China's 5 Most Popular Street Foods

Streetfood is an important part of Chinese eating culture. The strange and delicious foods are hidden away in narrow streets and sometimes look unclean. But street food is a good way for people to relax and satisfy the taste buds. If you are a street food lover and relish the experience of new food tastes, read on to see what the popular street foods are in China.

1. Deep-Fried Dough Sticks — great with soy milk youtiao Chinese name: 油条 yóutiáo /yoh-tyaow/ 'oil strip(s)' Taste: a little salty Main ingredients: wheat flour, soda Average price: 1 yuan Golden deep-fried dough sticks look very inviting, and they are a popular food for breakfast in China. They look like bread sticks, but have a puffier texture. The perfect matches for this food are soy milk and rice or bean porridge. At small eateries, you can see people holding deep-fried dough sticks in one hand and a porridge spoon in the other, taking mouthfuls of each in turn. Some people like to dip their youtiao in a bowl of soy milk. At some places, you can even see people eating dough sticks with soup or noodles.

2. Steamed Buns — instant warm food steam bun Chinese name: 包子 bāozī /baow-dzuh/'wrap(s)' Taste: savory/sweet stuffing Main ingredients: flour, pork/vegetables/ sweet bean paste Average price: 1 yuan Steamed buns are a common food in China. You can see the mat restaurants or street food stalls. They are a popular food for breakfast too. The cook steams the buns in a big steamer, or in several small bamboo steamers. The stuffing is usually savory, like meat or vegetable. But there are also sweet fillings like red bean paste, custard, and sugary black sesame seed. Tell the vendor which kind of stuffing you want, and he/she will pick the right one for you from the steamers.

3. "Chinese Hamburgers" — almost a meal roujiamo Chinese name: 肉夹馍 ròujiāmó /roh-jyaa-mor/ 'meat sandwich bun' Taste: savory stuffing Main ingredients: flour, pork/mutton Average price: 5 yuan Roujiamo is vaguely like a hamburger as the meat is put inside a flatbread. It is more popular in northwest China, and north China, including Xi'an. Preparation: The pork/mutton is stewed with several spices and smells really good food. Tell the cook whether you like lean meat or fatty and he/she will pick the meat from the pot and chop it up with some vegetables. Serving: A slit is cut in the side of the naan, and the chopped meat is placed inside. Before handing it to you, the cook will put some gravy on the stuffing to make the stuffing juicier.

4. Street Crepe— interesting and quick Chinese name: 煎饼馃子 jiānbǐng guǒzī /jyen-bing gwor-dzuh/ 'pancake cake' Taste: savory sauces Main ingredients: mung bean flour, wheat flour, green onion, egg, fermented flour sauces Average price: 5–10 yuan — You can add other ingredients in it for extra cost, like sausage and bacon. The street crepe is popular among northern Chinese. The cook only needs a small stall to carry the ingredients and hot plate. These simple stalls always attract many foodstreet  lovers. It's very interesting to see the seller making this street food. The hawker spoons and spreads the batter on the heated flat iron plate, adds an egg, some fresh vegetables, etc. on the batter skin, turns it over, brushes on your choice of savory sauce, and finally rolls it up and puts it in a little bag. You only need to wait 2 minutes for it.

5. Street Barbecue— now most common barbecue Chinese name: 烧烤 shāokǎo /shaoww-kaoww/ 'barbecue' Taste: savory/spicy Popular ingredients: lamb, chicken wings, squid, oyster, corn Average price: 3–5 yuan for a skewer Street barbecue now is the most common street food cook. You can see it nearly in every city in China, especially in the snack streets. Sometimes whole roadsides are devoted to a row of tented shaokao stalls. The stall: The meat and vegetables are skewered on a small stick and displayed raw so that you can pick what you want to eat. Preparation: The peddler barbecues the skewer on a long grill with heated charcoal, producing a delightful aroma. Sauce is brushed on and cumin etc. is sprinkled to taste. Tell the purveyor how spicy you want it.