Throughout history, food for the “common,” everyday people has been produced and consumed as a communal affair. Retreating to one’s private quarters to eat a meal alone or in a very small group is a relatively recent development, found mostly in industrialized regions. Interestingly, many cultures struggle to understand the importance of privacy in the western world. In some other languages, the word privacy actually has a negative connotation, often associated with isolation or exclusion.
Street food is a loosely coined expression to describe snacks or whole meals prepared and sold from a non-permanent structure, mainly for immediate consumption. Trucks or carts, small booths in public places, or floating markets are the most common venues.
Served swiftly on sticks; in bowls; on plates; or wrapped in flatbread, lettuce, or paper, street food is inexpensive, convenient, and portable, ideal for a mobile, on-the-go lifestyle or for a quick economical meal.
Different from fast food, street food is perceived to be based on local, seasonal, fresh, and minimally processed ingredients. Many street-food stands represent the local cuisine with its most common ingredients. Typically prepared by independent vendors who specialize in very few dishes, street food is seen as a true and authentic reflection of a culture and its cuisine.
Chinese street food is as diverse as China itself with its vastly varying landscapes, climate zones, and population made up of more than fifty ethnic groups. Many meals are enjoyed outside the home in small restaurants or street stands. In urban areas, it is very common for people to gather in public places at dawn for calisthenics. At that time, cargo bicycles or small mopeds often pass by to offer breakfast items such as curdled soy milk with fried crullers and salted vegetables or steamed buns.
The climate of northern China is suitable for growing wheat. Rice, while popular, often plays a secondary role on northern tables. Noodles, flatbreads, steamed breads, and dumplings are more common fare. Reflections of this can be found in the stir-fried shredded or the Salad of Bean Starch Sheets.
Typical northern flavors include pungent sweet and sour dishes and subtler, delicately seasoned foods highlighting the ingredient’s natural flavor. Found all over China, but especially typical for this region, is the use of garlic, ginger, and scallions. The proximity of Mongolia and its rule over China from 1279 to 1368 introduced dishes such as hot pot and Mongolian barbecue into northern China.
In the coastal east around Shanghai, a warmer, more humid climate promotes the cultivation of rice, making it the region’s most popular staple. Soy sauce and sugar are omnipresent flavor components, resulting in many sweet and salty dishes, often with a generous amount of sauce, like braised pork belly.
The cuisine of the landlocked Sichuan region in the central west of China is known for its generous use of chiles and Sichaun peppercorns, resulting in fiery hot dishes with a popular flavor profile known as Ma-La, literally translating into “numb and spicy.” Spicy Tofu with Mushrooms exemplifies that flavor.
Food from the south of China, known as Cantonese cuisine, is subtle, with flavorings and techniques that highlight the food’s natural flavor. Famous for dim sum, Cantonese cuisine has a broad variety of steamed or fried snacks, such as Pan-Steamed Cilantro and Pork Dumplings.