I may have made a serious misstep here. The kids listed China as one of the countries they wanted to learn more about but as July crept near, they began to order. As in, place their orders as if I were their personal Chinese take-out restaurant. After pushing a few times, I realized that I should hoist the white flag and give over to their love of Chinese cuisine and make all their favorites. With my son’s eating allergy we so seldom eat out anymore and the number one cuisine they miss is Chinese. If your kids are like mine, then they will {love} this menu and you for making it for them!
Again I want to encourage you to invite your Chinese friends over to teach you how to cook authentic food. If you are embarking upon the task of making the dumplings or spring rolls from scratch, BEG them to come over and teach you. You will need them. There is one twist in the menu below and that is an encouragement to go out to eat. What? Well, shoot, it’s summer, and a trek to a local city’s China town to eat authentic Dim Sum can be a day trip for the family and a night off for you. Go on – you can do it!
And now, my children’s Please Mommy Please Chinese menu for the month of July:
Dim Sum or your excuse to go out to dinner this month – From Guangzhou, Dim Sum is the Cantonese word for snacks or small individual dishes like dumplings. Going out for Dim Sum is a great experience the whole family is sure to enjoy.
Spring Rolls – Cantonese Dim Sum and a particular favorite around here that will get an entire night of love and devotion from my children.
Gong Bao Chicken (or Kung Pao) – Named after a Qing Dynasty official this Sichuan style dish is a tasty specialty.
Chow Mein or fried noodles – Different from Lo Mein which is tossed noodles, this Cantonese dish is most popular in the United States.
Wonton Soup – Wonton means swallowing a cloud and this dish certainly looks like floating clouds. I found this beautiful post over at Joylicious about making Wonton Soup and fell in love. Those of you who are brave enough to make your Wontons from hand will find her instructions and photos like having a friend beside you in the kitchen.
Dumplings – This traditional food from North China is a family favorite.
This menu certainly won’t challenge your tastebuds too much if you are familiar with these classics. I spent about eight weeks in China years ago and I can safely say that my tastebuds and food sensibilities were challenged. I was presented with (and ate of course) Century Eggs, chicken feet, and I don’t know how to tell you this, but at one point consumed bull’s penis. Yup. Haven’t decided whether or not to tell the kids that over Dim Sum.
If you missed a month, no worries, its a goal, remember? So here are the menus from January, February, March, April, May and June.
Here’s to helping our kids become better global citizens – one dinner at a time! Happy cooking everyone!
Trackbacks/Pingbacks