a bowl of noodles, or some small cakes and fruit. At the main meal, 

 rice is the principal food and is eaten with all the other dishes. Ordin- 

 arily (banquets excepted) there is but one course, there being no des- 

 sert, and all the food is set on the table at the same time the rice is 

 served; no matter whether these dishes be soups, vegetables, fish, eggs, 

 meat, or poultry. 



RICE 



The Chinese cook rice until it is dry and each grain stands out from 

 the others. While Americans pour water over the cooked rice to wash 

 out the starch, the Chinese do all the washing before cooking. The rice 

 to be cooked is washed in several waters by being stirred round and 

 round the pot either with the hand or a perforated cook spoon until 

 the water becomes white, when it is poured off and the water changed. 

 This process is repeated some ten or twelve times until the water pours 

 off clear. All the cold water is then drained off and boiling water in 

 the proportion of two cups to one cup of rice is added. After the rice 

 has come to a boil, the fire is turned very low, and the rice allowed to 

 cook (or rather steam) a half hour or more until firm and dry. A 

 heavy Chinese porcelain-lined, iron pot is best, but a double boiler also 

 serves the purpose. 



SHRIMP OMELET (FU YUNG HA) 



1 cup small, picked Fong Wan shrimps. 

 1 small onion, sliced. 



5 or 6 dried mushrooms, washed, soaked till soft, and sliced into 



strips. 



Fry shrimps, mushrooms and onion in oil over slow fire. 

 Pour in 4 well-beaten eggs and mix. 



Add a teaspoonful of Chinese Sauce (Pak Yau) and salt to taste. 

 Fry quickly until light brown. 



186 



