Catching up: Tim's cooking in Beijing

See this amazing dish of Kung Pao Chicken (Gongbao Jiding)...

Do you know who cooked it?? Me!!The three of us for our weekly "cultural immersion" experience went to a restaurant and learned how to cook for of our favorite dishes: Kung Pao chicken, braised eggplant in garlic sauce, stir-fried green beans, and "squirrel fish."

First our chef gave us an expert demonstration of how to prepare each dish -- here the eggplant is frying...

Then it was our turn to do it. While not as pretty as the chef's dishes......it was still just as tasty!

Then on to the fish...

Look at this beautiful thing...

Fry it up...

Sauce it up... so good.

The secret to making Chinese food? Having this spice rack. Everything we made was a a couple pinches this and a pinch of that, or a pinch of this and a couple pinches of that. So easy if you have the right stuff...

After our four dishes, we were certified chefs. If you get me a spice rack like the one above, I'll cook some for you, too!