Snacks and Street Foods

Musings of a Chinese Gourmet, F.T. Cheng

Between-meal snacks are an important component of Chinese cuisine. As far back in time as archeological records take us, it seems the Chinese had three broad categories of food: fan (grain foods, such as rice), cai (meat, fish, and vegetable dishes), and xiao chi (snacks, or small eats). In southeastern and western China, where the large majority of Chinese people live, two main meals a day - midday and evening -are the norm, but in fact five meals a day are consumed, because three smaller xiao chi meals, are eaten. In northern China, village people usually have three large meals a day during the season of long days (late spring to early autumn) and two main meals a day the rest of the year. But at all times of the year snacks during the day and substantial late evening snacks are the rule. One reason for this is that many Chinese eat only a light breakfast, and people are hungry for more food long before the midday meal.