Since some of the girls at our English Corner were interested in learning how to cook American food, our friend Angie invited them over to her apartment to cook lasagne. While it’s probably not technically “American food,” it’s certainly more American than the “squid on a stick” that we saw at the park yesterday:
But I digress. Chinese and American cooking tools differ greatly. Here, the girls get an orientation to an oven, something that is rarely used in China. Our ovens here are usually small, stand-alone units:
Angie showed the girls how to make the lasagne by following the directions on the package. It seems that most Chinese cooking is done by word-of-mouth teaching and the “taste-and-add-more-of-something” method, not following a recipe:
After chopping and mixing ingredients, everyone worked together to make layers of cheese, sauce, and foreign noodles:
While the food was baking, Angie told “the pumpkin story” to the group. Our Chinese pumpkins are a little different from those back in the States, but the story is the same: we all need to have someone clean out the yucky stuff inside and replace it with a light.
Picture perfect results! The cooking is done and it’s time to start eating!
I love the pic of the girls gathered around staring at the oven. And of course the squid on a stick – mmmmm!!
Mom, are you picking up on that “not following a recipe” way of cooking? That must be difficult for you!
Wonderful examples, except the meat cleaver. We’re planning on being a part of the International Thanksgiving for foriegn students. Some have never had an American Thanksgiving. However, we will let others do the cooking.