Category: Chinese Food

Tengchong: Rescuing the Emperor (Fried Rice-flour Slices) 腾冲：大救驾
The so-called “Rescuing the Emperor” is just the fried rice-flour slices. The name originates from an ancient story that Wu Sangui led Manchu troops to attack Kunming in the early Qing Dynasty. The small royal court of Emperor Yong Li of the Ming Dynasty ran away to Tengchong. When they were starving, the local people fried rice-flour slices and presented the dish to the emperor. The emperor praised profusely that, “The fried rice-flour slices saved me.” From then on, the name of Fried Rice-flour Slices was changed into Rescuing the Emperor. Tengchong rice-flour slices are delicate in taste, white in color and rhombus in shape. Fry the rhombus-shaped slices with fresh pork slices, sliced ham, fermented cabbage, chopped scallions, chopped spinach, diced tomato in hot pepper and egg, etc. to make the dish delicious. Then add a little meat soup to simmer them soft. Next, add sauce to season the dish before serving it with a bowl of sour soup. Today, tourism is Yunnan’s pillar industry, and the dish with its ancient origin has quickly become popular. In addition, rice-flour slices with sour soup are tasty and refreshing, and can stimulate the appetite while being good for digestion. The “Rescuing the Emperor” has become a popular dish in Yunnan.所谓大救驾即炒饵块，这典故无非是说清初吴三桂率清军打昆明，明朝永历皇帝的小朝廷一路奔逃至腾冲，饥饿难忍时，当地人炒了一盘饵块送上。皇帝就连赞：“炒饵块救了朕的大驾。”炒饵块由此改名。腾冲产的饵块细糯、色白、有筋，切成菱形片，加鲜猪肉片、火腿片、酸菜、葱段、菠菜段、番茄盯糟辣子、鸡蛋等炒香，又加入少量肉汤焖软，再用酱料调味，最后还配一碗酸汤，就上了桌。今天在以旅游为支柱产业的云南，有典故有渊源的菜自然热的快，而米食配酸汤爽口、开胃又益于消化，“大救驾”成为了当地一道热门菜。 

Lijiang: Yak Hot Pot 丽江：牦牛火锅
In Lijang, it is said that people always forget the delicious food due to the beautiful scenery. In fact, the Yak Hot Pot alone can make you love Lijiang from the bottom of your heart. The yaks live on the pollution-free plateau and feed on grass. Their tender meat is the Tibetan’s favorite. Except the Yak Hot Pot, there is no other approach for Han people to enjoy the delicious taste of yak meat.到丽江往往让人忽略了它的美食——因为有太多的景致。其实单单牦牛火锅，就足以让你彻底爱上丽江的。牦牛生活在无污染的高原，食草而生、肉质细嫩，是藏家的最爱。除了牦牛火锅，汉族人现在还没有其它途径一品牦牛肉的鲜美。

Guiyang: Fish in Sour Soup 贵阳：酸汤鱼 Fish in Sour Soup’s major ingredients are tomato and locally fermented rice soup, amongst other things. Sour dishes are so popular in Guiyang, that it is said if people in the region go without a sour dish for three days, they will not be able to walk straight. This saying shows how important sour dishes are there! If there is only one dish in Guiyang to eat, it must be the Fish in Sour Soup.据说酸汤鱼是用西红柿，还有当地发酵的米汤等等做出来的。当地人有“三天不吃酸，走路打拜拜”的习惯，所以可以想象这个酸字如何了得！如果只能在贵阳吃一顿饭，酸汤鱼一定是首选。

Chengdu: Baby Cuttlefish with Pickled Pepper成都：泡椒墨鱼仔
A writer describes Sichuan style seafood by saying that since seafood came to Sichuan, it has gained a new kind of life! One of the best examples is the Baby Cuttlefish with Pickled Pepper.一个作者是这样写川味海鲜的：自从海鲜变节从了川菜以后，它仿佛焕发了它的第二春！铁例之一便是泡椒墨鱼仔。
This dish fully depends on the Sichuan pickled chili pepper (bullet pepper). The chili pepper must be bright red, large and full, and it shall be just pickled enough. The red and white colors of the finished dish are very pleasing to the eyes! The taste of pickled chili pepper is infused in the baby cuttlefish and there is a sweet aftertaste.这菜全靠四川的泡海椒（子弹椒），要选色泽鲜红、体大肉厚的海椒，泡的也需恰到好处。成菜红白分明，赏心悦目！泡椒的味全在墨鱼仔里面，还带点回甜的味道。 

Chongqing: Fragrant Spicy Crab 重庆的香辣蟹
Integrating hot pot and seafood, combining Sichuan cuisine and Guangdong cuisine styles, the Sichuan dish Fragrant Spicy Crab created by the people of Chengdu has been very popular with Chongqing people. It is fragrant but not too rich, spicy but not dry, and tasty while delicious. It is served after being fried with oil, broad bean paste and spices. After the crab is eaten up, some soup can be poured into the remaining seasoning and then you can boil other dishes in the soup. After enjoying the delicious crab, you can also enjoy the wonderful hot pot.集火锅与海鲜于一身，融川菜和粤菜为一体的川菜香辣蟹由成都人创制，成为了时下重庆人的心头好。香而不闷，辣而不燥，鲜而可口。先用油、豆瓣、香料等炒好后上桌，把蟹吃完后，各剩下的作料加上汤，吃了螃蟹肉才开涮，过罢螃蟹瘾，再过一把火锅瘾。

Hot pot (火锅/火鍋：huǒ guō), less commonly Chinese fondue or steamboat, refers to several East Asian varieties of stew, consisting of a simmering metal pot of stock at the center of the dining table. While the hot pot is kept simmering, ingredients are placed into the pot and are cooked at the table. Typical hot pot dishes include thinly sliced meat, leafy vegetables, mushrooms, wontons, egg dumplings, and seafood. Vegetables, fish and meat should be fresh. The cooked food is usually eaten with a dipping sauce. In many areas, hot pot meals are often eaten in the winter.

