The second Chinese Kitchen featured 春捲 (Taiwanese spring roll). As usual, the cooking activity was held on the first floor of Bates during lunch time on a lovely Saturday afternoon.
Taiwanese spring roll, usually called rùn bǐng (潤餅), is one of the most common foods in Taiwan. This is a non-fried version of the traditional spring roll. Just like making a burrito, one can customize their own spring roll based on their preference. The ingredients were laid out on the table like a buffet, which were prepared by Huang laoshi earlier in the morning.
The technique used was just like making dumplings: one needs to be careful and not too greedy. The delicate wrap could be easily broken by greediness or careless.
Besides the ingredients for the spring rolls, Huang laoshi cooked 鳳梨苦瓜雞湯(fèng lí kǔ guā jī tāng, bitter melon pineapple chicken soup) and 茶葉蛋(chá yè dàn, tea leaf egg) for the members. The 茶葉蛋 are hard-boiled eggs steeped in a tea-infused soy sauce. Huang laoshi brought the spice of 茶葉蛋 from Taiwan, which is the authentic flavor. She made the 茶葉蛋 the night before the event, so the eggs could be left in the sauce to absorb the flavor. 茶葉蛋 turned out to be the most popular food today. “我好喜歡吃這個，我可不可以拿幾個? (I like this so much. Can I take couple of eggs?)” asked Amy with a cute satisfied expression.
On the other hand, 鳳梨苦瓜雞湯 was a stark contrast of 茶葉蛋. Huang laoshi tried very hard to encourage everyone to try it by saying it is very healthy. Few people were willing to try it, because it was bitter. Emily added a generous amount of powdered sugar (which was prepared for the spring rolls) in her soup, to sweeten it. She exclaimed, “太苦了! (So bitter!)”
The activity was filled with laughter and delicious food! Everyone cannot wait for the next event!