Food & Culture

Last night, I couldn't resist the temptations of sushi, one of the foods I eat only rarely here since it's hard to tell how safe it is to consume. Afterall, the States banned the import of all seafood from China unless inspected - not exactly a sounding endorsement for Chinese fish. It does make even an avid sushi eater think twice about eating raw fish.

The extensive menu at the restaurant featured horse carpaccio, something that I would be unwilling to try (even though it's a delicacy in Japan!) and somehow, the conversation turned to sharing "war" stories about the strange foods that we've been offered (and sometimes forced to eat) so as not to insult our hosts. So far, I've been given duck beaks (did not eat), camel meat (actually did try this one), donkey meat (passed on this one), and most recently, duck tongue (really expensive but avoided - really creepy looking), but one of the doctors who just moved down to Yunnan Province had some pretty funny stories about the things that she's had to deal with. Some of the areas we work in are really impoverished, but nonetheless, they try to treat us to the most expensive delicacies of their region when we visit, as a way of honoring their guests. That's why foreigners and guests are often offered things like the head of the fish or the head of the duck and chicken. They put the duck of the peking duck they carved up in front of you on a plate, to prove to you that it was whole. And it's supposedly supposed to be one of the best parts of the duck. Ironically, we find these things a bit unsettling during our meals.

So Michele was forced to try "dog" hot pot. It was offered to her and everyone was looking at her expectantly. Dog is eaten widely in China, especially down south in areas like Guangxi and Yunnan. In Yunnan, they also eat lots of bugs, including bees. They bring the honey comb with the insects still crawling inside (they're alive) and they remove the bees in front of you (to prove that they're fresh I guess) and then fry them. And one morning, a doctor took her to breakfast to try "tian ji fen si," (literally translates to chicken of the field noodle, a.k.a. noodle wth frog). Michele has had frog legs before, but underneath the noodle, rather than pieces of frog meat, was the whole frog, cooked. The doctor looked on expectantly and she had to try it.

I guess I've been pretty lucky so far. I spend a significant part of my time in Beijing, which is modern and has lots of non-scary foods. And no one has really pushed me very hard to try anything I'm uncomfortable with even when I traveled. And fish heads and chicken head and feet don't disturb me as much since I am Chinese and grew up with this culture (in Taiwan, you're supposed to offer food to the ancestors to get it blessed with the whole chicken - bad luck to have the head cut off). However, even though I consider myself a pretty adventurous eater (bring on the tartares, the sushi and the barely cooked steak!), I still feel queasy about being open to trying local delicacies. I guess our upbringing really does impact how far we are willing to go when it comes to new foods. The Chinese will refuse to eat raw beef and raw fish, but they're okay eating all sorts of weird organs. And because I grew up in NYC, the raw stuff is okay, but the tongues, organs and other weird stuff is not.

And after 5 months of mostly Chinese food, I'm craving Western foods. My local colleagues find my Western food cravings bizarre and thus, I'm relegated to eating Chinese still most of the time. Even pizza feels like a real treat...