So if you saw my original post about my year abroad I mentioned that I planned to write another blog post for the next week. Roughly three weeks later this is actually being posted because unfortunately the Wi-Fi in China sucks. Like major league sucks. I know from a friend of mine in Beijing that it isn’t always bad but in Zhuhai where I am studying it is mediocre at best. How people study or watch TV I am still constantly questioning but hopefully I will get used to it.
Anyways, I figured this week would be best focused on the subject that I love most about China and that is the food.
Other than chicken feet and durian I have yet to find much Chinese food that I hate. The flavors here are complex and tend to focus on the flavor of the meat or the spices.
Because there is so much to cover, I am going to split this up into several posts about the different types of food and show you pictures so you too can obsess over the delicousness.
First, I am going to talk about pork. I should mention that in the US I don’t really eat pork except for barbeque. I have never enjoyed the texture of it.
However in China it is my favorite. I enjoy it more than most of the chicken dishes, which is saying something because I am normally a chicken fiend.
They cook it very differently here, mainly frying it or tenderizing it to such a degree that it has the texture of chicken.
My favorite dish to eat pork is called Tang Cu Li Ji and it is basically the real Chinese sweet and sour chicken.
The first time I had it was my second day in China and it was delicious and almost every time since then I have enjoyed it.
Except for once when it was almost entirely bones but I will write about differences later.
I pretty much order this dish every time so I think my roommate is getting tired of it. Too bad for her!
My second favorite way to eat pork is in noodles. I plan on writing a whole post on the noodles but you just have to see these.
I prefer pork noodles over beef noodles because often the beef is oily or tough. The cool thing about pork noodles or Cha Shou Mian is that they are actually somewhat good for you.
According to my roommate who is only slightly obsessed with losing weight, the noodles are one way that girls here lose weight.
You might be thinking, but aren’t noodles unhealthy?
Not these rice noodles because they are thinner and made solely of rice and water.
They average about 90 calories per cup and one cup will fill you up when paired with the brother and pork.
I pretty much eat noodles once a day here even though they are not native to the Canton (Guangdong) province.
Technically all of the noodle dishes I like are from Northern China, but I try not to let that impact my love of them.
They are quite popular for those who are willing to sweat extra for the delicious taste. In my case I am already sweating so much that the noodles don’t make a serious impact.
Since I have mentioned the things I like I should probably mention one thing I don’t really like. I don’t hate it but when I have the choice I tend to avoid this particular snack.
Which is their version of a hot dog. Here we call it a not dog because, well you know. The thing about Chinese hot dogs is that they are sweet.
For some reason the Chinese love their meats to be sweet and their deserts to be bland/bitter. Don’t ask me why because I am still questioning it myself.
So often the buns of these hot dogs will have sugar or honey sprinkled on or even better they cover it in a wasabi mayo that is as sweet as whipped cream but actually disgusting.
I don’t have a picture of the latter because I refuse to document things that will haunt me forever.
As I said I don’t hate the taste of these hot dogs but I definitely don’t eat them by choice.
So that's my take on pork in China, I hope you will now be hungry for Chinese food and order from your local store.
If you have a favorite Chinese dish you should comment below or tweet me because I am always interested in trying new things.
Until my next post and window of Wi-Fi have a good day!
