one of the gifts the boy gave me last christmas was a cooking class in taiwan, and i loved the experience! beforehand, i picked a few dishes and discussed them with the teacher, and we agreed on the plan. we met at the market to grab some ingredients, including eggs, which were in shortage on the island for some reason. ours were salted eggs — the yolks are firm and delicious!

the market tour was definitely a highlight of the experience — they had so many types of rice, and things like spice mixes and dried leaves for all sorts of things, fruits i’d never seen, and the cuttlefish was so fresh it changed color if you touched it!

back in her studio, we had tea, and then started cooking! we made wontons in chili oil (which was not as spicy as expected) and sweet steamed red bean and sesame buns…

… and shanghai zongzi! zongzi is a laborious affair of rice, pork and salted yolk wrapped in a huge bamboo leaf that is then pressure cooked. ivy was super patient with me though, showing me the right wrapping technique while i made a mess in her kitchen.

it was amazing experience, with delicious results — and i even got to bring the leftovers home for the boy! :D