"china" news and stories

No, I didn't shave a Viking's beard. That's pork floss. What? Yes, pork floss. Known as rousong in Mandarin, it's exactly what it sounds like – dried sweetened roast pork pulled to separate the fibers and spun until it has the texture of crispy cotton candy. And it's awesome. It's got the same flavor profile as teriyaki beef jerky - a little bit sweet, a little bit spicy, a lot salty and a lot meaty.

Pork floss buns - fluffy, sweetish rolls topped with pork floss and filled with mayonnaise cream - are a big thing in Singapore and Malaysia. Believe me, they're much nicer than they sound - the comforting flavors of meat and mayo, with an incredible blend of crunchy, soft and creamy textures. Chow Times has an article about the various uses of pork floss, from a topping for rice or congee to a grilled cheese sandwich filling. My personal favorite use is in a Vietnamese-style baguette sandwich, with pate (I substitute sliced turkey), lettuce, cilantro, vinaigrette and mayo.

You can find tubs or bags of pork floss at many Asian groceries. If you're really lucky, they'll have fish, chicken or shrimp floss as well.

For many Americans, the idea of Chinese beer may seem as far-out as Chinese democracy (the movement or the Guns N' Roses album). Some countries -- Ireland and Germany, for example -- we heavily associate with beer drinking, and others, like China, we do not. Even at Asian restaurants, less discriminating drinkers can be hard-pressed to determine the country of origin of different Eastern beers on the menu. Maybe I was just a "dumb American," but when I was younger, I didn't put much thought into the difference between my Sapporos and my Tsingtaos.

Well, for the record, Tsingtao is by far the most prevalent Chinese beer in the U.S., (Sapporo, of course, is from Japan) and the marketing minds down at the Tsingtao Brewery believe they've found the perfect event to help hammer that point home: Chinese New Year, which begins today.

To celebrate the "Year of the Ox," Tsingtao enlisted the help of certified Chinese Master Chef Martin Yan to create four Chinese dishes that utilize either Tsingtao Lager or Tsingtao Pure Draft as an ingredient. Personally, though, I'm more about drinking beer than cooking with it, so I was happy to see Chef Yan also took a crack at two beer cocktails.

You can see all of the recipes (as well as some additional Chinese New Year celebration tips) on Tsingtao's website here or find the mixing instructions for Chef Yan's Ginger Beer Fizz beer mixed drink after the jump...

In China, they have an extra season.

Spring, Summer, Late Summer, Fall, and Winter make up the five seasons of the Chinese calendar; corresponding with the five Chinese elements and a number of their healing philosophies.

According to my knowledgeable friend Lora:
"Each season is connected to a set of organs in the body. Corresponding foods that are fresh in each season are meant to cleanse, detoxify, and heal those organs. When we eat the same diet year-round without paying attention to seasonal foods, we ignore our bodies' needs to support and properly heal organs, which leads to lots of health issues (obesity, heart disease, diabetes, stroke, etc.)."

So. Here's what you should eat right now:

Floods did not keep people away from a restaurant in Xiangfan, China. In fact, the floods not only brought in the water, they brought in the people. According to Ananova, "The owner said he was prepared to temporarily close the restaurant after the heaviest rains for 50 years brought floods to the city. But he had a change of heart when he heard how the eatery's new wet look was bringing in the customers."

I wonder if they have a no splashing rule.

If this could actually happen in the U.S. with all of our health codes, I could imagine owners taking the wet look one step further with Hooter's-style servers in in wet bikinis. Judging by the photo, though, it looks like it is business as usual in Xiangfan, just with a pool of water on the ground.

New York Times reporter Jennifer 8. Lee traveled the world to crack the case of the fortune cookie's cryptic origins, hunt for the infamous General Tso and track chop suey back to its creator. Turned out, many of the answers were closer to home than she'd ever imagined.

The author of The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food served up her favorite Chinese food facts, myths and mysteries to AOL Food, and then she took your red-hot questions on Slashfood. Here's how Jennifer 8 Lee responded.

Q: What makes you pick a particular Chinese restaurant from all the ones around it?

A: Well, I tend to like Chinese restaurants that cater more to Chinese people rather than to an American palate. They may both serve General Tso's chicken, but you can look at a Chinese menu and know if they expect a more Chinese clientele. For example, cold appetizers -- especially jellyfish – is a giveaway. Lamb dishes are also ore Chinese. Anything with whole fish, and certain kinds of noodles: cold noodles, dan dan noodles.