‘Beyond the Great Wall: Recipes and Travels in the Other China’

There are two things I really love: cooking and books. My greatest weakness, as you might guess, is cookbooks. This month, I decided to feed my habit – pun intended – and buy a new one.

I’ve wanted “Beyond the Great Wall” by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid, ever since I read a blurb about it during the Olympics.
 
Appropriately, the cookbook arrived right in time for the Chinese New Year on Jan. 26 and the subsequent Spring Festival, during which Chinese workers get a week-long holiday and domestic tourism is popular.

And since this book is part travel guide, part cookbook, it’s also a thrifty choice.
“Beyond the Great Wall” is a complete geographic and culinary tour of the western half of the world’s fourth-largest country. Chinese officials recognize 56 ethnic groups living within their borders, though 92 percent of China’s population is Han Chinese. This cookbook explores a fraction of the other 8 percent.

Many of the 14 ethnic groups profiled in “Beyond the Great Wall” have little culinary traits in common because they are part of geographically isolated cultures.
 
The diets of people in the northern nomadic regions consist mostly of meats and milk, yogurt and cheeses culled from herds of sheep or goats, though desert oases provide tomatoes, peppers, onions and wheat for the few towns. Barley and yak meat are staples in the mountainous and largely Tibetan west, and in the wet, semi-tropical south, colorful vegetables, rice, chilies, pigs and fish are common.

Though the recipes are exotic, most are quick and simple. Ninety-five percent of the components of each dish can be found at any large supermarket. Only a few require a trip to an independent or ethnic grocery, such as Sahara Mart or Saraga.

In the back of the book there’s a bibliography and some suggested travel itineraries which are great for anyone interested in gastro-touring – or regular touring – western China. There are also detailed descriptions of some of the more endemic ingredients. And of course, the cookbook is complete with colorful photographs of dishes, people and landscapes.

Any cook, novice or expert can find something in “Beyond the Great Wall” that will excite the palate, and the diversity of the recipes makes buying this book seem like getting three-in-one. “Beyond the Great Wall” is a great buy for anyone who likes food.

The authors identify this recipe as being from southern China, near the border with Laos and Vietnam.

There are tons of substitutions you can make. I used baby lima beans instead of soybeans because I had them in my freezer already, and I was out of cornstarch so I used flour. Vegetarians can steer clear of the broth and use veggie bouillon or water.
“Beyond the Great Wall” pg. 103 –
Chile-hot bright green soybeans with garlic
Serves four side dishes (or two main dishes)

2 cups of fresh or frozen soybeans
2 tablespoons of peanut oil
2 tablespoons of pickled red chilies
5 sliced garlic cloves
1/2 teaspoon of star anise pieces
1 teaspoon of salt
1 cup of chicken broth, pork broth or water
2 tablespoons of cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons of water

Preheat a wok or large skillet. Stir fry the chilies and garlic in the oil for 30 seconds, then add the beans and the anise and stir fry for one minute. Add the salt and liquid and bring it all to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the beans are tender. The starch can be added as thickener or left out.