Chinese dinner

We have been yesterday in best Chinese restaurant in Zagreb – and I would say in Croatia too, Asia. It is quite simple Chinese dish though, but we have enjoyed it very much. I would say Chinese have understood well Croats as nation which loves large quantities of food, so these portions were also very large.

Hot and sour soup, classic Szechuan soup with tofu, mushrooms and pork tastes really good, and it heals you from cold or drowsiness. Although it has many ingredients, it is not so tough to make and here is a recipe borrowed from About.com:
Ingredients:

• 1 cake tofu (fresh, if possible)
• 2 ounces pork tenderloin
• Marinade:
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon tapioca starch (or cornstarch)
• Other:
• 1/2 cup bamboo shoots
• 2 tablespoons black fungus (Wood Ear) or Cloud Ear fungus
• (or 3 - 4 Chinese dried black mushrooms or fresh mushrooms)
• 1 small handful dried lily buds
• 6 cups water (or 6 cups water and 1 cup Campbell's chicken broth)*
• 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons red rice vinegar, white rice vinegar, or red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 1/4 cup water
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 green onion, finely chopped
• White pepper to taste (no more than 1 tablespoon)
• Hot chili oil, to taste, optional

Preparation:

Hot and Sour Soup Directions:
Shred pork. Mix marinade ingredients and marinate pork for 20 minutes.
Cut tofu into small squares. Cut bamboo shoots into thin strips and then into fine slices. To reconstitute the fungus, soak in warm water for 20 minutes. Rinse, and cut into thin pieces. (If substituting Chinese dried mushrooms, soak to soften, then cut off the stems and cut into thin strips. If using fresh mushrooms, wipe clean with a damp cloth and slice.)
To reconstitute the dried lily buds, soak in hot water for 20 minutes or until softened. Cut off the hard ends. Bring the water to a boil. When it is boiling, add the bamboo shoots, fungus or mushrooms, and the lily buds. Stir. Add the tofu. Bring back to a boil and add the marinated pork. Stir in the salt, sugar, soy sauce and vinegar and sesame oil. Test the broth and adjust the taste if desired. (If using chicken broth, you may want to add a bit more rice vinegar).
Mix the cornstarch and water. Slowly pour the cornstarch mixture into the soup, stirring while it is being added. Let the broth come back to a boil. As soon as it is boiling, remove the broth from the stove. Slowly drop in the beaten egg, stirring in one direction at the same time. Add the green onion and the white pepper to taste. Drizzle with chilli oil if desired. Serve hot.

Tie pan eight treasures is really excellent and hot Chinese invention, bringing together all flavours of roast pork, chicken, beef, prawns, mushrooms, pepper, bamboo and carrots.

Tofu with bamboo and Chinese mushrooms was my vegetarian friend's choice.

And if you can't resist meat, here is Beef with bamboo and Chinese mushrooms.

Excellent deep-fried ice cream

And my first encounter with Chinese fruit...