China Overseas Chinese Network August 17th: Mala Tang, "biangbiang" noodles, rice noodles... These "Chinese flavors" continue to be popular overseas
Recently, the well-known Russian fast food chain Teremok launched a Chinese pancake called "Yangzi".
This Chinese pancake involves grilled chicken, lettuce, and mozzarella cheese, all wrapped in a warm crepe, with onions and a sweet and sour Asian sauce for added flavor.
Founder Mikhail Goncharov said the recipe for the new pancake was conceived by his mother as a Russian attempt to get in touch with Chinese culinary culture.
The reason why it was named "Yangtze" is to take the meaning of "Yangtze River", because "Russians are familiar with this long river in China" and "this name is more symbolic."
In recent years, with the accelerating pace of Chinese culture going global, Chinese cuisine has gradually conquered the taste buds of the world.
Chinese Mala Tang has become Korea's "top-notch"
This summer, Chinese Mala Tang suddenly became the "top trend" in South Korea.
Due to the saying in Korea of "heating with heat" (referring to eating hot food to sweat and relieve fever in hot weather), Mala Tang is widely welcomed by young Koreans, especially Korean middle and high school girls, who are very interested in Mala. The popularity of hot has surpassed the traditional Korean snack fried rice cake.
Because it is different from high-carb spicy food such as spicy fried rice cake and turkey spicy rice cake, Mala Tang has meat and vegetables, and its nutrition is more balanced.
During the epidemic, although the catering business was cold, the number of Mala Tang restaurants did not drop but rose, almost all over South Korea.
Relevant people believe that in the environment of economic downturn, more and more consumers want to relieve their depressed mood, so spicy food that helps to relieve stress is very popular.
Shaanxi "biangbiang" noodles become popular in Japan
In recent years, more and more authentic Chinese snacks, such as fried buns, knife-cut noodles, and Lanzhou ramen, have appeared on the dining table of Japanese people.
Among them, the traditional Shaanxi snack "biangbiang noodles" is very popular.
This snack has not only appeared on the menus of many Chinese restaurants, but has also been developed into a new product by well-known convenience stores.
In 2020, the limited product "biangbiang noodles" launched by 7-Eleven convenience stores in some stores in Tokyo and Chiba Prefecture has become a hot topic on twitter.
Moreover, they are not launching instant noodles, but are made with fresh ingredients and eaten on the same day, and the taste is comparable to the store's boxed "biangbiang noodles".
"biangbiang noodles" data map
In addition, "biangbiang noodles" has also appeared on popular Japanese programs many times.
In addition to the good taste, the word "biang" is also a hot topic: there are 57 strokes in light strokes. Because of the complex structure, the computer can't type this word.
Not only in Japan, the BBC also published an article on its website "Xi'an Food: A Chinese Noodle whose Name Can't Be Written", which reported in detail the whole process of making "biangbiang noodles" by chefs at street noodle shops in Xi'an.
In recent years, interest in the word "biang" on social media has also made the delicacy widely known.
Although the word "biang" with many strokes is not an official Chinese character, this noodle with its unique shape and flavor has "swept the world".
"Guizhou Rice Noodles" expands stores in the United States against the trend under the epidemic
For Chen Yuzhu, who sells Guizhou Huaxi Beef Noodles in the United States, the new crown pneumonia epidemic is both a crisis and an opportunity.
Known as the "Guizhou Mifen Ge" in the United States, the restaurant he runs did not choose to "survive by breaking his arm" in the post-epidemic era, but opened a store against the trend.
"We opened 9 stores in the United States before the outbreak, and 4 more stores after the outbreak."
Flushing is the largest settlement of Asian residents in New York, USA. In 2013, Chen Yuzhu’s first beef noodle shop opened in Flushing’s food court.
At first, Chen Yuzhu's beef noodles tasted too "Guizhou-like", which led to bleak business. After improvement, the beef noodles shop quickly became popular in the local Chinese circle.
In 2016, Chen Yuzhu started the delivery service of beef powder, which covers more than a dozen states in the United States such as New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
The picture shows the Guizhou Huaxi Beef Noodle Shop opened by Chen Yuzhu in the United States.
Photo courtesy of the interviewee
After the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia in 2020, Chen Yuzhu's beef noodle business increased rather than decreased.
"Sales have increased by six or seven times compared to before the epidemic, and some stores can sell thousands of bowls of beef noodles a day." Chen Yuzhu said that soup, meat, and noodles are packaged separately, and you can eat a bowl of delicious noodles in just 2 minutes of heating. Guizhou Huaxi Beef Noodles.
"There is an American customer who often comes to the store to eat noodles. He likes Chinese culture and Chinese food very much. He also wants to join our beef noodle shop."
Dumplings, ramen are growing in popularity in France
Opposite the largest auction house in Paris, France, there is a Northeast Dumpling House, where many artists are talking about the auction business of international art.
"The most high-end businesses often only require dumplings with wine," one diner wrote on social media.
Dumpling information map
Yao Zhixiang, the manager of the northeastern dumpling restaurant, said that the restaurant is Chinese, but most of the customers are French.
Yao Zhixiang runs three stores called Northeast Dumpling King in Paris, the earliest one is 15 years old.
In his view, Chinese cuisine from different regions is becoming more and more popular in France.
"In the past, Chinese restaurants in France mostly sold common dishes such as General Tso's chicken, and people's understanding of Chinese food was relatively one-sided. But in recent years, dumplings in the northeast and ramen in the northwest have attracted many local customers, who feel a special Chinese taste. , and also developed a strong interest in Chinese culture.”
Tofu and edamame go viral in Spanish supermarket chains
Last year, two Chinese delicacies from the Spanish supermarket chain Mercadona became star products: tofu and edamame.
Here, dozens of boxes of tofu sitting on the shelves were snapped up within hours.
According to local media, tofu, a food from China known for its high protein, low fat and low calories, is appreciated by nutritionists and is very suitable for vegetarians. The price is still cheap, every box of tofu (200 grams) in the supermarket. The price is only two euros.
Edamame Data Map
At the same time, healthy and affordable Chinese edamame is also highly sought after in the supermarket, and even helped the supermarket to become a hot search on Chinese Weibo, making the label "Chinese edamame popular in Spain" go viral.
In the supermarket, frozen edamame is priced at 1.6 euros in a 500-gram bag; 100 grams of edamame food in Mixbeans snack packs is priced at 1.5 euros.
As the saying goes, "people take food as their heaven".
Creating and sharing delicious food is an expression of Chinese people's love for life.
Food from China is capturing the taste buds of people all over the world with its unique charm and excellent taste.
Do you like Chinese food?
What is your favorite dish?
(Source of the manuscript: WeChat official account of China Overseas Chinese Network; ID: qiaowangzhongguo; Source: China Overseas Chinese Network (qiaowangzhongguo) Comprehensive China News Network, CCTV Finance, European Times, Xinhua News Agency, Reference News, Japanese "Chinese Herald", etc.; Author: He Ying)