University students learn cooking skills on campus
A dozen young people looked on as a cook heated oil in a frying pan and dropped in minced beef, frying the meat until it browned.
The cook added salt, Sichuan peppercorns, pepper, chilis and spicy bean paste, and mixed it into the minced beef, frying it until fragrant.
He added a cup of broth and slid tofu cubes into the pan. When the tofu was bubbling nicely, he added a handful of green onions and a splash of soy sauce.
After ladling the tofu into a deep platter and dusting it with more pepper, the cook invited all the onlookers to have a bite.
This recent scenario took place at Southwest Jiaotong University in Chengdu, Sichuan province, where students were learning how to cook Chen's mapo tofu, a famous dish from Sichuan cuisine.
The university started offering a cooking course on May 8. Students taking the course will attend a training class eight times, with each session lasting three and a half hours.
"When the class is over on June 26, each of them will earn two credits and have learned how to cook 16 dishes. They include famous Sichuan dishes such as Chen's mapo tofu and double-cooked pork," said Yu Yangzhou, an official from the university's cooking service center.
The reason why the university offers the course is that many students cannot cook after graduation. They have to order takeout three times a day, said Yu, who takes charge of the training class.
About 100 students wanted to enroll in the course. But the university chose only 15 students because there are only eight electromagnetic stoves for the class.
Despite the shortage of equipment, there are as many as 10 teachers for the 15 students. The 10 teachers consist of a national-level cooking master from a vocational school in Chengdu and experienced cooks at the university.
Many students are the only children in their families and seldom do housework. They think the cooking skills learned in the class are useful, said Jiang Xinxing, a fourth-year student at the university's department of music.