Chinese Cuisines China covers a large territory and has many nationalities, hence a variety of Chinese food with different but fantastic and mouthwatering flavor. Since China's local dishes have their own typical characteristics, generally, Chinese food can be roughly divided into eight regional cuisines, which has been widely accepted around. Certainly, there are many other local cuisines that are famous.中国地域辽阔，民族众多，因此各种中国饮食口味不同，却都味美，令人垂涎。因为中国地方菜肴各具特色，总体来讲，中国饮食可以大致分为八大地方菜系，这种分类已被广为接受。当然，还有其他很多著名的地方菜系。

Yeung Chow Fried Rice(扬州炒饭: Yángzhōu chǎofàn) is a popular Chinese-style wok fried rice dish in many Chinese restaurants in China, the Americas, Australia, United Kingdom, and the Philippines.扬州炒饭是中国、美国、澳大利亚、英国和菲律宾中式餐馆里的常见菜式。
Yangzhou, or “Yeung Chow” egg-fried rice is said to be originated from the “broken gold rice” favored by Yang Su, Duke of the Yue in the Sui Dynasty. When Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty visited Jiangdu (now Yangzhou), he introduced egg-fried rice to Yangzhou. After innovations of chefs of various dynasties, the food has been developed into one of the famous foods with Huaiyang flavor featuring the characteristics of Huaiyang cuisine of careful material selection, precise cooking, stressing the importance of color and authentic taste. Today, Yangzhou egg-fried rice is a household name in many countries worldwide. According to some foreign friends, many foreigners like eating egg-fried rice; but they have no idea about what Yangzhou is. In their minds, Yangzhou is not a name of a city, but the way of cooking rice.扬州炒饭又名扬州蛋炒饭，相传源自隋朝越国公杨素爱吃的碎金饭，即蛋炒饭。隋炀帝巡视江都（今扬州）时，将蛋炒饭传入扬州，后经过历代烹饪高手的逐步创新，揉进淮扬菜肴的“选料严谨，制作精细，加工讲究，注重配色，源汁源味”的特色，终于发展成为具淮扬风味有名的主食之一。扬州炒饭的名气遍及世界很多国家，据国外来的朋友讲，许多外国人都喜欢吃扬州炒饭，却不知道扬州是怎么一回事，在他们的头脑中扬州并不是地名，而误认为是这种炒饭的做法。
Yangzhou fried rice boasts abundant varieties such as “gold wrapping silver,” and fried rice with meat and vegetables.扬州炒饭的品种丰富，有“金裹银”、“什锦蛋炒饭”等。
“Gold wrapping silver” means that the rice is covered by golden egg. To make “gold wrapping silver” rice, first fry the rice in the pot and then cover the rice with egg. After cooked, the exterior is golden while the rice inside is white.所谓“金裹银”就是在饭粒的外层裹上一层金黄色的鸡蛋，其作法是：先将米饭放入锅中翻炒，然后将打散的鸡蛋液均匀地包裹住米饭。经过这样炒制的米饭，其饭粒的外层是金黄色的，里面则是白色的。
Fried rice with meat and vegetables is the most typical variety of Yangzhou fried rice. It consists of a lot of supporting materials such as eggs, sea cucumbers, ham, string beans, prawn flesh, pork fillet, fragrance mushroom, bamboo shoots and chopped shallot. Eggs are fried first and then other ingredients are cooked with clear sauce and salt. The rice should be fried evenly without burning spots. After that, a half of the cooked egg and other ingredients are mixed with the rice. Then, two-thirds of the mixed ingredients should be placed on a plate, while the rest should be mixed with the rice, which is served over the mixed plate. It is a feast for the palate and the eyes.什锦蛋炒饭，是扬州炒饭中最典型的品种，它有很多配料，常用的有鸡蛋、海参、火腿、青豆、虾仁、猪里脊肉、香菇、笋、葱花等等。制作时先将鸡蛋炒好，再将其他配料炒熟，加清汤和盐调好味，盛起备用，然后开始炒米饭，米饭要炒得粒粒分明而没有湖斑，最后将炒好的鸡蛋和其它配料倒入一半炒匀，炒匀后盛出三分之二放在盘中，再将剩下的配料与锅中的米饭炒匀，盖在盘中的炒饭上。如此做出的炒饭既漂亮，又有很多配料在上面，真是好吃看得见啊！

Mápó dòufu–麻婆豆腐  Mapo tofu( Chinese: 麻婆豆腐; Pinyin: Mápó dòufu) is a popular Chinese dish from the Sichuan province where is known for its spicy food, and probably the best known Chinese dishes in western world. It is a combination of tofu (bean curd) set in a spicy chili- and bean-based sauce, typically a thin, oily, and bright red suspension, and often cooked with fermented black beans and minced meat, usually pork or beef. Variations exist with other ingredients such as water chestnuts, onions, other vegetables, or Judae's Ear (aka Jelly Ear, a mushroom).