It's no surprise that the food in China is quite different from what you're likely used to eating at home. Even "Chinese food" in your home country probably consists of dishes you can't actually find here, like General Tsao's Chicken. So what are some of the biggest culinary surprises expats face when moving here? While it's easy to point to some of the more outrageous foods, like pig's brain and starfish, these under-the-radar foods still make a big impression.

Fruits/Vegetables unusual to expats:

1) Yangmei
There's little doubt you've seen this deep purple, nubby fruit sold at every corner stand throughout China. Originally from the Yangtze River Delta region, yangmei (or "Chinese bayberry") is in season during the early summer months and packs quite the sweet/tart punch. Eat them fresh for the perfect midday pick-me-up, or substitute them for any jam, ice cream, or sauce recipe that calls for strawberries or raspberries.

2) Winter Melon
Part of the squash family, winter melon is an incredibly mild-flavoured fruit that is great at taking on the flavours of anything it's cooked with. For this reason, it's never eaten raw, but always cooked with stronger-flavoured ingredients such as salty ham. In China, it's popular to slice the melon and put it into a soup or casserole along with ham or chicken. Just remember that you can cook winter melon with the skin on, but be sure to remove the tough skin before serving.

3) Lotus Root
One of the best things about lotus root is its versatility. In Chinese restaurants, it's often served as a cold dish, with rice stuffed in its little crevices and drowned in a thick, sickeningly sweet sauce. However, if you're interested in making a dish with this at home, don't be afraid to experiment – lotus root will retain its crunch no matter what you do to it. Some people like to fry it up as a healthier alternative to French fries, or use it in a stir fry.

Fruits/Vegetables unusual to Chinese:

1) Avocado
In Shanghai, we have a fruit and vegetable seller known to the entire expat community as "The Avocado Lady." Why? Because she's the only person in town who sells an avocado for less than 60 RMB. A good indicator that a fruit or vegetable is eaten almost exclusively by expats is its exorbitant price, and avocadoes are the perfect example. While in the West avocadoes are used in everything from salads to tacos to dips, China is still discovering its uses.

2) Radish
While there are certainly various different types of radishes in China, the good old-fashioned purple and white radish that is often used in salads or in vegetable dips in the West are still a mystery to some Chinese. This was evidenced by a friend buying radishes who was asked by the seller how he prepared such a vegetable. These types of radishes (also known as "summer radishes") tend to have a much stronger, tarter flavour than the white Chinese variety.

3) Cheese
The Chinese people I meet have such a fascination with the amount of cheese that we Westerners eat. While their exposure to this heavenly creation is generally limited to "white" or "yellow," I can't help but lovingly extol the virtues of all things cheese. Ricotta, feta, blue, emmental, gouda, brie, camembert… It's all delicious and it's all of absolutely no interest to the vast majority of those from China.

Prepared meals unusual to expats:

1) Jew's Ear Mushrooms
Besides the absurdity of actually having a mushroom variety called "Jew's Ear," the existence of these black, wet, frilly mushrooms seems almost surreal. Yet once you get over their odd appearance, their flavour can be intense. Usually served in restaurants with a tart, vinegar-like coating, these slightly crunchy mushrooms can act as a side dish all on their own or be sautéed with various other vegetables.

2) Frog Hot Pot
Many Westerners have sampled frog before, although I'd venture to say a majority have not. However, frog in the West is usually served one of two ways – the meat breaded and fried in a sort of "frog poppers" style, or the legs sautéed as part of a high end restaurant experience. In China, however, chunks of frog (bones and all) are often served in a spicy, chili-infused hot pot that is almost, but not quite, more trouble than it's worth.

3) Red Bean Ice Cream
Let's get one thing straight – beans in the West mean dinner time (unless, of course, you're British, where it can also be a breakfast thing). Either way, beans do not mean dessert. Unless, of course, you're in China, where a popular dessert consists of shaved ice covered with a heaping scoop of warm, soupy red beans. If you're really a fan, you can skip the shaved ice altogether and just order a bowl of beans. Did I mention this is supposed to be dessert?

Prepared meals unusual to Chinese:

1) Spaghetti
For a country that claims to have invented pasta, you'd think they would have a better handle on the concept of spaghetti. Yet for many Chinese the idea of it is a mystery. This fact was driven home just the other day when a young Chinese man wanted to make a spaghetti dinner for his girlfriend and asked my husband what kind of sauce and spices go with it. He honestly wasn't sure whether he was supposed to make it sweet or salty – which actually explains the sweet taste that most spaghetti sauce has at Chinese "Western" restaurants.

2) Sandwiches
Why, oh why is it so difficult to find a decent sandwich in China? Sure, you can walk into just about any C-Store and find a "sandwich" on the refrigerated shelf – two pieces of white bread slathered with mayonnaise, one slice of an unidentifiable meat, and egg (there must always be egg). In the West, sandwich making is an art form, where each of the 127 ingredients used must be delicately and precisely layered. Perhaps we're just over-thinking it.

3) Nachos
When eating with a group of friends at a Mexican restaurant in China, a Chinese couple who had never eaten this type of food before ordered nachos. After attempting to eat them with a fork and knife, we explained that nachos were meant to be eaten with your hands. The couple proceeded to eat one or two tortilla chips (literally) before declaring nachos, and Mexican food in general, disgusting. Sometimes tastes just can't cross boundaries.
It just goes to show that what we consider every day, run-of-the-mill foods can be just as strange and exotic as Chinese ingredients seem to us. It's a whole new culinary landscape out there, and part of the fun is simply exploring!
 

Related links
8 Bizarre Chinese Foods and How to Eat Them
Guide to Popular Street Food in China
The Weird Cuisine of Shenyang: Food for the Adventurous Traveller

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Keywords: strange Chinese vegetables and fruits odd Chinese dishes surprising food in China what Chinese find hard to eat China and West food culture