REALLY want to thank your teacher…

拨动真诚的心弦 (bō dònɡ zhēn chénɡ de xīn xián)，
You’ve inspired me to do my best,

铭记成长的辛酸 (mínɡ jì chénɡ zhǎnɡ de xīn suān)，
you’ve helped me through the hard times,

成功的道路上永远离不开您 (chénɡ ɡōnɡ de dào lù shɑnɡ yónɡ yuǎn lí bù kāi nín)，
I couldn’t have succeeded without you.

亲爱的老师 (qīn ài de lǎo shī)，祝您节日快乐 (zhù nín jié rì kuài lè)！
My dear teacher, happy Teachers’ Day!

人生旅程上您为我点燃希望的光芒丰富我的心灵
(rén shēnɡ lǚ chénɡ shànɡ nín wéi wǒ diǎn rán xī wànɡ de ɡuānɡ mánɡ fēnɡ fù wǒ de xīn línɡ)，
On this journey of life, you’ve filled my spirit with the light of hope

增添我的智慧 谢谢您！老师 愿您永远 健康！愉快！幸福
(zēnɡ tiān wǒ de zhì huì   xiè xiè nín ！ lǎo shī   yuàn nín yónɡ yuǎn   jiàn kānɡ ！ yú kuài ！ xìnɡ fú)
and increased my wisdom. Thank you! I wish you health, happiness, and good fortune always!

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Category: Culture, Language
Tags: holidays > useful

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