China has over 5000 years to perfect its cuisine. It is no wonder it is one of the most popular cuisine in the world. Food is very important to the Chinese people. All important occasions are celebrated with food. People socialize over food and business deals are made over a good dinner. The Chinese pay a lot of attention to what they eat and love dishes that has a meaning or a great story to go along with it. They believe whatever animal part you eat will benefit that particular part of your body. It is no wonder that restaurants that serve animal penis became very popular in recent years, more popular than Viagra.
China is a large country and its food is very different from south to north, not to mention, its 56 different ethnics all have their unique take on food. Chinese cuisine is divided into 10 types according to regions: Beijing (京), Shanghai (沪), Anhui (徽), Cantonese (粤), Fujian (闽), Hunan (湘), Jiangsu (苏), Shandong (鲁), Sichuan (川) and Zhejiang (浙). General rule of thumb is cuisine from northern regions is usually spicier and saltier dishes accompanied with lots of noodles and cuisine from Southern regions is usually lighter and sweeter dishes that are preferred to be eaten with rice. Although I was born and raised as a Southern girl, I have taste buds for the northern dishes which I find much more flavourful.
Making a (very) short list of must try dishes in China is very difficult for me since there are so many great dishes!
1. Peking Duck 烤鸭 (Beijing) - probably the most famous Chinese dish, the
Peking duck is usually served at table side with the chef thinly slicing the duck skin off a whole roast duck onto a plate. Then the skin wrapped in a thin rice pancake, hosin sauce, cucumber and green onion slice is eaten.
for the very mouth-watering soup inside. There is definitely a technique to how to eat these little guys. The trick is to place bun in a soup spoon first, nibble a small opening on the bun and suck the soup out first before popping the entire bun in your month.3. Hot pot 火锅 (Chongqing) - It is noted for its peppery and h
ot taste, scalding yet fresh and tender. This is the quintessential Chinese social meal which people gather around a small pot filled with flavorful and nutritious soup base. Thin sliced raw variety meat, fish, various bean curd products and all kinds of vegetables are boiled in the soup base. You then dip them in a little bowl of special sauce. Be careful since the spicy soup base is burning hot.
4. Hairy Legged Crab 大闸蟹 (Shanghai) - If you love seafood, this is a must try! Ironic, this crab with the scary name is a fresh water creature. When it is steamed and dipped in soy sauce, you will find a flavour explosion in your mouth.5. Candied Haw Berries 冰糖葫芦 (Beijing) - Any dessert that involves the
word candy is an instant favourite of mine. The berries are dipped in molten sugar which is left to harden in the cold and sold on a stick. You can also find variations with oranges, grapes, strawberries, and bananas, or dipped in crumbled peanuts as well as sugar.
6. Salted Duck 盐水鸭 (Nanjing) - This delicious and tender duck dish is rich in flavour yet not greasy.7. Broiled Chili Fish 水煮鱼 (Sichuan) - the fish is broiled
and presented in a mini wok, completely covered in liquid with floating chillies. There are tons of napa cabbage, Chinese celery, mushrooms and lily.8. Cross-Bridge Rice Noodles 过桥米线 (Lijiang) - a plate of thinly sliced ra
w meat (chicken, pork and fish), vegetables (beansprouts, chives and beancurd slices) and noodles are first served. Then mix and stir the raw ingredients into a bowl of hot piping soup. The noodle soup dish can be eaten once the meat is cooked and trust me the meat will cook in the hot soup.
9. Cumin Lamb Skewer 羊肉串 (Xijiang) - lamb meat is cut into very small bite size, grilled to perfection, slight charred and crispy on the outside seasoned with cumin and chili.
When in China, one just need to be very opened minded and not pass up any opportunity to taste everything.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment