The 10 Chinese dishes that make expats homesick
When China's October 1 National Day rolls around, food is part of the celebration, even for citizens living on the other side of the world.But while ingredients are easy to transport, feelings of home aren't. Nor are certain specialties that only taste their best in the place they were born.To get more news about
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With 56 ethnic groups, eight recognized major cuisines and countless cooking styles, this menu of favorites in China could run longer than a finely pulled noodle.
But these 14 dishes are almost guaranteed to waken the homesick bug in most mainland Chinese who live or travel abroad.
1. Proper street kebabs
The most unforgettable meals in China don't come from Michelin-starred restaurants.They're eaten in the streets in noisy, crowded, pungent food quarters in the heart of cities.
In places like Guijie in Beijing, Yunnan Nan Lu in Shanghai and Mingwalang in Nanjing, foodies can sample all sorts of freshly cooked skewers while witnessing the ultimate in food theater.
2. Spicy crayfish
Cities all over the country go gaga over the crustaceans, which are simmered in a broth with chili and abundant spices then served dry.
From spring to early autumn, crayfish-night-outs have become a ritual for many. Groups of friends find a jam-packed stall, sit on tiny plastic stools and order a bucket or two of bright red crayfish. No chopsticks needed -- digging in with the hands is preferred.
3. Lamb hot pot
Outside of China, spicy Sichuan hot pot and nourishing Cantonese hot pot are well known.
But in China, a country closely linked to Mongolian nomads, heavy and hearty lamb hot pot is hugely popular, especially in the north during the bitterly cold winter.
Likely originating during the Yuan Dynasty and made popular by Qing Dynasty emperors, lamb hot pot is dramatic to look at -- the copper container has a tall chimney in the middle to release steam from burning coal below, while the broth cooks in the outskirts of the pot.
4. Guilin rice noodles
Located in southern China among clear rivers and Karst Mountains, Guilin isn't only famous for its heavenly landscape, but bowls of refreshing rice noodles topped with preserved long beans, peanuts, bamboo shoots and spring onions.
There are noodles stalls everywhere in Guilin and surrounding areas. Locals like to mix the silky noodles and ingredients in a spicy and sour brine then eat them dry; or savor the whole combination in the beef stock.
5. Yan Du Xian soup
Yan Du Xian is a nutritious soup known as the great comfort food of the Yangtze River Delta in early spring. It's a typical homey dish -- restaurants serve it, but the best always comes from a loving mom.
Seasonal delicacies, such as young bamboo shoots, chunks of pork belly, cured pork slices, firm tofu sheets and premium yellow rice wine, are put together in one clay pot for hours of simmering.
6. Lanzhou hand-pulled noodles
The flagship halal dish from China, hand-pulled noodles hail from the wild, sandy lands of northwest China.
Each bowl is as much handicraft as hearty meal.
In what's usually a makeshift open kitchen, formidable Islamic noodle masters beat, fold and pull a flour-based dough, turning it into hair-thin noodles faster than most people can decide what to order.
7. Sugar-coated haws (Candied haw/tong hu lu)
This is an iconic snack in northern China, especially in Beijing.
Sold by the stick, the dessert-to-go tastes great and looks greater -- bright red haws line up on a skewer in auspicious shapes, their sugary outer layers glimmering in the light.
Its nearest counterpart in the West might be toffee apples (known as candy apples in North America).
8. Stinky tofu
Somewhat similar to cheese, it's an acquired taste or one that perhaps you have to grow up with to fully appreciate.
Stinky tofu is most popular in Hunan Province in central China, the Yangtze River Delta region (especially Shaoxing) and Taiwan.
Recipes vary from region to region, but the basic method is to let bean curd ferment in a special brine then deep-fry it. It can be eaten with chili sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil or kimchi.
9. Shanghai hairy crab
For Shanghainese, autumn isn't complete without a steamed, roe-laden hairy crab.
Every year the city hosts an influx of serious epicures from around the Sinoshpere who come to taste its legendary food signature.
Raised on crab farms in the Yangtze River estuary, the gray-shelled freshwater crab waves its big hairy claws in family kitchens, respectable restaurants and luxury hotels in September and October. Local mothers buy them from wet markets, steam them and eat them with gingery vinegar.
.10. Duck blood soup with vermicelli
Peking roast duck is only one of many outstanding duck dishes in China. For true fans of fowl, however, the city to be is actually Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu Province, and onetime capital of the Ming Dynasty as well as the Republic of China.
Nanjing residents love eating duck, from salted duck to pancakes made with duck grease to duck-blood soup, which has recently become popular in many parts of China.
