A couple of weekends ago, Chris’ co-worker, Caroline, a local Shanghainese, took us on a Shanghai street food tour in the Qibao Ancient Town district. With my distaste for Asian food and fear of food poisoning, I have mainly refrained from the plentiful street food vendors throughout the city. I was excited, though, to have a local guide who could explain what the odd foods were and make sound recommendations.
Without further ado, I present a photo story of how our exciting cuisine adventure unfolded.
With a narrow passageway, Qibao Old Street was challenging to navigate. Built in the late 10th Century, the town’s name means “seven treasures” in Chinese.Caroline pointed out this vendor selling dried persimmons. A fruit of Chinese origin, it’s sweet like a peach. The other fruit in the glass box is powdered-sugar-covered crab apples.Checking out some popular Shanghai candy, White Rabbit is a type of taffy. The blue bag is like a Snickers bar minus the chocolate and caramel.My favorite item of the day was a moon cake filled with read bean paste. This sweet pastry reminds me of a toasted marshmallow, and these are traditional treats during the Mid-Autumn Festival.As I walk about in Shanghai, I’ve been struck by this awful smell around many of the street food vendors. I thought they were using rancid oil to fry (another reason for my fear of food poisoning), but then Caroline introduced us to stinky tofu. Mystery solved! These fried tofu pieces smell horrible, but they are quite tasty, especially with the sweet-and-spicy sauce they come covered in. I also love to watch the vendors use the extra-large chop sticks so easily. It’s all I can do to get through a meal with the normal-sized ones!
There’s a chicken in there! Known as Beggar’s Chicken, an entire bird is covered in a mud clay and then fired in a kiln oven until cooked. The clay covering is broken to reveal a moist and delicious roasted chicken.Known as the stinky fruit, durian supposedly has a sweet taste, if you can get past the smell. A native fruit of Asia, it has been banned from public transportation in many countries due to its obnoxious smell.
Yes, those are roasted baby chicks on sticks. I couldn’t bring myself to eat real-life Peeps.
Chris, however, had no problem downing the grilled squid on a stick. There is also grilled pork and chicken widely available at the barbecue vendorCandied fruit is a popular sweet treat. Chris’ favorite of the day was the glazed-covered crab apples with the edible wrapping.A vendor roasts quail eggs in an open oven. Eaten like hard-boiled chicken eggs, quail eggs are a nutritious alternative to the norm.Lotus root is known for its many medicinal benefits, such as soothing an upset stomach. Here, it is boiled and ready for a wide variety of dishes, such as stir-fry.A common breakfast item, jidanbing guozi or the Chinese Breakfast Burrito is a thin crepe made of egg filled with green onions, cilantro and a spicy sauce. We occasionally pick these up during the morning commute from a vendor in front of our apartment.Chris holds up a bag of sticky rice with pork while Caroline bemusedly smiles at the silly Westerners. Unwrapped from its banana leaf cover for cooking, the sticky rice is then eaten directly out of the bag with no utensils. This filling goodness is a traditional food during the Dragon FestivalWe ended our day with a common snack of roasted sweet potatoes. Without a fork and much like corn-on-the-cob, the sweet potato is peeled and enjoyed. (Yes, that’s a pitiful monkey on a rope in the background that was performing dumb tricks for a not-so-nice street performer.)
At the end of the tour, we were bursting at the seams. It was a great experience, made even better by the fact we didn’t get sick due to Caroline’s expert guidance. We now have a better sense about what street foods to order, and we plan to put that knowledge to use soon. What’s your favorite street food?
Harry, so glad you liked it. Where did you try durian? Andrew Zimmerman, host of Bizarre Foods, can’t even stomach the stuff. Notice I said “supposedly” as I couldn’t get past the smell.
Sorry, folks, just realized that my final edits didn’t get published on the original post. That’s been fixed now, so please enjoy without any pesky typos.
Loved this. I didn’t think durian tasted sweet at all. It took everything I had to keep it down. Ha!
Harry, so glad you liked it. Where did you try durian? Andrew Zimmerman, host of Bizarre Foods, can’t even stomach the stuff. Notice I said “supposedly” as I couldn’t get past the smell.
Sorry, folks, just realized that my final edits didn’t get published on the original post. That’s been fixed now, so please enjoy without any pesky typos.