Huoguo

So, I was going to write about how my friends I and met a man doing water calligraphy on campus the other day, or how I have finally gained some knowledge of how the Beijing buses work. But, that is going to have to wait because the other day I ate....hotpot. Or as the Chinese call it huoguo.

Now for those of you who don’t know what it is hotpot is kinda like going to a restaurant and making your own fondu. They have electric grills that keep boiling pots of water warm and you put your meat or vegetables in it to cook. You basically decide for yourself when it is done. It is bu hao. (Chinese for not good)

Now I know what you are thinking, “Kim this sounds amazing why didn’t you enjoy it?” I will tell you why. It is because Chinese hotpot is much much different than the meats you would probably eat in the U.S.. You have your typical meats such as beef, lamb, fish...but you also get the pleasure of having...squid, tofu, cow’s stomach, etc. Its..interesting. Now I am I picky eater...I readily admit that, and some people really like hotpot. I am just not one of them. Anyways...I was getting on pretty well. I stuck to the meats I knew such as the beef and lamb, and stayed away from everything else. Until something happened. My boss (FYI I went with the people who work at the Red Cross where I intern) started to put food on my plate. In China, you do not refuse the food you are given from your elders. Well....you could but it would be very very bad manners. So, I said thank you and started eating; and it was going ok. I ate fish - not my favorite thing in the world, but it could be worse - until i realized it had small bones in it. In China, the small bones don’t really matter. People will just eat them. So I slowly ate it...and made it through..thankful she hadn’t put anything else on my plate. Until about two minutes later when she put a piece of tofu, more fish, squid, and what I think was cow’s stomach. It took everything I had not to refuse it. So I slowly... ever so slowly...ate the tofu -which tasted like wet cardboard...and then looked at the rest of my food. I couldn’t do it...I was not ready to eat cow stomach. So i ate part of the fish and tried not to grimace as I heard the crunch of the small bones.

Fun Fact #2: NO ONE uses soy sauce in China. Its a Japanese thing. If you ask for soy sauce, they look at you like you are crazy. They do however have vinegar which many people use very large quantities of on their food.

Kim’s Helpful Tip #1: If you think the stuff on your table is soy sauce, check before you put it on your food, or else you could end up with really vinegary bowl of rice. Not that I have done that or anything.....