San Francisco Restaurant Blog

There’s a new food craze in China – Farmer’s Food. If you knew the Chinese characters, and the right places to go, then you would see hundreds of signs advertising this style of food on the outskirts of most cities. Given that forty years ago, many farmers were barely managing to eat at the subsistence level, why the sudden turnaround?

Perhaps that recent past has something to do with the popularity. As China advances rapidly towards a modern, developed economy, those who have already moved up the fiscal ladder have conflicting desires. On the one hand, they want to distance themselves from the peasant life that represents unending toil; on the other, they can afford to hold a romantic and sanitized impression of what that toil must entail – and consider it idyllic in relation to their modern stresses and strains. That’s not a concept completely unknown in the west.

So what is Farmer’s Food?

Farmer’s Food varies; by its very nature it varies by location and by season. Pork is the meat of choice all over the east of China, with chicken running a close second. Fish and duck are also popular but a little more expensive.

Meats flavour the dishes but the heart comes from the fresh vegetables. Many of these will not have English names and so any translation may have to be more descriptive than botanically correct. If there’s any doubt, I prefer to go to the kitchen and take a look. These fresh vegetables, often only picked hours ago, are incomparably tasty and so vegetarians need not worry about missing out.

Farmer’s Food should be simple to prepare. Typically, two or three harmonious ingredients will be chopped up such they cook together at the same speed. Ginger, garlic, soy, vinegar and other flavourings may be used to bring out the best of the inherent flavours, but without resorting to any fancy culinary tricks. The food should look attractive – but it won’t be exotically presented. Expect hearty, wholesome food and simple service.

Where will I find Farmer’s Food

Most visitors would not be able to find Farmer’s Food for themselves even if they had a private vehicle. This is very much a matter of local fashion and therefore the best way to partake is to get locals to arrange your trip.

If you are lucky, that can be friends. For most visitors it will mean finding a local travel service who can
arrange a car and, to help with ordering and other arrangements, as well as to add interesting stories, a local guide. The brave could try trusting to a local taxi driver. You can expect the driver to get a commission from his restaurant of choice and need pay no extra for his time.

Farmer’s Food outlets tend to cluster together around some particularly attractive rural area near to a major road leading out of a city. We recently went to one of a dozen or so outlets across the Yangtse River from the city of Yichang. There were a couple of small hills to climb, giving great views over the mighty river and this port at the bottom end of the Three Gorges area.

Farmer’s Food is not the food eaten typically by farmers every day of the year. It is about the nearest thing you can get to authentic Chinese food and therefore worth seeking out at least once in your trip to China. Say what you don’t want to eat (or can’t eat) but otherwise allow the hosts to select the freshest local produce for you and cook it up the ways they know best. Just be sure to set the budget first. Enjoy your food, and be grateful that you had a choice.

Ian Ford has lived in China for most of the last 7 years. He has prepared a food guide, Eating Out in China, with background information to Chinese food, over 60 recommended dishes and handy reference sheets. The sheets show each dish in English, pinyin and Chinese characters and are for you to take on your travels. Order these dishes, and variations, with ease.

If you are coming to China and want to get Authentic Chinese Food in China then follow this link and find out more about my guide.

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