100yr Old Houses & Beer Fish

Crispy fried silkworms & fresh spring rolls in Vietnam …

                                                 Red chicken curry & tom yum in Thailand …

        Nasi goreng & satay chicken in Bali …

                     and now steamed tofu dumplings and Pijiu Yu in China.

You guessed it  – I LOVE a good cooking school!

Here at the Tai Chi school we are fortunate enough to have our meals cooked and prepared for us and we truly have been spoilt with fantastic and authentic Chinese meals, day after day.  Jed doesn’t mind the eggplant and has warmed to the mushroom but can’t get enough of the sweet corn and carrot dish. Deni’s staple is a bowl of rice and her favourite is the Chinese omelet, and Liam and I are pretty happy with just about all of the choices – save the chicken feet and strong smelling sardine-like fish!

After each Tai Chi session I will often find our little Deni in the kitchen. Master Tina has been our ‘Master Chef’ for the most part of the last 10 weeks and she has struck up quite a special little friendship with our Deni. Each afternoon I hear them chatting away in the kitchen while they’re preparing the evening meal. Sometimes Deni is shelling peas, sometimes picking each kernel off the cobs of corn, and sometimes she’s just happy wandering around watching and chatting while Tina cooks. I’ve always thought that cooking is such an important part of the learning experience and it’s something that I haven’t been able to do a lot while travelling, so I’m very, VERY happy that Deni has found her way into the kitchen here. And even happier that Master Tina is at the wok.

One afternoon, while Deni and I were sitting on the step picking all the kernels off the corncobs, I asked her if she’d like to do a cooking class with me. It was just a fleeting thought but her enthusiastic ‘YES MUMMY’ was enough to get straight on the phone and book us into the next class.

Now, Deni may have discovered a love for cooking but she is still our fussiest eater, happy with a bowl of rice and few chunks of meat, oh and occasionally some egg. So, when I was booking the course, and came across the option of ‘chicken and cashew’ I was sold. Sunday’s menu also offered ‘Beer Fish’ – perfect!  While we were in Xing Ping we had the opportunity to try Beer Fish, it was so delicious that I promised myself that I would learn how to cook that dish and share it with you. (see recipe below)

Now, I’ve also written about the old, OLD houses that are scattered around Yangshuo. We discovered them on our cycling adventures, and walked through them in the Ancient Village. There are many just in our little village and one right in front of the school gates that the kids refer to as ‘The Hunted House!’

They have become the subject for our ‘spotto’ game while riding around Yangshuo, and they are everywhere once you start looking for them. (There’s no V-dubs to spot so here it’s ancient houses.) It’s been fun, and opened up many opportunities for some excellent conversation. Forever the homeschooling mum, I love these opportunities to talk to the kids about the history of the buildings. We talked about how old we thought they were and during one evening stroll with Master Huang he replied with ‘ohhh at least 100 years old!’ – fittingly, they are now referred to as the 100yr old houses. We almost went into a period of mourning when we saw the demolition of one right in front of our driveway. Still now, the children keep pointing out the few measly piles of rubble and say

‘There’s the 100 year old house Mummy’

It’s so sad to see this, but I confess that I have used it to our advantage. It has allowed me to talk about a whole range of different issues, like Australians laws on Heritage Listing, and the importance of organizations like UNESCO. And the kids really get it. I think seeing the old houses, walking through them and feeling the mystery and intrigue that they emanate gives the kids the very real experience of just how important these little snippets of history are.

Anyway … Sunday morning came and off we went to our cooking class. 6 of us all bundled into the minivan, the air alive with the excited chatter that usually accompanies days like this. We travelled about 10 minutes out of the city to our destination and while we were walking up the driveway to the school Deni started playing spotto once more,

‘Look Mummy, more 100 yr old houses!’

‘Yep, and guess what? … That 100yr old house over there is our cooking school!’

The expression on her face was priceless. When I read the review of the school and found out that it was held in a renovated mud-brick house I knew that she would be pretty happy about it, but I didn’t expect such a gorgeous reaction. She was so excited!

‘OHHH WOW – are we going in there? Are we cooking in there Mummy?’

‘We sure are’!

At that point, even if we didn’t cook a thing, our money was well spent!

I recently read that Chinese cuisine boasts being one of the most creative cuisines with almost 5000 named dishes. The principles of Yin and Yang are the foundation for every meal. (of course!) Hot and Spicy dishes (yang) are offset by cooling and subtle flavors (yin). When the principles are used effectively the meal will display a perfect harmony for both the mind and the senses. The top Chefs in China will study for many years to master the art of its famous foods but like most cuisines worldwide the basic style and flavors are born in the villages. The signature dishes of all the provinces are created from local and seasonal produce and Yangshuos ‘Pijiu Yu’ is the perfect example of this, the river fish coming from the local and legendary Li River.

There were 5 dishes on our menu, Steamed Stuffed Vegetables, Yangshuo Style Eggplant, Bok Choy with Garlic, Chicken and Cashew Nut and the dish that Yangshuo proudly calls its own – ‘Pijiu Yu’ (Beer Fish.)

Of all the cooking classes I have done, I found this cooking class to be really very basic, and not at all difficult to grasp. Basically, all the recipes had oil, garlic, ginger, chilli, soy sauce and maybe oyster sauce. Apart from the dumpling style vege parcels that were cooked in a steamer, all of the dishes were prepared in the wok. It’s fast cooking, high heat, all up the cooking probably took us about an hour for the 5 dishes, and that included the guide showing us the technique. It was pretty close to how we would cook Chinese at home, so nothing new there really. The one tip I did take away with me though is to heat the wok until it’s smoking, then add the oil. Apparently this will prevent the food taking on the flavor of the oil.

And, like all cooking classes the banquet afterwards was delicious!

But, without question, the most rewarding part of my day was having my little ‘Master Chef’ beside me. We pulled up a kiddies stool so she could see what was happening on the bench, and she was the perfect little apprentice, telling me what went in and when.

‘Steam the wok first, now the oil, put in the garlic Mummy – not too hot, don’t burn it.’

She went home full of ‘foodie talk’ explaining to anyone that wanted to listen the tips she had learnt. She had that air of confidence about her that comes with the experience of learning something new, and most importantly understanding it.

So … possibly a future Chef in the family? Maybe, maybe not, but one thing is for certain. She’ll know how to make a mean dumpling!

As promised … Yangshuo’s very own … PIJIU YU ‘Beer Fish’

‘Braised in a brew made from the spring waters that flow into the legendary Li River, Beer fish has become Yangshuo’s most famous dish’

200grms fish (firm white with skin on – we used cat-fish)

3 tablespoons of peanut oil

1 tomato – chopped

1 red and 1 green pepper – chopped

I finger length piece of ginger – julienned

4 cloves of garlic – crushed

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon salt

1 glass of beer

½ tablespoons oyster sauce

2 tablespoons spring onions – roughly chopped

1. Heat the Wok on high heat until the first show of smoke.
2. Add the oil and heat on medium heat
3. Put the fish into the wok skin side down for about 3 minutes or until skin is brown and crispy.
4. Put garlic and ginger on top of the fish then turn it over. Cover for a few minutes
5. Put all the vegetables in the wok, add soy sauce and toss gently so as not to break up the fish.
6. Add the beer and bring to the boil, reduce heat. Cover and simmer for about 5 minutes
7. Remove lid to reduce liquid for another 2 minutes.
8. Toss in spring onions and serve

Perfect with steamed rice. YUMMO!