Chinese Food Dishes You Need to Try from wisepowder's blog

Chinese Food Dishes You Need to Try

You probably know that the Chinese food from your go-to takeout spot isn’t actually traditional Chinese food. It’s heavily Americanized (though, we admit, tasty in its own way). Being the world’s most populous country, Chinese has an array of authentic cuisine that is incredibly varied and vastly different from one region to another. That means expanding your palate to the world of traditional Chinese food can be overwhelming if you don’t know where to start. We talked to Bee Yinn Low—author of the Asian food blog Rasa Malaysia and the cookbook Easy Chinese Recipes: Family Favorites from Dim Sum to Kung Pao and an authority on traditional Chinese cooking—to find out what she thinks are the best dishes to introduce you to traditional Chinese food.To get more news about special dishes of china, you can visit shine news official website.

1. FRIED RICE (CHǍOFÀN)
“Rice is a staple in Chinese cuisine,” Yinn Low tells us. “Chinese fried rice is a complete meal that feeds the entire family. The combination of ingredients can be anything from protein (chicken, pork, shrimp) to vegetables (carrots, mixed vegetables). It’s a wholesome meal for dinner.” It also happens to be simple and quick to make at home, but as Yinn Low advises, “for the best fried rice, leftover rice will be best.” (We know what we’re doing with our takeout leftovers.)
2. PEKING DUCK (BĚIJĪNG KǍOYĀ)
“Personally, I think Peking duck is the best way to eat duck,” Yinn Low tells us of the Beijing dish. “Crispy roasted duck sliced into bite-sized pieces, rolled up in a wrapper with salad and hoisin sauce.” Peking duck is seasoned, dried for 24 hours and cooked in an open-air oven called a hung oven, so it’s not something you can really replicate at home ... but it is something we recommend seeking out at a traditional Chinese restaurant. (It’s traditionally carved and served in three courses: skin, meat, and bones in the form of broth, with sides like cucumbers, bean sauce and pancakes).
3. STINKY TOFU (CHÒUDÒUFU)
The name kind of says it all: Stinky tofu is fermented tofu with a strong odor (and it’s said that the stronger it smells, the better it tastes). Tofu is brined in a mixture of fermented milk, vegetables, meat and aromatics before fermenting for up to several months—kind of like cheese. Its preparation depends on the region, but it can be served cold, steamed, stewed or deep-fried with chile and soy sauces on the side.
4. CHOW MEIN
“Other than rice, noodles are a mainstay in Chinese cooking,” Yinn Low says. “Just like with fried rice, there are endless variations on chow mein. For busy parents, this is an easy dish to make for the entire family. And if you can’t find traditional Chinese egg noodles or chow mein noodles, you can use cooked spaghetti to make the dish instead.”
5. CONGEE (BÁIZHŌU)
Congee, or rice porridge, is a nourishing, easy-to-digest meal (particularly for breakfast). Congees differ from region to region: Some are thick, some are watery and some are made with grains other than rice. It can be savory or sweet, topped with meat, tofu, vegetables, ginger, boiled eggs and soy sauce, or mung beans and sugar. And since it’s ultra-comforting, congee is also considered food therapy for when you’re sick.
6. CHINESE HAMBURGER (RÒU JIĀ MÓ)
A pita-like bun filled with tender braised pork is decidedly not what we ever thought of as a hamburger, but it’s delicious nonetheless. The street food originates from Shaanxi in northwest China, the meat contains over 20 spices and seasonings and since it’s been around since the Qin dynasty (circa 221 B.C. to 207 B.C.), some would argue that it’s the original hamburger.
7. SCALLION PANCAKES (CONG YOU BING)
No maple syrup here: These savory pancakes are more like a supremely chewy flatbread with bits of scallion and oil mixed throughout the dough. They’re served as street food, in restaurants and fresh or frozen in supermarkets, and since they’re pan-fried, they have the ideal balance of crispy edges and soft insides.