Kung Fu Fondue

There is no English equivalent for the original meaning of kung fu. In short, 功夫 (gōngfu) means "achievement through great effort". Originally, to practice kung fu did not just mean to practice Chinese martial arts. Instead, it referred to the process of one's training - the strengthening of the body and the mind, the learning and the perfection of one's skills - rather than to what was being trained. It refers to excellence achieved through long practice in any endeavor. You can say that a person's kung fu is good in fondue; saying that a person possesses kung fu in an area implies skill in that area, which they have worked hard to develop. For several years, now, our family has worked hard to develop Fondue Kung Fu. We own several fondue pots and each year it has become a tradition for our family (and a few friends) to get together on New Year’s Eve for an evening of fondue. I think it is ridiculous, how the art and practice of fondue has fallen out of favor. That everyone thinks it the same way they do avocado green appliances & shaggy burnt-orange carpeting. However, fondue is fun. And it is truly is the ultimate party food. Fondue comes with traditions; one being, if you drop the tasty morsel of goodness that you have on the end of your stick into the hot cauldron of oil – you have to kiss the person next to you. At our party, we’ve created a variation of this tradition that simply requires the fumbling fondue(r) to answer a question about themselves that most people at the party might not know about them. Another budding tradition involves playing the wii baseball, boxing, et cetera (I won’t go into detail, because I lost badly last year). This year, I feel like adding a new tradition that involves exotic fried items; and in honor of Kung Fu and the young “grasshopper” I think I’ll start with a treat I’ll dub “fried hoppers”.

A couple of questions remain:

1. Where to get grasshoppers? I wonder if the local Thai grocery will carry them?

2. Will the little hoppers taste better in chocolate or honey? My guess is honey, since John the Baptist seemed to prefer insects that way – good enough for John, good enough for me.

3. Who at the party will end up eating these things? I hope I don’t have to gorge myself with an excess of fried hoppers – waste not, want not. Have a Happy & Prosperous New Year! CAP