大叉烧包

I posted a new post about 3 hours ago, but I wanted to write another one about something I've been eating called Da Cha Shao Bao (the Chinese name is the title of this blog post). Today was the 3rd or 4th time that someone in the office has ordered Dim Sum for delivery for everyone to eat. I want to get more into this tradition because it started here in the Guangdong province (called Canton in Chinese). We all know Chinese people love to drink tea, but not many of us know that along with tea, food is served. This tradition of drinking tea is called Yum cha. It began when travelers on the Silk Road needed to rest and drink tea. They rested at teahouses and started eating small meals (snacks) with their tea. Then it was found that tea helped with digestion so it became a tradition throughout China. So now tea time also means time for Dim sum. Anyway, my favorite Dim sum dish so far is called Da Cha Shao Bao, a form of Baozi. Baozi is a steamed bun filled with something, such as meat, vegetables, barbecue meat. The one that I really like originated in Canton (here), and I think it is filled with pieces of pork in some sort of sauce. The actual outside (made from flour and some other ingredients such as yeast) is sweet, and the inside is pretty sweet too. I can see why these people love to eat this dish for breakfast AND with their tea. I read that now a days you can get Dim sum as a take out food for college students and office workers (such as us!). All I have to say is I am glad that this is such an ongoing tradition here, especially in Guangdong, because I love taking short breaks from work to eat these buns!
In addition to the Da Cha Shao Bao, today we had a sweet potatoe fried in something like tempura, a stew with an egg, pig parts and ginger (I have to admit I did not try this, but my co-workers seem to love it adn say it's very good and nutritious especially for women who have just had a baby), and a flat bread with some kind of vegetable in it. YUM! I love the traditions here in Southern China when it comes to food