Chinese cooking and cuisine is world-renowned and varies greatly throughout the many provinces. Yangshuo has an abundance of fruit and vegetables which can be purchased from the local markets.
Several restaurants offer Chinese cooking classes and there is an even a school just outside of Yangshuo that specialists in teaching how to prepare the local cuisine. Yangshuo's most famous dish is "Beer Fish." Recipes and basic cooking instructions are listed below:
Beer Fish
INGREDIENTS
3 tablespoons of peanut oil
1 chopped tomato
2 sliced peppers (One green and one red)
4-5 cloves of sliced garlic
1 teaspoon of salt
Half a teaspoon of oyster sauce
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
2 glasses of beer (3 if you prefer!)
Heat the wok. Add oil and heat gently. Add the fish with the skin facing down. Put salt onto the fish and then fry on each side for 3 / 4 minutes until the skin is brown. Add the ginger, garlic and vegetables on top of the fish. Then pour on the beer and the soy sauce. Cover and cook for 7 minutes. Then take off the lid to reduce the liquid for another two minutes. Serve.
Steamed, Stuffed Vegetables
Freshly picked pumpkin flowers are popular to steam. Other vegetables are also readily obtainable and can be steamed and stuffed. Mushrooms, eggplant, and capsicums are especially popular.
INGREDIENTS
Half a bunch of chives / spring onions (chopped).
3-4 Pumpkin flowers / other steamed vegetables.
Half a teaspoon of salt
Mix the chives, mince and salt all together. Stuff the vegetables and steam for 15 minutes in a steaming basket. Minced chicken and beef can also be used for this dish.
Egg Wrapped Dumplings
This is not typical of Chinese cooking in the way it is understood in the West. However it is a popular and traditional dish in the area in and around Yangshuo.
INGREDIENTS
Half a bunch of chives (garlic / mint can be used)
Half a teaspoon of salt
1 egg
2 tablespoons of peanut oil
3 tablespoons of water
Whisk the eggs and put them to one side.. Mix together the pork, chives and salt. Heat the wok and pour in the oil. Then pour in a tablespoon of egg. When it sets put half a tablespoon of pork mixture on half of the mini- omelet. Fold the egg over the pork and push down gently to seal it within a crescent shape.
Continue to cook for 15-20 seconds and then move to the side of the wok. Keep repeating this process until all of the mixture is used. Turn over the dumplings and put back into the centre of the wok. Pour 3 tablespoons of water over them and then cover the wok with a lid. cook for 3 / 4 minutes until the water has evaporated. Serve.
