SNACKS AND APPETIZERS
1 min readBetween-meal snacks are not as common in China as they are in the United States. If we feel peckish or bored we usually resort to something like sunflower seeds or watermelon, fresh fruit being a common alternative to seeds.
Indeed, it is a Chinese habit to sit and chat over a packet of dried seeds. Anybody who has traveled by train in China will doubtless have noticed the consequences of this habit in terms of litter. Except for home banquets, appetizers are common in restaurants but not in the home, and usually consist of peanuts or cold cuts of meat, slices of ginger, seaweed, and dried jellyfish.
The various appetizers served in Chinese restaurants in America and Europe are not normally eaten in China. Even so, bearing in mind the Western habit of starting a meal with something light, we have included a handful of dishes that can function as either appetizers or snacks.
