Forget about steamed buns and smelly tofu, and meet the hot new Chinese snack -- latiao! The spicy¹ sticks that are enjoying their fifteen minutes of fame on the global palate.

忘记馒头和臭豆腐吧，来看看最新流行的中国小吃--辣条！这种辛辣的小吃正在享受在全世界大出风头的快感。

The cheap "delicacy²" is made from gluten, the stuff that makes bread dough³ chewy. The stick of protein is spicy and is commonly sold at roadside stands.

这种廉价的“美味”是由面筋做的--它可以使面包嚼起来更筋道。这种蛋白质棒非常辣，在路边摊都可以买到。

The snack leapt to national and international fame recently when an overseas Chinese student posted a picture of his foreign classmates "enjoying" the snack online.

最近，一名海外留学生在网上贴出了他的外国同学非常“享受”辣条的视频，使得这个零食跃入了国内外的视线，名声大噪。

The latiao fervor⁴ came one month after it caught the attention of a British film crew, and in February, the BBC aired a three-part documentary on Chinese New Year celebrations in which the two presenters⁵ were seen roaming a typical Chinese snack street, latiao in hand.

辣条还引起了英国电影摄制组的注意。二月份，BBC播出了三集纪录片《中国新年》，片中两位主持人手里拿着辣条，在中国一个典型的小吃街闲逛。一个月之后，辣条热开始兴起。

A still from the documentary, also posted on WeChat, fueled a sense of online patriotism⁶, with many shocked -- horrified⁷, even -- that foreigners would go nuts over the humble⁸ latiao, which costs as little as 0.5 yuan (8 U.S. cents). #Latiaomostpopularsnack became one of the "most-trending" on microblog Sina Weibo.

该纪录片的剧照也被转发到了微信，激发了网友们的爱国主义情怀，许多人惊呆了，甚至感到震撼。外国人也会对中国这么不起眼的辣条发狂，要知道这东西售价才0.5元（8美分）。“最受欢迎的零食辣条”也成为了新浪微博的“热门话题”。

Of the top ten "Chinese snacks" on eBay, four items are latiao in different packagings, with prices ranging from 10.33 dollars to 25 dollars. Searching "Chinese snacks" on amazon.com, latiao is the first item to pop up, with each packet priced at 12.99 dollars.

在易趣网上排名前十的“中国零食”中，有4项都是不同包装的辣条，价格从10.33美元到25美元不等。而在亚马逊上搜索“中国零食”，弹出的第一项结果就是辣条，每包售价12.99美元。

Liu, a Chinese student studying in New York, said latiao was a favorite snack since he was a child, but after arriving in the United States, he had to buy it on the Internet. "As time goes by, more of my classmates are beginning to enjoy the snack," Liu said.

在美国留学的小刘表示，辣条是他小时候非常喜爱的零食，但自从他到了美国，就只能从网上买到了。他说，“随着时间推移，我的很多同学们也开始喜欢上了辣条。”

Not everyone is pleased to see latiao in the international spotlight⁹, as the snack is often produced in unhygienic circumstances. A story about latiao being made in dirty workshops in Henan generated headlines recently. Many have complained about diarrhea and stomachache after eating the snack.

不过对于辣条走向国际化，并不是每个人都很乐于看到的。因为作为一种零食，它的生产场所往往不卫生。最近，河南一家辣条作坊肮脏的制作场所成了新闻头条。许多人都投诉吃过辣条后腹泻、胃痛。

Xu Zichen, the Luhe food inspection¹⁰ official, said the local government has closed many unqualified latiao makers¹¹ or upgraded their facilities to guarantee food safety.

六合食品检测官员徐子晨表示，当地政府已经关闭了很多不合格的辣条生产厂商，或者升级他们的设备以保证食品安全。