Live from Shanghai!-Oysters, Spicy Soup, and Street Food

Hey Nomsters!

MaLaTang

Sorry it's been a while since my last post informing you of Nightly Noms postponing delivery until Spring 2012. I've been in Shanghai about 5 days now and have already been through a whirlwind of foodie experiences. From street food to traditional Sichuan (so spicy!) food, I've had the opportunity to taste a variety of dishes; and thankfully haven't eaten anymore bugs.

Street Seafood Options

One of my favorite things about Chinese street/snack cuisine is it's really customizable. MaLaTang （麻辣烫） in particular is a great option if you're looking for a simple and delicious meal. MaLaTang is a spicy soup that you can basically add whatever ingredients the shop has on hand. From meats, to noodles, to veggies, each bowl is custom made to order and spiced to the buyer's desire. MaLaTang is a bit like Chicken Noodle Soup to the Chinese. ~$1.00/bowl

Scallop w/ Garlic

In addition to MaLaTang, I've been eating a fair amount of the "on a stick" variety of food. Each night after about 6pm, street vendors and BBQ stations pop up and are surrounded by fairy lights to illuminate the area. From BBQ meat or veggies on a stick to freshly grilled seafood (oysters, clams, scallops, oh my!), hungry students have the chance to sample the local favorites while enjoying a bottle of pijiu (啤酒，beer). So far I've tried octopus and zucchini on a stick, both were flavorful and seasoned with some sort of spice powder. I also had a grilled scallop with garlic on the half shell, which was awesome. and only about $.75. In addition to food on a stick, one of the best street food items is Jidan Bing (鸡蛋饼，egg pancake). Typically eaten for breakfast, this crepe-like pancake is stuffed with a variety of ingredients ranging from just meat, to meat, veggies, and sauce. There crepes are the perfect indulgence in Chinese street food and are served pipping hot and to-go.

Sichuan Spicy Pork & Peppers

I'll be back with more Shanghai updates soon for now keep snacking and let us know if you want to share your adventures in cooking!

Jidan Bing

-gf

Breakfast Street Food at its Best: Baozi, Scallion Cakes + Egg Crepes

Scallion Pancake

Hello Again Nomsters,

I've returned with more scrumptious descriptions of my tasting adventures in Beijing, China. I hope you guys weren't too grossed out by the bug eating experience I described in my last post. As promised, we’re moving on to bigger and better snacking in this update from The Georgetown Foodie’s Nomming Across Asia series. If you hadn’t guessed from the frequent reporting on traditional Chinese snacks, China has an extensive list variety of options when it comes to exploring the street food scene. While most doctors often cringe at the idea of sampling some of the slightly sketchy local eateries in China, you only live once. So take a couple of educated risks during your time abroad and try something new. Just be sure that your Hep shot is up to date, and then feel free let your taste buds explore the nuances of a fantastic foodie culture. If you’re headed to China in the near future here are a few of my favorite options for beginners to the Beijing street food scene.

China’s capital boasts a wide array of street fare, but some of the best is found at breakfast time. Whether you are strolling down bustling car-filled streets or small alleyways lined with hanging red lanterns and freshly washed clothing, you’re sure to find some good tasting options. From little smoking carts to tiny walk-up window storefronts, businessmen, city locals, and foodies often find themselves indulging in the deliciousness of a street-side breakfast of egg crepes, scallion pancakes, and baozi. With each item holding its own unique flavor, any of these breakfast “pastries” will keep you full and having you say "hai you yige!" (Meaning "one more!" in Chinese). Any of these three items will serve as a good introduction to the Chinese ability to make tasty food fast and portable.

Egg Crepes

First, egg crepes are pretty basic in concept, but incredibly tasty. Made on a large griddle, a crepe-like batter is poured out, topped with scrambled egg, chopped onion, and slathered with duck sauce, if requested. After the crepe is cooked, it is folded, cut into triangles, and placed into a plastic bag for an on-the-run breakfast or snack. These crepes have a doughy consistency with a slightly salty/eggy taste and are the Chinese equivalent to an omelet, but better because you can eat these with your hands!

If you're not quite interested in an egg crepe, maybe a scallion pancake is a bit more your style. Packed with veggies and sometimes egg, these pancakes are warm pockets of delectableness! Scallion pancakes are similar to McDonald’s classic egg mcmuffin, with a bready outside and porous inside to soak in the juices from its stuffing.  Also, ff you ask politely, the shopkeeper may even be willing to stuff your pancake with some meat.

