Surviving China: Xi'an part 2

Now that we have covered basic health info in China, the next thing you might want to prepare yourself for is the food.
#1-see previous post.
#2 Bring your herbs and spices.

Xi'an actually has an excellent selection of fresh produce but there are a few common American flavors that will be hard to find.
-Taco seasoning or basic Chili powder is something that you'll want to bring if you are a fan of Mexican food. You'll also want to get a basic recipe for making flour tortillas from scratch because tortillas are only available at international food stores.
-Some Italian seasonings are hard to find. I found Basil easily but Oregano and Thyme have eluded me up to this point.
-Spaghetti sauces tend to be too sweet for my taste so I've started making my own from scratch. Canned vegetables are also very rare and expensive, but remember fresh produce is cheap and easy to find.
-If Ranch dressing is your equivalent to ketchup, then start preparing yourself now because you will NOT find anything resembling it in mainland China. Luckily you can get Hidden Valley Ranch powder and bring it with you! Mayo and sour cream are harder to find but not impossible so you can make your own salad dressing or I like to just sprinkle it onto fresh veggies for a snack.

I've been able to find most other spices that I use regularly with the help of my Chinese dictionary and often asking strangers for help but I'm grateful for the gifts of spices I received from my friends before I left.

My list of must haves:
*McCormick Italian Seasoning blend
*Hidden Valley Ranch Powder
*Cinnamon
*Nutmeg
*Pumpkin or Apple Pie blend are good for pancakes, oatmeal and cookies.
*Garlic powder **I think I could find this but its more common for Chinese people to just use fresh garlic**
*McCormick yellow Curry powder **I found a McCormick yellow curry powder here but it didn't have the same flavor and was too spicy.**

What CAN you get in Xi'an?
PRODUCE-As mentioned earlier, fresh produce is easy to get and very cheap. Onions, potatoes, garlic, green peppers, cabbage, tomatoes, fruit, cilantro, green beans, broccoli are just a few of the items that are always available.  Vegetable and fruit stands dot every corner as well as in between. MISC-Salt sugar, honey, baking powder, corn starch etc are also available in many places.


STREET FOOD- There are dozens of varieties of street food in Xi'an. Street food is very cheap but often too spicy for me. If you are sensitive to MSG, be selective on what you buy from street vendors. I was a bit underwhelmed in coming to Xi'an because I thought the mediocre Chinese food back home would pale in comparison to actual authentic Chinese food in China. Unfortunately things like fried rice and sweet and sour pork are exactly the same as back home in the US. China loves the 5 spice blend including some of these spices; cumin, star anise, fennel, ginger, cloves, sichuan peppers, and Chinese cinnamon.  They use the 5 spice blend on nearly everything. If you don't like spicy food then the first phrase you need to learn is 不辣 'bu la' (boo- lah) meaning not spicy. Or 'bu yao la'. I do not want spicy.

Baozi

Xi'an is well known for noodles and you can get many types of noodles from street vendors. Steamed buns with meat （baozi） are one of our favorites.

I made these jiazo

Dumplings called jiaozi are also very popular. These are similar to ravioli and you can get them with different types of meat and veggies. I like mine pan fried rather than boiled.

WESTERN FOOD- McDonalds, KFC and Pizza Hut are popular in Xi'an. It is fun to see the unique dishes designed for the Chinese palate next to the most common western choices, but you'll pay more to satisfy your Bigmac cravings.



DELIVERY-depending on what part of the city you live in, there are many places that deliver. McDonalds, KFC and pizza places are common deliverers as well as local Chinese fast food places. The challenge is navigating the ordering and delivering system since it's in Chinese. We get pizza delivered from a place called l'aquolina nearly every Friday but it's only because the website is in English! Haven't figured out how to get Pizza Hut to deliver yet.

In my time here I have only found a few dishes of authentic Chinese food that I enjoy. A little shop near my place sells lamb meat noodles that are really good and down the street I can get baodzi that are pan fried so they are crispy on the outside instead of soft and I really like those.

Lamb Meat noodles and chow mein

Pan fried Baozi

 Xi'an is also famous for 'yang rou pao-mo' a lamb stew with dense dried bread.

Lamb meat stew with bread. A traditional Xi'an dish

Hot Pot- A method of cooking that is very popular.

Beverages are really boring here. I've only seen 3 types of soda Coke/Pepsi, Sprite/7Up and Bing Feng-Orange Soda. Red Bull comes in a tiny fat can and is not carbonated. Water, however, is super cheap.

Lastly, coming from a super individualized setting such as the US caused some frustration early on in China. Try as I might, I have found that customizing your food order cannot be done. Even simple things like "No lettuce" on a burger just doesn't make sense to people here. You want to add something extra to your entree- forget it. Perhaps it's simply my lack of Chinese language ability or perhaps it is a cultural thing but whatever it is, we've gotten better at just picking off things we don't like.