Sichuan Food and Family

For 4 days I was a guest of Cheshire and Stanley, a Chinese couple personal friends of Allen. 40 days before, Cheshire had given birth to a beautiful baby boy. Both were discovering the intricacies of new parenthood and it was evident the child would receive the excessive attentions due to an only child, as prescribed by China’s – One Child Policy –

One Child Policy may seem contrary to human rights, yet 1.3 billion citizens if free to multiply indiscriminately, may result in a future of inconceivable disadvantages. Meanwhile, dangerously, and to their own dismay, doting Chinese parents may be raising ego-centric generations of One Child Policy mini-monsters…

Confucius’ wisdom and the yin-yang balance of the I Ching may be the inspirational guides for an ethical stability between parents and their one-child. Perhaps arouse in the limited family the philosophical harmony characteristic of Chinese culture...

To meet other family members I was invited for a home-cooked dinner by Cheshire’s mom and dad. As we walked through a dimly-lit and damp street market of meats, fruit and vegetables, available as ready to eat, take home and eat, or take home and cook it yourself, I asked Cheshire what gift would be appropriate for mom. Thinking in western mode, I suggested a bottle of whisky or a box of Chocolate, to my surprise she opted for a 4 liter container of cooking oil.

So I discovered the real Sichuan cuisine, which uses plenty of oil along with massive amounts of chili peppers for enormous quantities and varieties of food... Sometimes consumed with a generous supply of SNOW beer…

I was lucky… in a restaurant for a HOT POT, at home or a street barbeque, my new found friends kept my rice bowl topped up, perhaps noticing my shy and clumsy long-distance chopstick maneuverings into shared dishes. I ate everything even with tears in my eye and running nose…