Food Cravings

I'm not partial to American food. When I was a baby, the first thing I ate was jiaozi, a kind of Chinese dumpling. I have trouble answering questions about "traditional American food" because hamburgers are German, pizza is Italian, and fries are from Belgium. Our versions of those foods are distinct, but the foods themselves are not American.

Chili and barbecue are the closest I can come to "American" foods.

Speaking of which...

I am craving both.

The cravings didn't hit until my 50th day in China, which feels like it was just yesterday. I was sitting in the airport in Urumqi talking about barbecue and nachos and I'm not sure what else.

I miss everything from quinoa (my staple food back in the States) to grilled cheese, which I rarely crave. Last night, we Alliance Xi'an girls had a night in together and got a little bit emotional over Pizza Rolls and Bagel Bites, neither of which I have had for years.

I'll be sick of American food within a week of getting back, and I'll miss Chinese food before I even leave the country. Real Chinese food. Things like this:

It's a Xi'an street food - a sandwich made on Zha Mo - fried Mo bread.

Pick what you want. Whatever you want. Give it to the nice couple. They will fry it for you. Then grill it. Cover it in spicy sauce if you so desire (and you do; who needs tastebuds?) and put it all on the bread with more spicy sauce.

There are four or five places right on Shi Da Lu, the street by my school.

There are also my favorite dumpling and noodle places. The Sichuanese food. Hot pot.

Now I'm thinking obsessively about what to get for dinner. Right now, I'm not longing for my mom's homemade soup or for macaroni and cheese. I just want something furiously spicy and distinctively Chinese.

Lesson to be learned here: Take cooking classes when you're in China. And have a kitchen while you're here.