Er Kuai 餌塊 ("R-Kwhy")

Well, Josh is very sad because his erkuai guy, who stood under the big red umbrella by the bus station, seems to be gone. Every morning before school Josh would get up, shower, get his stuff together, and go buy erkuai for breakfast before getting on public transportation. Now there is a huge, gaping hole in his morning routine and stomach. Some of you may remember from earlier posts that he even dreamt about this particular food while we were away at the beach. So what makes erkuai (a thick kind of rice flour pancake or tortilla) so special? First of all, it must be said that the guy by the bus station was the best at making it. In addition he was always smiling and seemed to have a rhythm to his work.... Take your order, put the thick rice flour pancake on the grill, turn over a few youtiao (a deep fried twisted dough stick) that were already crisping there, turn over the erkuai, pick up one that's done, move a youtiao, fill the pancake with sweet or spicy stuff, put in the hot youtiao, more sauce, roll it up (all the while flipping and turning others), put sauce on the top opening and sprinkle on some crushed peanuts, put in a plastic bag, take the 1.50yuan (20 cents), and off you would go with a rather filling breakfast. He never ceased his vendor's symphony, until all of his ingredients were gone. Josh's favorite type was spicy. Inside it contained bean sprouts, lufu (spicy fermented tofu), spicy ground pork, chili paste, and youtiao. Personally, I don't know how anybody can stand anything so hot. I liked the non-spicy with it's sweet sesame paste, crispy youtiao, and crushed peanuts. This vendor knew his customers and, if you were a regular, could fix your order without a request. I believe erkuai is unique to our part of China and originally comes from the Dali area where the Bai or White minority people live (white being an important color in their culture). This is probably why our friend is gone. He may not have had a permit to sell on the street or he may not even be a legal resident of our city. Anyway, the whole family misses him. I'll still try to get a photo of this treat for you, as there are a few other vendors around town. But it wont taste as good as what we've been used too. When you've eaten from a master, nothing else is quite the same.