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Chinese cuisine has long been a unique highlight contributing to the diversity of the F&B industry. The distinctiveness and appeal of Chinese dishes always attract a large number of diners.
Recently, the hashtag "everything can be grilled" has attracted around 3 billion views on Chinese video-sharing platforms. According to SCMP, "grilled stones" top the list of most popular grilled items currently trending on charcoal grills in the country.
A myriad of unique grilled dishes
Not stopping at just these bizarre ingredients, the Chinese people's passion for barbecue has been elevated by a series of brand-new creations. The hands of "Chinese barbecue wizards" have produced a whole basketful of new barbecue dishes with main ingredients like watermelon, cactus, ice cubes, or eggplant... However, it's not just a matter of putting them on the grill! These "culinary artists" have shaped them into "shoes" or "grenades" to make the dishes look more interesting and eye-catching.
A video posted on Xiaohongshu, a Chinese video-sharing platform, by food blogger Jinkesi, has garnered over 18,000 likes, showcasing a bizarre dish prepared at a restaurant in Chengdu, Sichuan province. The video begins with cacti shaped into stylish shoes. The cacti, with their spines removed, are placed on a charcoal grill. As the dish nears completion, chili powder is sprinkled on top.
Another food that no one would think could be grilled is watermelon, but it appears in this video in the form of skewers. Each slice of watermelon is cut into long, bar-shaped pieces, skewered with metal sticks, and neatly arranged on the grill. Under the effect of the flame, they quickly turn dark after being sprinkled with seasoning.
The vendors also put slices of watermelon on the grill.
These dishes represent a bizarre Chinese food grilling trend. On the social media platform Douyin, videos with the hashtag "everything can be grilled" have garnered nearly 3 billion views, with the most popular video featuring grilled ice cream popsicles attracting 2 million likes. The popsicles are unwrapped, coated in spicy sauce, then dipped in black sesame seeds and sprinkled with hundreds of thousands of colorful little spice pellets before being placed on a grill. Netizens wonder why the popsicles don't melt on the fire and ask, "Should this be eaten hot or cold?"
Variety from grilled dishes
The prices of many unusual grilled dishes are not cheap. Grilled ice skates are sold for 15 yuan (approximately 53,000 VND) each; grilled cacti in a barbecue restaurant are sold for 26 yuan (over 90,000 VND) each, almost the same price as a 30 yuan grilled beef steak.
Despite facing opposition from some consumers and being considered "bizarre," these unusual food trends have contributed to boosting tourism and the local economy.
According to Hongcan, there are currently over 330,000 barbecue restaurants competing in China. The Chinese people have a great love for grilled food. In Zibo, Shandong province – dubbed the "outdoor barbecue capital" of China – a social media trend dedicated to this dish has emerged. Bloomberg Businessweek reported that in March alone, over 4.8 million tourists visited Zibo to enjoy barbecue, a 134% increase year-on-year. The city's GDP grew 4.7% in the first quarter, primarily driven by retail, tourism, and dining. Consumption surged 11%, reversing the 2% decline seen in the first two months of the year.
