New Year Homecoming: Culinary Memories of Rangshi, Wenchang Chicken, Red Sausage and Sandworms | Food Talk Vol.31
The Spring Festival holiday has come to an end. What tastes of home did you rediscover this year? In this episode of Food Talk, the team at Foodthink gather to share their culinary memories of the New Year. From Shaanxi to Hainan, and Harbin to Beijing, each region brings its own unique food culture and dining traditions.
Ze’en, from Jingyang in Shaanxi, most misses the local specialty ‘Rang-du’—a cold dish made by layering crumbled steamed buns, lean pork, ginger, and eggs before steaming; she hopes to learn how to recreate this craft from her elders. Ning Chen, a ‘native’ of Hainan, shares the secrets of preparing Wenchang chicken and the islanders’ passion for seafood. Meanwhile, Xiao Qi from Harbin spent the holiday with red sausages, sauerkraut dumplings, kvass, and frozen pears. Now that Harbin has become a viral sensation, how has the local food culture shifted?
Another editor, Xiaojing, recounts her experience in Shaoyang, Hunan, bringing her own bowl to ‘pick up’ authentic rice noodles, while observing how ‘urban guides’ like Dazhong Dianping often fail in smaller towns. Ze’en, who stayed in Beijing and hosted her parents for the New Year, enjoyed mutton hot pot, roast duck, preserved vegetables, and treats from Daoxiangcun… though her parents lamented how inconvenient it is to shop for groceries and cook in Beijing. These observations reflect the evolving pulse of the big city.
Finally, this episode discusses the surreal journey of returning to Beijing to ‘resume work’ from these popular travel destinations.
While the remembered tastes of home remain, the diets of small towns and villages are evolving, bringing new discoveries every year. What did you discover this Spring Festival? We hope this episode allows you to rediscover your own sense of home through food and culture, and experience a different kind of journey back to one’s roots.
Our Guests
Ze’en
A recent arrival to South Beijing from Shaanxi and a lover of old-Beijing *douzhir* (fermented mung bean milk), possessing a steadfast Shaanxi palate.
Ning Chen
A newcomer at Foodthink; a Southerner with Northern genes who could eat aubergine and broccoli for a lifetime. She balances her love for food with hiking and yoga. Her New Year’s wish is to embrace uncertainty—even if she misses the bus.
Xiao Qi
Project Officer at Foodthink and an agriculture student yearning to reconnect with the land.
Our Host
Xiaojing
A Beijing native who spends almost every New Year in the city. After becoming part of a Hunanese family, she has spent several trips to the small town of Shaoyang sampling authentic Hunan rice noodles.
Timeline
01:39 A question for Xiao Qi from Harbin: Red sausage, sauerkraut dumplings, “Kvass”—do people in the Northeast actually eat these things at home?
05:32 Asking Ning Chen from Hainan: Given the emphasis on fresh chicken, does every Hainanese resident know how to slaughter a chicken? And how do you make Wenchang chicken taste its best?
10:05 The hometown seafood Ning Chen misses most: eating crisp and tender sandworms this year—and no, not the kind of sandworms from *Dune*!
11:40 The hometown specialty Ze En from Shaanxi misses most: “Rang-zhu”, a cold platter crafted from layers of steamed bun crumbs, lean pork, ginger, and eggs. As they say, “no banquet is complete without Rang-zhu”.
15:24 Beijing native Xiao Jing in Shaoyang, Hunan: Don’t blindly trust the ratings on Dianping in small towns! A 4.5-star chain noodle shop isn’t all that great, while the place where locals bring their own basins every morning for rice noodles is rated 2.5 stars; the service is non-existent, but the food is genuinely delicious.
19:01 An editorial room brawl over Dao Xiang Cun: Is it actually tasty? Is it worth buying a box of their pastries? When will the Dao Xiang Cun that sticks to old recipes finally start to innovate?
22:19 Is dining consumption in hometowns converging with that of big cities? Even Starbucks, the “symbol of middle-class consumerism”, is gradually blending into small-town life.
25:08 Local landscapes in Harbin revitalised by tourism: visiting local eateries, community stalls, and trying fried chicken bites, blood sausage, and basin-sized portions of Northeast Liangpi (cold skin noodles) at the hearty local markets.
27:32 Accustomed to the ubiquitous community veg shops in Shenzhen, Ze En’s parents found Beijing inconvenient: any market you choose is at least a kilometre away.
29:53 The magical Red Bridge Market in Beijing: a history of transformation from a convenient vegetable market to a jewellery market.
31:54 A fantastical journey home: living in a tourist destination, flights costing ten thousand yuan or more, unable to snag train tickets… how did Ning Chen from Hainan and Xiao Qi from Harbin manage to return to Beijing?
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This episode’s creative team
Coordination & Production: Xiao Jing
Cover: Wan Lin
Music: Baning
Editor: Wang Hao
Contact email: xiaojing@foodthink.cn