I've been lazy lately! Now I'm back but this time I'd like to write in Italian, hoping some Italian readers would visit my blog.
Questa volta, per cambiare un pò, ho pensato di scrivere in lingua italiana. Non si sa mai se qualche lettore italiano passa di qui (a parte Elena che mi sta seguendo e magari spera che parlo un pò della cucina thailandese) ^_*
La pasta italiana è famosa per tutto il mondo. Amo particolarmente i bucatini all'amatriciana, gli spaghetti allo scoglio, le penne all'arrabbiata ma mangio molto volentieri anche un piatto di pasta semplice con il sugo di pomodoro e basilico. Mi è venuta l'idea di farvi conoscere vari piatti tipo "pasta" del mio paese. Da noi non ci sono "i primi" o "i secondi". Di solito si servono diverse portate di pesce, carne, verdure, ecc...insieme con il riso come contorno. Per darvi un' idea chiara metto una foto esempio (che ho trovato su Google).
Ma non vi spaventate! Non mangiamo così ogni pasto. E chi avrà tempo di preparare sempre tante portate? A casa mia, in una cena che mangiamo insieme tutta la famiglia, mia mamma preparava circa 3 o 4 portate (1 di pesce o carne, 1 di verdure ed 1 zuppa che non poteva mai mancare). I pasti veloci (penso non sia sbagliato chiamare "fast food" thailandese; cioè si trovano dappertutto come trovare un trancio di pizza quando sei fuori di casa) sono piatti unici; paragonabile ai piati di pasta della cucina italiana e li chiamiamo "Kuay-Tiao"
Io vorrei dividere i nostri piatti di Kuay-Tiao in 2 categorie; cioè quelli asciutti e quelli in brodo. Il piatto di Kuay-Tiao più famoso (almeno credo), conosciuto dagli stranieri è il "Phad-Thai". Il piatto consiste in ospaghetti di riso (misura larga come le vostre tagliatelle), tofu, gamberi, uovo, germogli di soia e gli arachidi pestati. Ecco una foto!
(mancano i gamberi qua ma mi piace come foto)
Da noi si mangiano più spesso il Kuay-Tiao in brodo. Ci sono varie ricette di brodo; il brodo chiaro che è preparato con carne bianca come pollo, il brodo scuro preparato con carne rossa come manzo ed anatra ed il brodo speziato e piccante.
Un esempio del Kuay-Tiao in brodo scuro
In questa foto sono gli spaghetti di riso in brodo chiaro
Dal colore si capisce che è il brodo piccante!
Un Kuay-Tiao con frutti di mare
Ed infine un Kuay-Tiao (noodles) asciutto allo stile cinese!
Qua in Italia, quando ho voglia di mangiare un piatto di Kuay-Tiao, faccio il brodo con le costine di maiale, un gambo di sedano, una cipolla e 2 pezzi di cannella. Faccio cuocere gli spaghetti di riso. Verso il brodo sopra gli spaghetti, aggiungo qualche verdura che trovo come germogli di soia o verza tritata fine. Per dare un buon gusto e profumo metto un pizzico di coriandolo tritato, cipollotto tritato e pepe. E' squisito!
This is home for my thoughts, my stories, my recipes, my joy, my happiness, my good (or maybe bad) moments, or whatever I'd like to share. Happy to exist in this world ♥
Monday, 28 February 2011
Wednesday, 2 February 2011
How we celebrate the Chinese New Year
Tomorrow is the greatest day for Chinese people, it's our New Year's Day! They're celebrating not only in China, but also in countries where there're many Chineses such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, etc. I'm imagining what my parents and grannies have prepared to celebrate the New Year. This fact makes me feel a little bit homesick as it's time that every family member get together. I mean the "whole" family which includes grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandchildren, etc. We're quite numerous. The feeling is something similar to Christmas day but not really. According to the tradition, we offer food to gods andour deceased ancestors on a table in front of the altar. (The Chinese normally set an altar in the house.) We light candles and incense sticks in order to invite gods and our passed-away beloved ones. Each food, vegetable and fruit has the meaning. I'm posting here some pictures found in some websites as examples.
Oranges must be found on the table. We beleive they bring good luck and prosperity. Everything is in red theme, from decorations to the outfits. Wearing red color makes a good beginning of the year.
This year is the year of rabbit. The Chinese zodiac signs change each year and they're 12 in total. The signs have animals as symbols. Who are born in this year have the rabbit as zodiac sign. (I'm a dragon!)
Another thing I miss is dancing lions and dragons. The dancers wear masks. There's a type of long costume worn by more than one person. They dance along the streets with an orchestra composed by Chinese instruments. People drop cabbages into lion's and dragon's mouth and give red envelopes of money as a tip to dancers. When I was a child, my mom let us (me, sister and brother) wait at the terrace of the top of the house (it has 3 storeys). When the lion and dragon arrived, they saw us on the top so they climbed up to reach us. (The dancers are acrobats.) Small kids sometimes are afraid of them but bigger kids enjoy giving cabbages and tips very much.
Yet, kids are very happy when they go to meet relatives because they receive red envelops with money from adult relatives too. I remember that after the Chinese New Year's Day, at school children didn't talk about anything else, but how much they got in total. Classmates who were non-Chinese origin felt a bit envious towards the Chinese ones.
Before leaving, I'd like to wish my followers, Chinese or not, much happiness and luck in the rabbit year!
Oranges must be found on the table. We beleive they bring good luck and prosperity. Everything is in red theme, from decorations to the outfits. Wearing red color makes a good beginning of the year.
This year is the year of rabbit. The Chinese zodiac signs change each year and they're 12 in total. The signs have animals as symbols. Who are born in this year have the rabbit as zodiac sign. (I'm a dragon!)
Another thing I miss is dancing lions and dragons. The dancers wear masks. There's a type of long costume worn by more than one person. They dance along the streets with an orchestra composed by Chinese instruments. People drop cabbages into lion's and dragon's mouth and give red envelopes of money as a tip to dancers. When I was a child, my mom let us (me, sister and brother) wait at the terrace of the top of the house (it has 3 storeys). When the lion and dragon arrived, they saw us on the top so they climbed up to reach us. (The dancers are acrobats.) Small kids sometimes are afraid of them but bigger kids enjoy giving cabbages and tips very much.
Yet, kids are very happy when they go to meet relatives because they receive red envelops with money from adult relatives too. I remember that after the Chinese New Year's Day, at school children didn't talk about anything else, but how much they got in total. Classmates who were non-Chinese origin felt a bit envious towards the Chinese ones.
Before leaving, I'd like to wish my followers, Chinese or not, much happiness and luck in the rabbit year!
Happy Chinese New Year 2011!
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