So when I said to people that I was going to be living in China for 6 months most of them would reply with ‘you’ll be eating cats and dogs!’ There is no way you’ll be able to stay a vegetarian!
However luckily this hasn’t been the case, when I first got here I thought that I was going to struggle A LOT but actually since I have lived with my host family I have really enjoyed the Chinese food I have been given! I am eating a lot of rice, at least twice a day sometimes 3 times a day, I’m not yet sick of it though haha! They definitely cook rice better than the UK it’s got a different texture it’s stickier than rice from home.
So far I haven’t eaten anything to strange (I think this is due to me not eating meat!) Amy however, has tried fish eye soup, chicken claws, turtle soup and duck tongue. She’s decided that the best way to do it is to not ask what she’s eating!
I have tried new things in China as well.. but most of these have been yummy not like some of Amy’s meat experiences! I’ve tried lots of different teas, glass noodles (they are see-through cold noodles), red bean (this is a sweet bean that is used a lot in China), tofu, dumplings and other things that I’m not sure what they’re called so I’ll take some pictures and post them for you!
Being a vegetarian in China so far has actually been much easier than I first thought, there is always something I can eat when I’m out and about. I have also learnt ‘no meat’ in Chinese, which is very helpful, and when they don’t understand my pronounciation I’ve got it written down to show them! (At least I’m trying to speak the language haha!) However I have realised that I can’t be as fussy as I used to be with things I don’t like.. I now eat cucumber A LOT!
Chinese food definitely doesn’t lack flavour, they have a wide variety of different dishes, and a lot of these dishes are cold!
My host mum is a very good cook and she makes a lot of her own food, homemade dumplings, pancakes and lots of vegetable dishes. They also grow their own vegetables cucumbers, green beans, tomatoes and peppers.
I haven’t witnessed any cats or dogs being eaten like people say however I have seen bugs, starfishes and seahorses on sticks! Ewwwww! Safe to say I didn’t try them! Some of the bugs on the sticks were still alive!!!! When I’ve been into the supermarkets there has been chicken claws (they don’t look like how I thought they’d look..not sure how I thought they would look?!), a whole duck, I’ve seen frogs and turtles alive (I just had to think of it like a pet shop and really they’d be taken home for a pet and not to be killed and eaten!!).
Chinese people seem to eat big breakfasts big lunches and big dinners..so much for losing weight in China!!! Meals usually come with soup rice then lots of dishes to share!
