Would You Eat This? -- My Food in China, Week 1

Born in China, having lived on three continents, I thought I had tried it all: escargots, squid on a stick, fried cicadas, grilled grasshoppers, salads consisting ducks' tongues and snake skin. Within two hours of my flight touched the ground, I quickly realized: Oh no, I was so wrong. I had not even touched the tip of the iceberg.

First, I was greeted by this lovely duck carefully prepared by my folks, simmered in a clay pot for over 5 hours.

Huh. Did I tell you it's stuffed with sticky rice, chest nuts, dried scallops, Shitake mushrooms, salted pork, bamboo roots, chicken gizzards, and lotus seeds? Once I came to peace with the duck head, the meat was lean and a bit tougher than chicken. It also had a slightly more earthy tone. This dish is a famous Shanghai style dish, and is supposed to be super nutritious (perhaps from the comprehensive ingredient list).
Bottom line: I would eat this VERY occasionally, maybe once a year on special occasion. I would NOT replace my turkey with this duck though as Ralphie's family did for Christmas.

I am going to do the rest of this post based on how gruesome the picture is, instead of by chronological order, just to ease you in. One day I walk home and found this sitting on the table.

Live clams. No biggie. Nothing to be afraid of, just a bit unusual. We cooked those in yellow wine. Very tasty. I love seafood. Bottom line: I would eat this gladly, any time. Perhaps I will even request it.

Now, if you experience discomfort seeing the duck with its head on your dinner plate, please protect yourself by not continue reading this post. I was in shock when I came home and found this baby in my kitchen sink.

It was a pigeon! Purchased alive from the local market and slaughtered on the spot. I was given a tutorial on how to gut it. Again, do NOT continue to read if you cannot tolerate the above photos.

I am having a little trouble staring at it now as I write. Pigeon is believed to be one of the most nutritious birds you can have in Chinese culture. I looked up the nutrition information, and it is not too different from chicken, except for the much higher iron content. Maybe that's why? I found the texture of pigeon similar to duck, a bit more chewy than chicken. It is very gamy. Agh, I still can't believe I ate it. Bottom line:  Not a big fan. Do not dislike it either. It is clearly overpriced here in China, costing three times as much as chicken. I would rather settle for the ordinary bird, especially if it comes all cleaned and ready to cook!

There have been a lot more to update. I am falling behind in terms of keeping this blog up to date with my life. I will try to be more diligent about it. There are sure to be even more adventures to come, our family vacation along the silk road to name one. I'm EXCITED!