Category: Chinese Food

This is one of the well-known Sichuan local dishes that originated before the Ming Dynasty in a small town named Hanyang by the Mingjiang River in present Qingshen County, Sichuan Province. A chef created the dish by boiling chicken first, then beating with a stick till spongy(something that is spongy is soft and can be pressed in, like a sponge). Then he tore the  chicken meat(鸡肉jīròu) into shreds, which was seasoned with spices.

Combine all ingredients and cover 5 pounds of  chicken(鸡肉jīròu). No need to marinate(if you marinate meat or fish, or if it marinates, you keep it in a mixture of oil, vinegar(vinegar is a sharp-tasting liquid, usually made from sour wine or malt, which is used to make things such as salad dressing), spices(a spice is a part of a plant, or a powder made from that part, which you put in food to give it flavour. Cinnamon, ginger, and paprika are spices), and herbs(a herb is a plant whose leaves are used in cooking to add flavour to food, or as a medicine), before cooking it, so that it can develop a special flavour).

The  Beijing cuisine(北京菜Běijīng cài), one of the eight most famous regional cuisines in the  China(中国Zhōngguó), not only features dishes made from the imperial recipes, but also recipes invented by private chefs hired to work in the residences of high-ranking officials at the imperial courts. Tan Imperial Cuisine is one of the latter that have been well preserved. It came from Tan Zongjun and his son who were both government officials in the late Qing Dynasty. It has won high praises because: its taste is moderate and therefore, fits the palates of the south and the north; and it emphasizes original flavour and original ingredients so little seasoning is used.

The  Water chestnut cake(马蹄糕Mǎtí gāo) is a sweet Cantonese dim sum snack made of Chinese water chestnut(chestnuts are the reddish-brown nuts that grow on chestnut trees. You can eat chestnuts) powder or shreds. The best water chestnuts are said to be produced in Pantang in western  Guangzhou(广州Guǎngzhōu).

As Lijiang located in the key traffic site of Sichuan, Tibet and  Yunnan(云南Yúnnán), and also as the residence of multi-minorities, the largest feature of Lijiang dining is varied and abundant(something that is abundant is present in large quantities). The tourists of every swarming into Lijiang make it is possible to have even some specialties from abroad. The most famous area of Lijiang for dinning is Sifang Square and its surrounding areas.

From the name we know this snack is made of the  white potato(白土豆bái tǔdòu). This kind of pan-cake is a sort of must food during harvest seasons in mountainous(a mountainous place has a lot of mountains) areas. Making  White Potato Pan-cakes(土豆饼tǔdòu bǐng) is to express a good harvest and skills. Lijiang Yangyu Baba is the mixture of mashed potato, slightly salt and pepper sauce. After deep-frying, it is a bit hot, fragrant and tasty.

The Cool  herbal tea(凉茶liángchá) is a drink made from decocted Chinese herbal medicines that are cool in property or capable of removing internal heat from the human body. The drink is made to drive away the heat inside the human body in summer or to cure the sore throat caused by dryness in winter and other illnesses. Actually, cool herbal tea is not “tea” in the general sense, but the decocted Chinese herbal medicine soup. And cool herbal tea may not be cool; it works better when taken hot. The tea is for heat-clearing, detoxifying, lung clearing, dryness moistening and reliving heat.

The  Youxiang(油酥烧饼yóusū shāobǐng) is a traditional snack(a snack is something such as a chocolate bar that you eat between meals) of China’s Hui minority. To make youxiang, you need to make dough mixed with brown sugar water, and then deep fry the dough. When it’s done, the cake is Bordeaux in color and sweet and soft in taste.

The dumplings(dumplings are small lumps of dough that are cooked and eaten, either with meat and vegetables or as part of a sweet pudding) are a food that consists of small pieces of dough, either cooked alone or wrapped around a filling. They can be based on flour, potatoes or bread, and may include meat, fish, vegetables, or sweets.