Food 'N Flix July Roundup: A Virtual Chinese Food Feast for 'Eat Drink Man Woman'

I have missed hanging out with my friends from Food 'N Flix the past few months so it was a treat to be back and to be hosting this month, especially when I saw all of the incredible food that was inspired by July's film; Eat Drink Man Woman. (You can see my announcement post here for info about the film.) It's always such fun to see what inspired each participant and, with the cooking talent we have in this group, our virtual feast could rival the best Chinese restaurant.

Get out your favorite pair of chopsticks (and a napkin to catch the drool), while we look at this month's roundup of film-inspired dishes.  

Our first entry in was Kimberly of Coffee and Casseroles. Unfortunately Kimberly could only find a non-subtitled version of the film (yikes!) but she still created a lunchbox that little Shan-Shan would have happily consumed; her Bento Box-Style Packed Lunch with Scallion Pancakes. Although her little pancakes proved quite the hassle to make, combined with rice, hard boiled egg and orange slices, they were a happy little lunch. And as Kimberly notes, "it is really comforting to have someone care enough to pack you lunch no matter how old you are." So True!
 

Terri of Our Good Life notes that, "the movie symbolizes the appetites of food and sex, which will ALWAYS make a great movie!" Rather than lunch or dinner, Terri went with breakfast for her inspiration and made a comforting Oat Congee with Fried Eggs and Scallions. Terri advises that "This breakfast is delicious, and don't lighten up on the soy sauce because it is morning. This dish begs for a healthy dose of soy sauce and green onions." With that luscious fried egg on top, this is one of the prettiest congees I have seen.

You can never go wrong with stir-fry and Amy of Amy's Cooking Adventures made a delectable one, this Sesame Garlic Glazed Chicken with Stir Fry Veggies. She says,

"The family clearly expresses themselves through food (the father is a chef), so there is tons of foodie inspiration. Except for the fact that I have no clue what most of the food was. Or it was fish (which I don’t eat) or whole ducks or made in a bamboo steamer.  Nope, nope, and nope. So, I had to make my take on Chinese food and made a very Americanized (but popular with my family!) chicken stir fry with veggies."

Elizabeth of The Lawyer's Cookbook appreciated the food more than the plot saying "Sometimes I have problems with movies with subtitles. Eat Drink Man Woman provided me some trouble in that regard with paying attention. I kept seeing food, but I hardly followed the story line. Because of that, I can’t tell you what the movie was about." That's OK, because it still inspired this very tasty Asian Noodles with Asparagus, Mushrooms, and Tofu. Bring on the noodles!
 

Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm liked both the movie and Mr. Chu's food, saying "There were several dishes that appealed to me in this movie....almost all of them in fact. If I could I would have embraced some time with the master chef and learned every trick and skill that he would offer to share." Wendy's dish was inspired by the ruined shark fin banquet dish that Mr. Chu saved by converting it into another dish--"Joy, Luck, Dragon, Phoenix." Wendy found a recipe for Dragon and Phoenix Soup in a favorite Chinese cookbook finding, "This soup was so very delicious and so very easy to throw together. I can see why it is considered a wonderful celebratory soup in China. I will be serving this again and again when I get hungry for Chinese food."

Deborah of Eliot's Eats had not watched the movie in several years but was happy to see it as July's film saying, "It gave me another excuse (not that I needed anymore) to enjoy a rare summer day off to spend on the couch vegging. ... What better way to continue the vegging theme than to make a stir-fry?"  She notes, "I hesitated to make fried rice after Shan-Shan scoffs at a classmate’s lunch order: “Fried rice?  Too easy for Mr. Chu.” Lucky for us she went ahead because her Taiwan Fried Rice is the perfect accompaniment to the Stir-Fry with Pork and Vegetables she made. Both dishes bring the heat from fiery toasted sesame oil. 

Food 'N Flix founder Heather of girlichef finds Eat Drink Man Woman to be "a delight for the senses." Also a delight for the senses is the Garlicky Duck Stir Fry she made, inspired by middle daughter Jia-Chien and her desire to be a chef. Heather says, "We see how much talent she has as she cooks away her frustrations in her friend's kitchen. He sits at the table as she brings in tempting dishes such as Tsu-An Tofu, Carp with Garlic Sauce, Duck Oil Sautéed Pea Sprouts, and Duck Sauteed with Garlic. Originally I wanted to try to recreate the pea sprouts, but I couldn't find any, so instead I made a stir-fry that included duck fat and duck breast. I used some seasonal veggies I had on hand, and served it over some fresh Chinese-style noodles."

Although there were several dishes in the movie that tempted me, here at Kahakai Kitchen my favorite guilty-pleasure Chinese-food dish has been on my mind and I had been wanting to try my hand at making it healthier--keeping all of the pleasure, but ditching some of the guilt. So, while not in the movie and not Taiwanese-Style, my Honey-Walnut Shrimp, is a dish that says family, comfort and love to me. Lightened up with less fat and processed sugar, it was delicious served with brown rice and steamed sugar snap peas.

 
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Although a submission after the deadline, I wanted to add Joanne from What's On the List's? entry. Joanne made an Asian Butternut Soup with Spiced Air-Fried Chickpeas and Coconut. Joanne says, "I can honestly say, I did not know what to expect from this movie, but am a big Ang Lee fan and while I enjoyed all of his movies to date, I really enjoyed Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.There is really something about this movie that “really touches your heart,” literally and almost right from the start!" Joanne says her soup is an "Asian twist on butternut soup, as inspired by post-modern leftovers."

 
A big thanks to all of my Food 'N Flix friends who battled the sub-titles (or a lack of them!) and watched this film with me. As usual, you have outdone yourselves and you have me wanting to duck out to Chinatown and gorge myself silly! ;-)

If you missed July's Food 'N Flix event but you like food, films, and foodie films, consider joining us in August, when my friend, the lovely Debra of Eliot's Eats will be hosting with August: Osage County.