I just tried to cook Mexican food with Chinese ingredients. Results: no bueno.
I don't think it's the fault of the ingredients. I made pico de gallo, and they are exactly the same -- cilantro, tomatoes, onions, salt, pepper, white vinegar. I turned it into an omlet of sorts, covered it with tabasco and ketchup, and ate it with chopsticks. Delicious.
I cook a lot these days. No, I haven't become a domestic goddess. I just got tired of jiaozi really fast, and since I can order that and rice, I don't really fancy eating out too much. Also, even though it's incredibly cheap by American standards, I'm making yuans now, so I have to pinch those jiaos.
Besides for bouts with random food ethnicities to fulfill cravings, I've learned how to make real Chinese food. Chris' wife, very concerned about my claiming to eat noodles for dinner that night, invited me to eat dinner and showed me how to cook like the locals. It was great, and with that little background, I've figured out a lot of different dishes. Most of them involve rice and soy sauce, but that is a stereotype that carries through.
I can also cook cajun food with the supplies I can find here. By cajun food I mean red beans and rice, but it's been a hit with my friends so far. And they are muy impressed that I can manage something so foreign with Chinese ingredients. But, as I mentioned before, the food they grow here is nearly identical to the food grown in Louisiana. I just have to add a little cajun seasoning (I brought some from home) and tabasco (foreign food stores have it everywhere!) and it's cajun. I'm impressive without even trying!
