User Comments - etherway

Posted on: Cold Cucumbers in Sauce

I love this dish. I've done it Sichuan style (Dunlop's books are deliciously accurate) and Zhejiang style where it's more sweet and salty (and garlicky) then spicy. On hot days I'll refrigerate it to let the cucumbers soak up the flavor.

The cutting... I think is something like this idea of "rolling wedges" But smashing and then cutting helps too. 

Ok!  An actual question.  料酒，米酒. Is there a difference?  I am under the assumption that 米酒 (and possibly sake) is 料酒 for cooking purposes.

PS.  Is 绍兴酒 actually available to drink?  It's supposed to be famous but it's always labeled strictly for cooking. Cooking, fine but drinking? Only under extreme duress. Which seems a little... counterintuitive.

PPS. I would watch (or listen to, or make...hmm...) a Chinesepod cooking show alllll day. Just sayin'.

Posted on: English Teaching Jobs in China

If you are dealing directly with the school in any way before signing a contract, ask them for the contact information of the foreign English teachers that are currently there! I did this and felt really comfortable knowing the gig was legitimate, the school would help me out, and the conditions I was about to jump into.

Sometimes, you might be just a face and an accent for the students to get used to. That'll be frustrating or liberating, depending on how you feel that day.

Posted on: What's in a name?

It didn't take long for me to realize that my English name and nickname would both be difficult for Chinese speakers.  

"Anastasia"? Ack!  Forget it. Transliterated, it was five characters long. "Stasi"? Nah, that didn't work out well.

So most everyone stuck to Anna/安娜. Plain and easy although not exactly appealing (to me anyway).

But this BST has got me thinking about it once again.

Posted on: Zombies: Deader than Ever

What was the name of the famous Hong Kong zombie movie John and Jenny were talking about?