Here are the most recent class photos from our University Settlement community for the 2024 to 2025 school year. 😃 and say, “Cheese!”
Daytime Classes
Evening Classes
Weekend Classes
Category: language
HOT DRY NOODLES (RE GAN MIAN, 热干面)
Vocabulary –
soy sauce (noun) – a sauce made with fermented soybeans
al dente (adjective) – cooked so as to be still firm when bitten.
“…ensure they remain chewy and al dente.”
chop (verb) – cut (something) into pieces with a knife
toss (verb) – throw (something) somewhere lightly, easily, or casually
drain (verb) – cause the water in (something) to run out, leaving it empty, dry, or drier.
WHAT IS RE GAN MIAN, OR HOT DRY NOODLES?
“Re, 热” means hot, “Gan，干” means dry, and “Mian, 面” means noodles. Re Gan Mian, or “Hot Dry Noodles” are a top breakfast choice in Hubei Province.
HOT DRY NOODLES (RE GAN MIAN, 热干面): THE RECIPE
Start by preparing the sauce. Add 3 tablespoons sesame paste to a bowl, and gradually stir in 2 tablespoons sesame oil to smooth out the paste. Then add 1 ½ teaspoons of dark soy sauce and 1 tablespoon of light soy sauce. Add 1 teaspoon sugar, and stir until well combined. If the sauce is still too thick, add in a few drops of warm water to thin it out. Add salt to taste and set aside. You can prepare this sauce ahead of time.
Boil a pot of water to cook the noodles as per package instructions, undercooking it by 1 minute to ensure they remain chewy and al dente. Drain. Shake off any excess liquid from the noodles, and put them in a large bowl.
Toss the noodles with the remaining 1 ½ teaspoons sesame oil to prevent noodles from sticking together. Add in the preserved mustard stems (zha cai), pickled long beans, garlic, chili oil, cilantro, scallions, Chinese black vinegar, and tahini sauce.
Quickly toss the noodles together and serve hot.
INGREDIENTS
- 3 tablespoons sesame paste
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil (plus 1 ½ teaspoons, divided)
- 1 ½ teaspoons dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- salt (to taste)
- 240 g about 8 oz. fresh alkaline noodles
- 1/4 cup chopped preserved mustard stems, zha cai, 榨菜 (or to taste)
- 1/4 cup chopped pickled long beans, suan dou jiao, 酸豆角 (or to taste)
- 1 teaspoon garlic (minced)
- Chili oil (to taste)
- 1/4 cup cilantro (chopped)
- 2 scallions (chopped)
- 1/2 teaspoon Chinese black vinegar
INSTRUCTIONS
- Start by preparing the sauce. Add 3 tablespoons sesame paste to a bowl, and gradually stir in 2 tablespoons sesame oil to smooth out the paste.
- Then add 1 ½ teaspoons dark soy sauce and 1 tablespoon light soy sauce (or 4 ½ teaspoons of master sauce, if you have it). Add 1 teaspoon sugar, and stir until well combined. If the sauce is still too thick, add in a few drops of warm water or more master sauce to thin it out. Add salt to taste and set aside. You can prepare this sauce ahead of time.
- Boil a pot of water to cook the noodle as per package instructions, undercooking it by 1 minute to ensure they remain chewy and al dente. Drain. Shake off any excess liquid from the noodles, and put them in a large bowl.
- Toss the noodles with the remaining 1 ½ teaspoons sesame oil to prevent noodles from sticking together. Add in the preserved radish, pickled long beans, garlic, chili oil, cilantro, scallions, vinegar, and tahini sauce. Quickly toss the noodles together and serve hot.
Source – https://thewoksoflife.com/hot-dry-noodles-re-gan-mian/
September 8 is International Literacy Day
Today is International Literacy Day (ILD)! This special day started in 1967 to remind the public around the world about the importance of literacy and education as a human right. Promoting literacy means helping adults and young people unlock opportunities to a better future. ILD reminds us about the work we need to do for a more sustainable1 and equitable2 society.
International Literacy Day (ILD) is an opportunity to honor those are dedicated to making literacy a reality for the many.
Read More »Pronouncing Chinese Names 101
Here’s a little video for all you teachers out there and others who may not know how to say names in Mandarin. It comes from the East Asian Studies Center at Ohio University:
And here are a few sounds in Chinese pinyin that are different from English. The pinyin is on the left while the equivalent English pronunciation comes after the equal sign:
What is pinyin? Watch the video below from Yoyo Chinese to find out:
Where is “like” from?
Do you use like a lot when you speak English or do you hear like a lot when others speak English? Did you know the use of the like can be traced back to the year 1886? Please watch the video to learn the history of like and think about what you use a lot like like in other languages you speak.
Mother Tongues
There are at least 7,102 known languages alive in the world today. Twenty-three of these languages are a mother tongue for more than 50 million people. The 23 languages make up the native tongue of 4.1 billion people. We represent each language within black borders and then provide the numbers of native speakers (in millions) by country. The color of these countries shows how languages have taken root in many different regions
Use the picture to answer the questions below. The first person to post all 8 answers correctly will win a prize!
- How many languages are in the picture above?
- How many people speak English as their mother tongue?
- How many people in the United States speak English as their mother tongue?
- How many people speak Spanish as their mother tongue?
- How many people in the United States speak Spanish as their mother tongue?
- How many people in China speak Korean as their mother tongue?
- In how many countries do people speak French?
- How many people are learning Italian?
