It is often accompanied by fried eggplants or a potato omelet, and goes well with a glass of fine sherry.

WSJ: Salmorejo the Way Mama Makes It

The American's slapstick-style YouTube clips see him using wooden clubs to pound pumpkins and eggplants, drawing more than a million hits as of Tuesday.

CNN: SHARE THIS

At the bustling Chaonei Nanxiaojie farmers market in Beijing, vendors complain the prices of eggplants, ginger and garlic have gone up at much as 30 percent in the past six months.

CNN: Feeling blue within China's red-hot economy