Bring on the Night

Since my wife arrived in Denmark, I have learned to appreciate Chinese food even more than on my trip to Shenzhen. Not only has my wife introduced me to brand new variants of ways to utilize current Danish ingredients, but she have also taught me that side dishes don’t have to be salad or bread.

Most significant is that we have begun using all-things-in-a-jar to spice up, what most people would call regular dishes. In my time living alone, I never did this. Now eating noodles involves small extra treats by the side. Stuff like sour gherkins, beetroots in vinegar, preserved fine cut red cabbage, olives, garlic cloves in oil and so on. Well, basically things that most Danes have discovered and used for a long time.

Somehow I never found this appealing and managed not to regard this as an option. Living alone lets one neglect dinnertime and make you consider it as “re-fuelling” and seldom find this a bigger event. I think this goes for most people living on their own.

Personally I really like cooking. Especially when it is not for myself. Cooking for one often tends to be the most easy and fast cooked dishes. While my wife was home she changed this. Not that I cook super dishes now, but I have learned to spice it up with a minimum of effort. Most significantly she introduced me to soy bean curd. Many a time have I stood in the local Chinese shop looking at these only to turn my thumbs down. For a Dane these look disgusting, fat and sticky, and for most non-Asians we have no idea of how to utilize them. This was the case for me too.

Not only bean curd, but also other ingredients in the Chinese shop was too strange or too unfamiliar for me to try. Having my wife with me for the first time suddenly changed this. Now I could ask really stupid questions about the goods and watch as my wife picked out stuff I would have never touched myself.

The 2 best surprises was the bean curd, and skinned peanuts.

About the peanuts, I can’t say that these are completely unknown to Danes. You can find other variants of these, but not like the Chinese ones. Normally Danes would buy these as a roasted and salted alternative to chips and without the skin. Also you could visit the local zoo and buy these in the shell to feed the animals. The Chinese version is a bit in between. No shell, but with the skin intact. In the basic form, they are nothing in particular. But when these are thrown in a pot with a microscopic amount of oil for 5 minutes and salted afterwards, they are just excellent! Nothing less.

        

The bean curd has a wider range of use and tastes. They come in many different sizes and spices. Normally chilli is essential, but in different degrees. I think I have tried 4-5 different kinds until now, and all had their charm. Even though they can look too old, and almost deteriorating, this is not the case. Unfortunately the Chinese shop now only have 2 different types left. One with strong chilli taste, and one with less, but with a touch of sweet red spice. I can’t quite pinpoint what spice it is, and I really don’t mind. They are great no matter what.

        

Normally we eat these together with noodles or rice. You just take one “block” of bean curd, and put on the side of your plate. then you slowly put a little on the chopsticks or noodles and eat these. It brings out a new dimension to simple food in my opinion. I have also begun using these in sauce or just as a spice when frying vegetables or like. This is of course again from the influence of my wife. Even though I am not sure I will ever master Chinese cooking, I do learn a little from time to time. ;-)

I am sure some people will not like bean curd blocks or find them too hot, but personally I am addicted to them. My wife have even told me that I eat too many and should hold back. They are extremely salty and “eating too many is not healthy!” she have told me. I guess she is right as always, but it really is hard to stay off them, as they are way too yummy!

Actually I have begun pimping the bean curd to friends. The first is always free, but then it’s gonna cost ya!