Photo Essay: A Cozy, Chinese-Style Thanksgiving in China
Even though we’ve moved to China, there are some holidays that will always remain in our lives — such as Thanksgiving. We spent a cozy afternoon at home cooking up a little something to celebrate. Granted, it’s not the kind of Thanksgiving your American grandma would have served up — but it served us (and our friends) well for the holiday.
While I’m taking a break this day to remember the holidays, I thought I’d share a few photos from our quiet little celebration at home.
Yes, Virginia, you can mash sweet potatoes in a wok! (Just like John here.)Instead of turkey, we decided to cook up pig’s feet.China has the perfect solution to your cranberry sauce problem — candied Chinese hawthorn, which tastes almost exactly like cranberry sauce. Who’d have thought?Who needs tofurkey when you can whip up a little home-style tofu with shitake mushrooms, green onion and black bean sauce. Yum!Mashed sweet potatoes have always been one of my favorite dishes at Thanksgiving — and they’re still easy to make in China.A random salad of romaine lettuce…just because I’ve always loved salads with Thanksgiving dinner.The table is set with rice, chopsticks and coconut milk to drink!Add a few friends and, voila, you have a real holiday atmosphere! To Thanksgiving!
14 Replies to “Photo Essay: A Cozy, Chinese-Style Thanksgiving in China”
Happy Thanksgiving to you and John!! Everything looks delicious!! I especially love sweet potatoes as well and also serve them every Thanksgiving and Christmas. Personally, I think it doesn’t matter where we are or what we eat as long as we are thankful!! And we should be thankful for all the good in our lives not only on Thanksgiving, but each and every day!!
Happy Thanksgiving! That tofu dish looked amazing and brought me back to big dinners in China and Hong Kong. It was always my favorite. I give you a TON of credit, though, for putting up with those pig feet. The smell alone would have put me off food for two days!
Thank you! OMG, the smell was really, really tough to bear when cooking. Fortunately, we stewed it in Shaoxing wine, so that helped ameliorate the smell quite a lot.
How fascinating! Well, then again, they always have called pork “the other white meat” (and turkey is white meat too). I would love to take credit for being a genius on that, but honestly, it was a matter of turkey not being very readily available and my husband craving pigs feet!
We also changed our usual Thankgiving dinner with the addition of Chinese steamed buns. And my fiance ate everything with chopsticks, even the mashed potatoes!
I’ve had a pretty awesome Thanksgiving, even though I did have to work from 4 AM to 1 PM on black Friday and ended up kind of overdosing on caffeine pills and drinking one small and one medium cups of Starbucks (Not a coffee person, although I do have it once in a while.) Its a miracle I survived is all I can say.
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Happy Thanksgiving to you and John!! Everything looks delicious!! I especially love sweet potatoes as well and also serve them every Thanksgiving and Christmas. Personally, I think it doesn’t matter where we are or what we eat as long as we are thankful!! And we should be thankful for all the good in our lives not only on Thanksgiving, but each and every day!!
Thanks Constance! It’s so true, the important thing is to be thankful!
Look nice.
I like to trade my 火鸡 for your meal.
Thanks! Ha, I sort of wish I could have made turkey! But he does love pigs feet A lot, so all is well.
Bon appétit!
Thanks!
Happy Thanksgiving! That tofu dish looked amazing and brought me back to big dinners in China and Hong Kong. It was always my favorite. I give you a TON of credit, though, for putting up with those pig feet. The smell alone would have put me off food for two days!
Thank you! OMG, the smell was really, really tough to bear when cooking. Fortunately, we stewed it in Shaoxing wine, so that helped ameliorate the smell quite a lot.
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/seriouslyscience/2014/11/26/makes-turkey-taste-like-pork/
Jocelyn and John, you guys are genius to find perfect substitute for turkey.
How fascinating! Well, then again, they always have called pork “the other white meat” (and turkey is white meat too). I would love to take credit for being a genius on that, but honestly, it was a matter of turkey not being very readily available and my husband craving pigs feet!
We also changed our usual Thankgiving dinner with the addition of Chinese steamed buns. And my fiance ate everything with chopsticks, even the mashed potatoes!
How cute! Steamed buns sound like a terrific addition to the table!
I am glad I am not the only one who mash potatoes in a wok. haha.
Dawen and I didn’t even celebrate Thanksgiving. Whoops. We didn’t celebrate Thanksgiving last year, either. Or the year before that.
I don’t eat pork myself and it did take a while for me to get used to of the smell. :O!
I have a caring husband because he embraced Hanukkah but most of all, I can’t wait to do a official Passover with him.
I really do like your photos – you have a lovely family. 🙂
I’ve had a pretty awesome Thanksgiving, even though I did have to work from 4 AM to 1 PM on black Friday and ended up kind of overdosing on caffeine pills and drinking one small and one medium cups of Starbucks (Not a coffee person, although I do have it once in a while.) Its a miracle I survived is all I can say.