Finally, baozi—now, I really cannot say enough good things about these amazing bundles of deliciousness. I will probably talk them up too much, but honestly, if you go to the right place, they are incredibly tasty. Baozi are steamed buns, sort of like dumplings, stuffed with a variety of fillings. When abroad in China, you will find anything from vegetables and meat, to lotus paste or custard in a baozi. The more you eat baozi, the better you’ll understand that the sky literally is the limit of what could be inside these breakfast buns. There's one type of baozi I particularly love. I originally found it at a supermarket in Shanghai last summer. The specific bao is called “niu rou sheng jian bao,” which roughly translates to “Beef Pan-Fried Bun.” It's almost like a hamburger, but with thinner dough encasing juicy meat and vegetables. Sheng jian bao are known for being placed in a shallow wok and fried until the dough soaks up the juices and the bottoms are very crispy. Lastly, if you're ever in Shanghai, the trip is not quite a success without sampling "xiao long bao," which translates to “little dragon bun.” This variety of baozi are special due to their thin wrapper and soup filled insides xiao long bao are particularly famous in southern China, especially Shanghai.

Qing Feng Baozi

On this particular trip to Beijing, a group of us ended up at Qing Feng Baozi, a small local restaurant. The baozi were pretty amazing, definitely flavorful and juicy.

You can't really go wrong with any of these Chinese breakfast options, so try one or try all three! If this post isn't enough to convince you to nosh on an item from a Chinese breakfast cart, then maybe the fact that most of the aforementioned items will cost you $.5-$.50 cents USD will encourage you to explore your options.

 As always, let us know of your own foodie adventures.

Until next time,

The Georgetown Foodie

Bug Eating: Foodie Travels in Beijing, China

Hello Foodie Followers,

Cicadas on a Stick...

Sorry for our absence in the blogging world for the past couple of weeks. I've been traveling (and eating) my way across Beijing for the past two weeks, and as most of you know, China's blocked a fair amount of blogging sites. On the upside, they haven't banned the art of photograph (or eating), therefore I have a lovely assortment of photos for you all.

I spent the past two weeks with Georgetown students (GIRC) and other students hailing from a number of universities teaching kids about Model UN and working for a Model UN expo called WeMUN. Hands down probably one of the best experiences of my life that just so happened to allow me to collect some good street food info too! Therefore, I'll be using the next couple of posts to elaborate on the deliciousness of Chinese food (the real stuff, we're not talking about Panda Express). Up first, Bugs!

Cocoons, Cicadas, & Scorpions, oh my!

So, it's pretty common to be walking down a Beijing street and see either vendors selling snack food or people walking about the streets with items on sticks or in plastic bags. Both methods of packaging work well for those traveling on foot. However, generally speaking if you're walking around with something a stick, chances are you're a bit more of a risk taker in terms of trying the local fare because meat/bugs are usually what come of a stick. Whilst casually strolling down a neighborhood walking area of Beijing, our small group of Georgetown IRC reps decided to try out some of the more risky of the "on a stick" variety, which is how the four of us ending up nomming on cicadas. Now, bug eating in China isn't some ancient delicacy by any means, I would say 50% is a tourist attraction, 25% is because the Chinese actually enjoy eating bugs, and 25% is for the protein. We had three options, something that looked like giant maggots (which in fact turned out to be cocoons, thank goodness we avoided eating a butterfly), cicadas, and scorpions....

Each item was nicely placed on a stick and lined up in rows. Obviously the cocoon was a no-go due to the probability of it going "pop" in our mouths, the scorpions were also quickly set aside as an option since only three came on a stick when we had four willing to sample the bugs, that left us with the cicadas (shell intact). So for all of $2.50 USD, we were handed a freshly fried and salted stick of cicadas and left to our own snacking. Needless to say, we all survived the bug eating, but some of us took it better than others, haha.


Long story short, the cicadas were incredibly crunchy and salty, so it could have passed for some other type of food on a stick. However, since we were well aware of what we were nomming on, the tastiness index dropped. I could sort of taste the sharpness of the outer shell, which was not appetizing, but at least is was better than a butterfly...

Dane (G'town IRC) mentally preparing for the crunch

Would we do it again... yes! Why? cause it's a good story to tell, which half the fun of cooking, baking, eating, and the culinary tradition is about sharing food experiences and stories to build a sense of community.

So try something new (and if you're not up for deep fried bugs, maybe start with seafood?)

-Georgetown Foodie