Page:The Chinese cook book.djvu/25

Rh food, one realizes how delicious it is. It has been said that if the Chinese were as great in other ways as in cooking ability they would notably influence other nations.

The story is told of a young Chinese couple newly married. The bridegroom was boasting to a friend of his bride's ability in cooking. The friend was invited to visit the groom's home. The friend had a keen sense of humor and so he asked the groom if his bride would cook anything he brought. The groom, feeling confident of his wife's ability, told his friend that he might bring anything he wished and the bride would cook it.

The friend came, bringing with him a stalk of sugar-cane and a pound of pork. He gave it to the bride. Now, the friend of course thought it would be impossible for the bride to do anything with these things. But he had not taken into consideration her cleverness.

The bride took the cane and, with a scraper, removed the outside rind. Then she put the pound of pork, cut into pieces, and the remaining cane through a grinder. To this chopped cane she added the white of an egg, and, using a little cornstarch, mixed all well together.