On Food

Well, those of you who know me (and I’d be surprised if any of you readers didn’t, considering) know that I am a foodie indeed. I’m an avid cook, baker, locavore, vegetarian, etc. Thus, I’m sure that, as with language and culture, food will be a rather common topic around here, and I’m sure that getting used to Chinese food (and Chinese cooking) will take some time.

Last year, I did almost all of my shopping at a food co-op and at farmers’ markets, and my processed food intake dropped to near zero. I made all my own bread, sauces, curries, etc. Minneapolis made such a lifestyle relatively easy to maintain, even on an AmeriCorps stipend of $800 a month. China…not so much.

China has a huge culture of food, just as the US does (and, really, probably most other places). Everywhere you go there are outdoor fruit sellers, meat sellers, noodle sellers, etc. Bargaining is common, even expected in most cases, and most of what you can get is fresh. That’s the good part. The not so good part is the general lack of sanitation when it comes to food. Tap water isn’t potable here, and most produce must be washed in boiling water (and soap, to be safe) or peeled before it can be deemed truly safe. It’s not that eating an apple without washing it thoroughly would kill anyone, but it might not be so nice for your stomach.

Unfortunately, a lot of Chinese food isn’t necessarily so nice for your stomach—or at least my stomach. The diet is so different from what I was accustomed to in the States that I’ve gotten sick almost every day since arriving in Lincang. It’s fun, really. Don’t worry—it’s not like I’ve been throwing up or anything like that—but my stomach and digestive system as a whole just aren’t comfortable yet. I think most of that’s probably due to the high volume of MSG in the cafeteria dishes, and the rest can be tied to the amount of oil, specifically pork fat, much of the food is cooked in. Not so good for vegetarians with no meat-digesting enzymes. I’ve been trying to eat yogurt every day to get some local bacteria into my system, but straight up yogurt is harder to find than would be desired, and I can’t buy a large carton because I don’t have any means of refrigerating it.

My friends and I are pretty sure that what we’re eating here is, for the most part, not traditional Yunnanese food; rather, we think that these dishes are to Chinese cafeterias as pizza, hot dogs, and nachos are to cafeterias in the states. They are standard fare of not particularly high quality and are better than their American equivalents only in that they are cooked in a kitchen at this school rather than shipped to the cafeteria in frozen, individually wrapped servings. When I complained about the food to my dad, he raised the very good point of: “It’s a middle school cafeteria. Why do you think you always brought your own lunch?”

So what have I been eating? Well, for breakfast, I almost always have mantou (steamed buns, occasionally stuffed with red bean paste), and either yogurt (when I can get it) or warm soymilk—not my favorite beverage by a long shot, but nutritionally useful. Lunch is white rice and a mix of dishes from the cafeteria. Usually I end up with tofu of some sort, potatoes or eggplant, and some kind of green. The same goes for dinner. I used to eat a tasty tomato and egg dish pretty often, but I’m pretty sure now that the reason it tasted so good is that it was loaded up with MSG, so I avoid it. Actually, I avoid everything that’s super salty, because that’s a good indication it’s MSG-heavy. This sometimes means that the majority of my daily calories come from white rice. I’ve just bought some fruit for my room though, and I make sure to take a daily vitamin.

On the weekends, there’s more time and more motivation to eat out. We found a Thai/Burmese place nearby that’s got a lot of delicious, spicy food. This evening the entire CEI program went to a restaurant that specializes in food from the Wa minority. It was quite good—lots of potatoes, corn, and spice. There are also noodle shops everywhere, and when all else fails you can always buy oreos and oreo knock-offs and peanuts.

On one hand, I feel like I’m becoming nutritionally-deficient these days. On the other hand, China has the world’s largest population, and clearly this diet (however fiber and calcium and sometimes protein-deficient it might seem) works well enough for millions upon millions of people. I just need to figure out how to make it work for me.

On that note, I’m SO excited to see what I’ll be able to set up in terms of a kitchen once I get to my school. Every time I see rice makers and hotplates in the stores around here I think of more possibilities. Because the fact is, produce In Yunnan is awesome. I might not be able to get Italian-like semolina pasta, but if I’m willing to sub rice noodles I bet I’ll be able to make some tomato-basil primavera-like sauces, and I’m hoping that my Chinese coworkers will teach me how to cook more local dishes.

Generally, I’m pretty darn determined to put my future wok to work in ways it could never imagine. As for baking…well…solar ovens? Maybe? You laugh, but we shall see.