Interviewer: Today in the studio I am pleased to have with me the famous chef, Graham Shepherd. Graham has just come back from Beijing in China, where he was making a TV programme on the food you can try in this historic city. So, Graham, what can you tell us about your trip? Was it how you expected it to be?
Graham: It was quite surprising really. I suppose that most people think of Beijing duck when they think of Beijing and I did try some of this tasty traditional dish, but with so many people from all over the country living in Beijing there really are a lot of different foods from all regions of the country. One dish that I really enjoyed and I didn't expect to find was kebabs. These tasty snacks are originally from north-west China, but they're very popular street food in Beijing. They're especially popular as a tasty snack at lunchtime for school pupils. They have less meat and more vegetables than we are used to, so they're a bit healthier.
Interviewer: I'm sure that most people have tried kebabs, but did you try anything that might be unusual for our listeners?
Graham: Oh, yes. One of the things that I had was jellyfish. It added a nice texture to the dish, but I thought it didn't taste of much. One dish that did have a strong taste was hotpot. The dish I had was made in the Sichuan style, so it was very spicy. What I found interesting was that the hotpot was put on a hotplate in the centre of the table, and we were given a dish of raw food and we chose what we wanted and put it into the pot ourselves, and got it out when it was ready. It was great fun and very sociable. And very tasty!
Interviewer: I'm sure that you tried some of the dishes that we all know and love too. Can you tell ussomethinginteresting about them?
Graham: Of course, everybody knows about noodles and dumplings, but I doubt many people know how many different types there are! One of the highlights for me was learning how to make fresh noodles with a chef from Northern China. The recipe of egg, salt and wheat flour is quite simple, but to make the noodles by hand you need to be quite a skilful chef.
Something which is much simpler to make are dumplings. The basic ingredients are flour and water, but the beauty of this dish is that it's very flexible. You can fill them with whatever you like. I especially enjoyed one with raw prawns, but all sorts of meat and vegetables can be put in them.
Interviewer: Thanks Graham, that's really interesting, but unfortunately we've run out of time. If you'd like to know more about Graham's adventures, the series will be starting on Thursday at 7 o'clock on Channel 9. |
