China

So I have been in China for about four months now and I decided to create a blog about my experiences and to offer some simple advice for anyone who is interested. Because Christmas is coming up in a couple of days, I got to thinking about all the wonderful Christmas food that I will be missing this year from back home. Then I go the idea to post a blog with some simple recipes using ingredients that can be easily attained in China.

To clarify, I am in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, P.R.C. and although Wenzhou is a medium-sized city (7 million +) with many stores that cater to westerners, there are many thing that are simply not easily available here. For those of you living in Shanghai or Beijing, you can get almost anything you need, you just have to ask around for it.

Things I can not easily get in Wenzhou:

Cream
Thick Yogurt
Sour Cream
Cinnamon*
Cardamom*
Nutmeg*
Cloves*
Allspice*
Mace*
Food Coloring*
flavoring extracts (vanilla, almond, etc.)
turkey
ham
Cheese (real cheese like emmentaler, gouda, brie, cheddar, etc.)*

*These can sometimes, though rarely, be found in one of the "western" food supermarkets like Century Mart or the European food mart in Wenzhou. When you can find them, they tend to be very expensive.

I recommend that you bring some spices like cinnamon with you, or having someone mail them to you once you arrive.

Coming up: Recipes