Chinese Street Food

July 2, 2018
In their third collaboration (after Kiss My Casserole!), Matza and Southworth present a fun collection of more than 100 recipes of Chinese street food. Street cuisine is “quickly changing yet deeply rooted in tradition,” the authors write, and this is made evident across 10 chapters that combine breezy bits of travel writing and food history with a vast variety of xiao chi, or “small eats.” The first chapter, “What’s in a Name,” includes dishes with curious names, such as “Bedspread Noodles” (named for wide noodles) and steamed “Barbarian Head Buns,”(large fluffy white buns) found in Beijing. A mostly savory collection of breakfast options include steamed eggplant buns from Xi’an and pan-fried pork pockets, which date back to the Tang Dynasty. There is an intriguing exploration of the city of Xi’an with its culinary remnants of the Silk Road trade routes. And in a chapter titled, “You’ll Love This, We Promise,” the authors showcase oddities like stinky tofu and a green fish ball soup popular in southwestern Yunnan. These quick bites do not necessarily equate to fast preparation, but a lamb shoulder and five patient hours cooking in a Dutch oven results in a hearty meal of lamb and bread soup. Augmented with 100 on-location photos, this lively cookbook brings a distant land into deliciously sharp focus.