Long live the taste of spicy crayfish thanks to urbanization wave

At the height of summer, no food seems to be hotter than crayfish. The crustaceans, also known as "little lobsters" in China, and crawfish, crawdads, mugbugs or freshwater lobsters in other parts of the world, have a nickname in Chinese, ma xiao (spicy little lobsters) as they are often served in hot and spicy chili sauce.

According to a leading online group-buying and food delivery platform, China's crayfish market is worth more than $20 billion, accounting for about 5 percent of the overall Chinese food service market. And nearly 18,000 restaurants in China focused on serving crayfish as of August 2016, three times the number of KFCs in the country, according to media reports.

Although I have not tasted the popular summer dish for a decade, I think I know why it has become so popular. Like spicy Sichuan cuisine and hotpot, ma xiao is riding the urbanization wave in China.