Travel to China

As part of the One World Many Stories summer reading theme this program will bring kids to China through crafts, cooking, and folktales.

The recipe we will make:

Cold Sesame Noodles (p.14 from the book Recipe and Craft Guide to China by Joanne Mattern)

1 pound thin spaghetti or lo mein noodles
3 tablespoons sesame oil
1/2 cup tahini (can use peanut butter but why not spend an extra few dollars and give kids and authentic experience)
1/2 cup vegetable broth
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup chopped peanuts or chopped green onions

1. Fill saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Cook noodles about 8-10 minutes or until just soft. Drain and add 1 tablespoon sesame oil, mix and set aside to refrigerate for 1 hour.
2. Place Tahiti, broth, soy sauce, sesame oil, and sugr in a jar with a lid. Cover and shake well. Place in fridge about 1 hour.
3. Place the cold noodles on a serving dish. Top with Tahini mixture and mix well.
4. Garnish with chopped peanuts or chopped green onions if you want to. Serves 4 people.

Bubble Tea

Ingredients:

1/2 cup chilled, cooked large tapioca pearls (if substituting smaller tapioca, use 1/3 cup, can be purchased in Asian food market)*
1 cup crushed ice
1 cup very strong chilled black tea (or orange pekoe tea or Lichee tea, try and go for decaf for kids sake!)
1 cup milk, or to taste
Honey or sugar to taste

Directions:
Place the pearls in a large clear glass. Combine all remaining ingredients in a cocktail shaker (or cans with lids so the kids can help out), and shake vigorously until the mixture is frothy.
Pour into the glass, and serve with extra-thick straws.

How To Cook Tapioca Pearls:

6 to 8 cups water (the ration is a minimum 7:1 water to tapioca pearls)
1 cup tapioca pearls
In a large pot (Make sure the pot is big enough so boiling tapioca water will not spill over) over high heat, add water and bring to a boil.
Slowly stir in the tapioca pearls so that they do not stick together (after 1 minute, the tapioca pearls should float). Reduce heat to medium and let boil, covered, for approximately 15 minutes; turn the heat off and let the tapioca pearls site, covered, for an additional 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, remove from heat, rinse the tapioca pearls in cold water, and drain.

NOTE: The cooking time above is a general guideline. If you shorten the cooking time, you will get chewier tapioca balls. Cook longer and you will get less elastic tapioca balls.


Crafts:

Paper Cutouts (p.37 from the book Recipe and Craft Guide to China by Joanne Mattern)
Chinese people often use paper cutouts to decorate their homes. They cut out pictures of animals, flowers, or decorative designs and tape them to windows or doors.

Materials
-Construction paper in 2 different contrasting colors
-Pencil
-Scissors
-Glue

Trace template and cut out. Glue the cutout design to a darker piece of construction paper.

Paper Tangrams

Book:
Tiki Tiki Tembo by Arlene Mosel