Other than the Beijing hot pots, we had not entered China with any grand culinary expectations. In the 1980′s, Yangshuo was known as one of very few places in China where one could get bread, jam, fried eggs, and pizza.  Nonetheless, we signed up for a half-day Chinese cooking class, starting with a guided trip through the local government run market with our instructor.

This place was straight-from-the-farm fresh, and very colorful. Nicole looked like a kid (or me) in a candy shop. Here you could pick up anything from frogs, eels, and fish, to garlic stalks, lotus roots, bean curd, and melons (a.k.a. squash) that put our garden’s yield to shame.

A small van then transported us just outside town, where we had biked the day before, to a small establishment with 2 kitchens, each filled with propane tanks, burners, woks, and large butcher knives.

Our instructor walked us through 5 courses that are favorites among the locals: steamed chicken with goji berries + dates, pork dumplings with egg base, roasted eggplant with pickled red pepper + garlic relish, sauteed bok choy, and a pork dish with veggies (the pork dumplings were eaten as an appetizer).

Of our classmates seated around the table, 5 were Jewish (couple from Boston, 2 girls from Israel, and Nicole), and 3 were not (2 from Netherlands — very tall I might add — and me). This was a great mix that lead to interesting conversations about travel and Holland (Michigan), as well as taboo topics like religion and politics.

Note: cooking is great fun when there is service staff cleaning up the kitchen in between each course.

Note2: Nicole considers this one of the best meals she’s had on our trip.  Here’s to hoping she starts cooking more at home because of it