WanderFood Wednesday #1
Today, instead of my usual Wordless Wednesday posting, (which usually ends up being quite wordy), I’m joining in on WanderFood Wednesday. Find out more about WanderFood Wednesdays here.
For my first WanderFood post, I’d like to talk write about one of my favorite cold-weather snacks available here in China: Chatang. I refer to this as a beverage, but actually, chatang is not really a drink – it’s more like a meal in a cup!
Cup of goodness – chatang
What is chatang?
茶汤 ＝ cha tang = literally, tea soup
Where this name comes from, I haven’t a clue, because there is neither tea nor “soup” (at least the American idea of soup) in this snack. My Chinese friends call it soup, when referring to it in English, but in my mind anything that is slurped up through a straw is not a soup. (Note that in some places, chatang is eaten with a spoon.) Wikipedia refers to chatang as gruel, but I find gruel to be one of the least appetizing food words in the English language. For me, this is an energy drink. Basically, it is boiled water combined with a mix of millet flours, and goodies such as sugar, black sesame seeds, goji berries, peanuts and raisins thrown in. The liquidy part becomes a bit syrupy thanks to the glutinous flour. I can’t get enough of this 1RMB snack. (Note that your chatang could vary in color, consistency and ingredients depending on location.)
Chatang is not only delicious, it is also entertaining as the preparation of the snack is a spectacle. Of course, a laowai ordering chatang and taking pictures of the process is also a spectacle in its own right. 
The guy below in the black was astounded that I was interested in this and asked me a zillion questions, only some of which I could answer. The vendor was shy, but enjoyed seeing the photos after I snapped them.
Copper chatang pot decorated with dragons
The water for chatang is traditionally boiled in a large copper pot decorated with dragons. The pot has an inner ring where the hot charcoal pieces are placed, heating up the water in the outer ring. This is a similar design to the traditional Mongolian hot pot used for cooking lamb. (And is pretty genius when you realize that northern Chinese cities in the winter are often plagued by cold winds that could easily extinguish exposed flames.) The chatang pot sits atop a hinged base, allowing the vendor to tip the large pot over to pour the water into the waiting cup or bowl.
Close up view of spout decorated with dragon
Adding the goodies
After the water is added to the flour, the vendor adds in all the goodies. You can request specific things, but I usually just let them do their thing. This particular vendor mixes everything up in a metal bowl and then transfers it to a plastic cup. She includes a wide straw for drinking up all the bits and pieces. Her whole setup is placed atop a tricycle wagon, a really common practice among the mobile street vendors of Linyi. The small alley where I found her this day last December is usually packed with food vendors of all kinds. The DH and I have been known to nosh from one end of the street to the other!
Personally, I love hot cereal type foods, like oatmeal, porridge, cream of wheat, etc. so this thick, syrupy drink with dried fruits, nuts and cereal grains really appeals to me. The DH doesn’t care for hot cereals, so he doesn’t usually order it.
Chatang is one of my favorite street food snacks and I can’t believe it has taken me over four years to blog about it! Aside from its great flavor, I love the huge copper pot and the special ritual of preparing it. My friends tell me that chatang is common throughout north China and is also known as mian cha (flour tea). According to several Internet sources I read, the drink originated in Tianjin, a port city just southeast of Beijing.
Update: Another Chinese friend informs me that she knows this snack as 莲子羹 lian zi geng or lotus seed soup.
See more WanderFood Wednesday posts here.
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This post reminds me of my visits to the night market in Kaifeng. They also have snacks like the 茶汤 you describe. One of my favorites is almond tea (杏仁茶) — and they pour it out of the very same exotic teapots.
Thanks for sharing this custom (and whetting my own appetite)!
.-= Jocelyn´s last blog ..Chapter 40: Negotiating For My Life in China =-.
That almond tea sounds delicious! Thanks for the link to your night market post – very informative. I’m suddenly so hungry!
hahaaa! sounds like extreme boba tea! lol. i have never heard of it before. very interesting.
.-= sandra´s last blog ..my color story: cloudy with a chance of color =-.
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