Shopping for food in China-please help my tummy!!
#368343 - 10/27/12 06:43 PM
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Hey,
I moved to China around 2 months ago. In the Uk, I have had IBS for around 10 years and managed to keep it under control with the help for ibs diet and imodium. However, since being in china my tummy is not happy! I admit the heat was difficult to adapt to at first but now it's cooler so that should not be an issue. I am managing to control it with Imodium but I am struggling for ideas what to cook and buy.
While rice is my savour, a lot of the things in the supermarket have added milk and egg yolk (they seem to think it makes you smarter!) in turn, I know there's a whole chapter in heather's book about shopping at Chinese supermarkets but I forgot to bring it and it will be awhile before I'm back home. Any suggestions beyond rice?
Thanks so much
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Hi, I'm sorry you're having trouble and I can totally relate. I haven't been to China in a long time, but some things I found helpful were:
-avoiding most noodles unless they're definitely rice noodles
-bao: big, flour-based buns with meat or veggies or red beans inside
-dumplings can be great; you can buy packages of frozen veggie or chicken dumplings (check ingredients)
-dim sum has a lot of dishes that are wrapped in rice noodles
-simple stir-fry meals
-if you tolerate green onion, scallion pancakes are a yummy treat
-look for restaurants and stores that have non-Chinese cuisine that you might be able to eat...Japanese, Vietnamese
-there is a popular dish of eggs scrambled with tomatoes and soy sauce. You could try this on your own with egg whites (I think it's a pretty good savory breakfast).
-you can also have congee in the morning with whatever condiments/accompaniments you like (scallions, sesame oil, cooked shrimp, etc.)
Hope this helps a little bit!
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Thanks Clara, I'm compiling a list as we speak! There's bao and scalion pancakes everywhere but I didn't know if I should avoid them as the former is cooked in oil on the street? Not sure if it is safe? Bao are usually pork which ive avoided, but I have seen red bean /veggie ones so ill try them tomorrow I think!
Egg whites are my staple at the moment! Saying that, I can't find anything remotely organic but the normal eggs seem to suit me fine. But breakfast is hard to be creative. I just tried some congee with cinnamon which was actually pretty good! I'll start experimenting.
As for lunch, I think I'll start cooking the night before and take my left overs into work. Thanks so much,
P.s what is generally safe to eat at a Vietnamese restaurant? We have a lot here? Also a Lebanese one but no idea whats safe there?
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I hope you can find some things that are safe for you. For me, trying some things bought at supermarkets instead of restaurants helped at first. For example, I used to be able to find frozen bao, dumplings, and scallion pancakes and some of the packages actually had ingredients listed on them, as opposed to getting food at a restaurant or on the street. Sometimes when a server described something as "veggie", that just meant that there were vegetables in it in addition to meat!
I like chicken and/or veggie pho at Vietnamese restaurants. It's a rice noodle soup that has a plain, salty broth. They give you lots of condiments you can add to it or not, so it's pretty customizable.
And if eating/cooking Chinese food all the time is frustrating, you could always make versions of your favorites from back home if the ingredients are accessible to you.
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Thanks Clara. It's been a much safer week. Cooked homemade fried rice and made some juices. Found a Turkish restaurant that does take out flatbreads, chicken grilled etc. only One small attack after scallion pancake but think it was cooked in too much oil! Going to try and seek it out in the frozen aisle. Where I live is not too International so very few products have ingredients in English!
I meant to say Korean rather than Vietnamese, any suggestions for that? Also pumpkin is readily avaliable, am I right in thinking its SF?
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I'm so glad it's been a better week! That Turkish food sounds yummy. I haven't had much luck with Korean food; it tends to be a little too spicy for me and there are so many unfamiliar veggies that make me nervous. I've only had it a couple times, though, so don't trust me on that one. Do you like tofu? Sometimes if my tummy is unstable I'll just drain the water from a block of tofu and stir fry pieces of it, add a little soy sauce and toss it over rice.
I don't know if this applies to you, but when I'm in China (and the UK for that matter) I really have to curb my tea drinking. I love tea but if I drink a lot I get sick.
I think pumpkin is high in SF. There are some good recipes for pumpkin dishes on this site in the recipe index. I used to make Heather's pumpkin apple spice bread a lot (the recipe will come up if you google it).
Now a question for you! I'm traveling to London next week. I haven't been there in a while but I remember good things about Sainsbury's and they have Whole Foods there now. Any UK brands/chains I should investigate or avoid?
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Thanks! The last few days I've been totally normal.I even had 2 squares of dark chocolate after a sf dinner too with no issues. Really pleased. Turns out my pumpkin was squash!! But that's safe too right? Going to experiment with few IF veggies now a bit more stable. I've never tried tofu but since its everywhere I really should! Stoked up on frozen dumplings and bao yesterday.
The only tea I drink is mint but I can't get it anywhere when we go out to Starbucks or costas! They keep trying to force me weird chinese tea!
Yes London Is really good for the ibs traveler! Whole foods are great-there's one by Camden and a few more scattered about. Pretty much all the supermarkets have specialist diet aisles. Plus there's a ton of new bagel stores and lots of sushi places!! Yum! Miss bagels  enjoy!
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