Two Food Cultures You Never Thought Would Be Compared: Beijing and Iowa

Steven Schwankert | Jun 30, 2014 9:00 am | 3 comments | 1143 reads

We don't usually think of Beijing street food as a state fair-like smorgasbord, but one writer has bridged the two disparate culinary worlds of the Chinese capital and the Iowa State Fair.

Kristen Jacobsen, who is studying Chinese in Beijing, wrote for her hometown newspaper, The Des Moines Register, about ten Beijing street foods that you won't find at the Iowa State Fair. Jacobsen cited corn on the cob as something enjoyed on both sides of the Pacific, but the similarity ends there.

Bowl o'tentacles, pictured above, is a local fave that's really just the stringy bits of calamari. Although she includes Beijing Boyce and Olympic-reporter favorite scorpion-on-a-stick, it's not a stroll through the bizarre and inedible. Jacobsen includes sugar sculptures, drinking yogurt, and "adorable baozi" on her list.

See the full line-up here. For those who haven't marked their calendars yet, the Iowa State Fair begins August 7.

Photo: Kristen Jacobsen/The Des Moines Register

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mtnerror's picture mtnerror Submitted by Guest on Mon, 06/30/2014 - 13:13

Beijing street food vendors could take a lesson or two from those at the Iowa State Fair. Corn dogs (with contrasting textures and whose dog requires actual refrigeration), kettle corn (where the sugar is carmelized), and ice cream (made with real dairy!) are a few that come to mind. The next time Pres. Xi comes to Iowa, he'll again be welcomed with a homecoming dinner : http://archive.desmoinesregister.com/article/20120212/NEWS/302120080/Seeds-Xi-s-visit-Iowa-planted-1979

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