Like many good cooks, Jin Washington doesn't measure her ingredients when she puts together her recipes. She relies on the three qualities of Chinese cooking to set a banquet before her guests: color, aroma and taste.

Two of her recipes - Eggplant Stir Fry and Slain Green Dragon - offer all three qualities, and are easy enough that novice cooks can prepare them as they enjoy the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.

Like millions of other Americans, Washington is watching the Games as they descend on her homeland. Born in the Shandong Province, the birthplace of Confucius, she knows Beijing and some of the best places to take in a meal or herbal tea.

"I didn't cook much when I grew up," she said. "I hated cooking while I was growing up, but I loved eating and I like to eat healthy."

Having grown up independent of the kitchen while living in China, she soon grew homesick for her favorite dishes while a student at South Dakota School of Mines & Technology. She studied at the Institute of Atmospheric Science and Remote Sensing, programming models on computers.

It was then that she began her self-taught apprenticeship into the world of Chinese cuisine. Both parents contributed to her culinary style.

"I grew up watching my mother. She made a lot of good things. When I thought about the food I wanted to make, I used my memory. My dad was a pretty good cook, too. I called them to find out the recipes," Washington said.

Washington also had several recipe books that she read for different Oriental cooking styles. "It's what I teach in class, too," she said.

For her fall cooking classes through the Career Learning Center, she will offer recipes and cooking techniques to prepare Hong Sshao, a tender short-rib pork dish combined with organically grown sweet carrots; Dim Sum, a sophisticated relative of the humble dumpling; and other dishes that offer more of a challenge than her previous cooking classes.

Her husband, Jermery Washington, a mechanic at Ellsworth Air Force Base and Alabama native, and their 11-month-old son, Jaguar, appreciate what she creates in the kitchen.

Recently, she offered a list of ingredients and spices for her dumplings as she demonstrated how to make them.

"You have to keep stirring the water so that the skin of the dumpling cooks and it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan," she said as she briskly stirred with her right hand and dropped the dumpling with her left into the swirling water.

"It's easier to show you. You really need to see it," Washington said. "People can do any kind of meat or vegetable that they want. They can buy dumpling wraps and make it themselves."

Plated and served with a dipping sauce, the tender dumpling breaks to reveal its meatball of chicken, shrimp, carrots, Chinese mushrooms, rice noodles, ginger and green onions.

Traditionally, the cooking water is saved.

"We drink the water," she said. "We have to eat all of the dumplings because I've put a Chinese coin, a dime and candy into four dumplings, but I'm not sure which ones."

The coins represent a rich inheritance of money or good fortune. Those lucky enough to get the candy will have a sweet life.

Washington enjoys sharing her rich heritage, tied to the Chinese hearth, in her local cooking classes.

"Once I started cooking, I loved it. It was like an art for me," she said.

Contact Jomay Steen at 394-8418 or jomay.steen@rapidcityjournal.com.

The 2008 Summer Olympics in China are showcasing athletic prowess in track and field, swimming, gymnastics and more. In tribute to the hosts of these games, Jin Washington offers some simple Chinese dishes to prepare as you watch the Beijing 2008 Olympics.

Slain Green Dragon

(Sliced, marinated cucumber)

1 medium cucumber, washed and sliced

Salt to taste

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons vinegar

2 tablespoons sugar

Hot sauce to taste

Place washed cucumber on a cutting board. Thinly slice, then lightly salt to taste. Set aside for 10 to 20 minutes. In a bowl, whisk together a sauce of soy sauce, vinegar, sugar and hot sauce. Pour sauce into a plastic bag. Discard water drained from cucumber slices. Place slices into plastic bag with sauce, seal and put into refrigerator for two hours. To serve, place slices on serving plate and drizzled with marinade sauce.

Eggplant Stir Fry

15 minutes from start to table

1 medium, purple-skinned eggplant

1 hot or sweet pepper, according to taste, any color

1-2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon garlic powder or 2 cloves of fresh garlic

1-2 teaspoons powdered ginger or a quarter-sized fresh ginger, finely diced

3 to 4 sprigs cilantro, chopped (optional)

3-4 tablespoons peanut oil

Using a sharp knife, slice eggplant then cut slices into matchstick-sized pieces. Set aside. Finely dice fresh ginger and garlic cloves. Place wok over high heat and add peanut-Washington prefers flame heat but electric heat will work. When wok is hot, add eggplant, pepper, soy sauce, ginger and garlic and begin to stir evenly to avoid scorching. As the vegetables are thoroughly heated and begin to caramelize, add cilantro and quickly stir though until wilted. Take off heat, place in serving dish and serve. Washington says to tinker with the recipe, adding more soy sauce for a saltier flavor, more or less garlic and ginger. She suggests using a hot pepper to develop a full, rich flavor.

If you go

Jin Washington of Rapid City will offer cooking and language classes at the Career Learning Center Community Education Program this fall in Rapid City.

Chinese Cooking Class II will be from 6 p.m. to

8 p.m. Thursdays beginning Sept. 25 at the learning center. Participants should bring an apron, cutting board and favorite knife. Class costs $45 and includes a supply fee. It will meet for three sessions.

Chinese Language Class will meet from 6 p.m. to

8 p.m. Wednesdays, beginning Sept. 17 at the center. Class will meet for four sessions.

To enroll for either class, call the Career Learning Center at 394-5120 or go to www.clccommed.org.