Cooking 101

I went with a Taiwanese friend Vickie to her house this weekend for a lesson in Taiwanese cooking. With Vickie translating, her mother walked me through fried rice noodles, oyster soup, stir-fried sweet potato leaves and clams steamed in basil, ginger, chili peppers and garlic. I'm hoping to put together a menu for a Taiwanese meal when I get back to the US, and my notes include North American substitutes (since as far as I know the average American supermarket doesn't carry sweet potato leaves).

Next on the menu is jiaozi, aka dumplings (which I've become completely obsessed with). From what I understand it's pretty involved making the stuffing and the "skin," and everyone has their own method for it. But I'm up for any cooking challenge, especially if it's again followed with tea, cookies and the chance to practice Chinese.