Fried Tofu!

So good.  This guy would not let me take his picture because he said he was too ugly.  He basically cuts the tofu and deep fried it in oil.  This is great streetfood.  You add your condiments, which are oyster sauce, a pickled chili pepper sauce with some citrus, and vinegar.  Eat it with a large toothpick.

Uighur Naan in Shanghai

Huangpu District, Shanghai

This is a pretty authentic Xinjiang Bakery.  This Naan bread is baked in a kind of kiln.  They beat the dough, imprint some kind of design on the top, coat it with chopped red onion, then salt, then they bake it in the oven.  Its two rmb for each naan bread, so you can be sure that they are using regular processed Chinese flour.  Thus, the taste of the bread is pretty bland but the texture is amazing.  Its crunchy on the outside, hot and chewy on the inside.  The red onion and salt coating is great.

Uigar Russian Food in Beijing

This is a Uighur (Muslim ethnicity in Xinjiang, NW China) restaurant in the Russian Quarter of Beijing on Ritan Bei Lu.  Uighur food is typically heavy with garlic, chili, tomato, green pepper, and cumin, with less oil and salt or msg.  I thought this would be a Russian/Uighur restaurant but it was pretty much standard Xinjiang fare.  I had Yang Tui (lamb leg) and a Uighur Salad which was really spicy.  Xinjiang food is very mutton-intensive.  I liked the sign, but have had better Xinjiang food.

Fried-Baked Egg and Chive Pancakes

This streetfood corner is in the older Huangpu District of Shanghai.  In the fourth photo you can see the Pearl Tower far in the background.  This carriage is an intense production line.  The woman beats out dough and fills it with oyster sauce, ground chili oil, chives, then rolls and flattens it.  The man takes the pancake and fries it for about 5 minutes on a garbage can lid, beneath which is a coal-fired oven.  When the Pancakes are almost done he opens the oven and bakes the pancakes for another minute.  This makes the outside of the pancakes crispy and smoky, then gooey, then when you hit the chives and oyster sauce its really juicy and savory.  These pancakes are so good.

Shanghai Lunches

In Shanghai its sometimes hard to get a good lunch because the food is particularly oily and afterwards you dont want to work (no jokes please).  By my friend Nicks apartment there is a great Shanghainese fast food place where you can da bao (take out).  8-10 rmb for a great, light (for Shanghai) dish and a big portion of rice.  The first two photos are La Zi Ji (Hot Dry Chicken), this dish is first cooked in oil then dry fried.  Its salty with lots of peppers, not meant to be eaten.  There is also some parsley and cumin added when it is fried to take away from the spiciness of the chilis, and flavor the chicken.

The second two photos are a famous dish all over China, Gong Bao Ji Dan, or Kung Pao Chicken.  Chicken pieces sauteed with chilis, cucumber, and peanuts.  At this joint they go easy on the oil and cornstarch so it almost tastes healthy.  Both these dishes are so tasty.

Shanghai Street-Fried Chicken

This is a great dish.  Its real street food, usually open about 3 hours a day.  first they ask "Wu Kuai hai shi shi kuai de ma?" or "You want 5 or 10 rmb's worth?" Then they take a pre-measured amount from behind the table and dump it in hot oil.  They move it around in the oil for about a minute.  As this is happening they take healthy helpings of chopped chili, scallion, andgarlic and put it into a hot wok with a bit of oil.  They take the chicken strips out of the oil (at which point they are golden brown), saute them with the chili, scallion, garlic mixture, add salt and pepper, then put it into styrofoam.  This dish is sooo good.  Its not super oily, but the chicken is juicy, its salty and garlicky, a bit spicy.  I usually eat it while Im walking.  Better than KFC!