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Saturday 2004-07-03 - Turpan, Xinjiang (China)
Pizza with chopsticks
There’s a popular theory that says that Marco Polo found pasta on his travels in Asia and introduced it in Italy. That’s quite possible since we’ve seen a wide variation of pasta all over Central Asia, both dried, in all kinds of shapes and even colors, as well as fresh hand-made noodles. But of course it’s equally possible the introduction of a new food went in the other direction or that pasta was simply invented in multiple locations. Today though, the theory gets an extension:
At John’s Cafe here in Turpan, one of the specials posted is something called “Kashgar pizza”; I have no idea what that is (and never seen it in Kashgar) but I’m curious, so I order it for lunch. What arrives is a nice surprise: food for the stomach as well as food for thought. Imagine a flat, round, local nan (bread, baked with some sesame seeds on top), neatly cut into pointed slices. On top a big mound of stir-fried vegetables: bean sprouts, spinach, onions, tomatoes, coarsely chopped garlic (a lot) and mushrooms (a little), all topped with a little melted cheese — and served with chopsticks. I have to think a little before tackling it, ending up eating some of the vegetables with the chopsticks, then a slice of bread, and so on; it turns out to be delicious.
But is this just a local interpretation of ‘pizza’ or is it maybe the other way round? Flat round bread, when covered with vegetables, looks just like a pizza bottom. Could Marco Polo also have found pizza in Central Asia and introduced it to Italy? Who knows, but it’s at least possible….
After my late (and big) lunch I end up eating only a fruit salad for dinner. Around eight we leave in the bus which will take us to Daheyan station again.
