You probably know that the Chinese food from your go-to takeout spot isn’t actually traditional Chinese food. Is heavily Americanized. Being the world’s most populous country. The 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. Bee Yinn Low—author of the Asian food blog Rasa Malaysia , cookbook Easy Chinese Recipes: Family Favorites from Dim Sum to Kung Pao and an authority on traditional Chinese cooking— thinks that those are the best dishes to introduce you to traditional Chinese food.
1 . 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.
2. Mapo Tofu (Mápó Dòufu)
Maybe you’ve heard of or even tried mapo tofu, but Westernized versions of the Sichuanese tofu-beef-fermented-bean-paste dish are usually much less spicy than their traditional counterpart, which is laden with chile oil and Sichuan peppercorns. Fun fact: The literal translation of the name is “pockmarked old woman’s bean curd,” thanks to origin stories that claim it was invented by a, well, pockmarked old woman. It’s got a little bit of everything: textural contrast, bold flavors and lots of heat.
3. Char Siu
Technically, char siu is a way to flavor and cook barbecued meat (specifically pork). It literally means “fork roasted,” because the Cantonese dish is cooked on a skewer in an oven or over a fire. Whether it’s pork loin, belly or butt, the seasoning almost always contains honey, five-spice powder, hoisin sauce, soy sauce and red fermented bean curd, which give it its signature red hue. If you’re not already drooling, char siu can be served alone, with noodles or inside baozi.
4.Zhajiangmian
These “fried sauce noodles” from the Shandong province are made with chewy, thick wheat noodles (aka cumian) and topped with zhajiang sauce, a rich mixture of ground pork and fermented soybean paste (or another sauce, depending on where you are in China). It’s sold just about everywhere in the country, from street vendors to fancier restaurants.
5. Wonton Soup (Hundun Tang)
Wontons are one of the most authentic Chinese dumplings. The wontons themselves are made with a thin, square dumpling wrapper and can be filled with protein such as shrimp, pork, fish or a combination, depending on the region . The broth is a rich concoction of pork, chicken, Chinese ham and aromatics, and you’ll often find cabbage and noodles mingling with the wontons.
Try it at home: Wonton Soup / Vegan Wonton Soup
6. 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.
Try it at home: Quick Congee / Vegan Congee
7. Baozi
There are two types of baozi, or bao: dàbāo (big bun) and xiǎobāo (small bun). Both are a bread-like dumpling filled with everything from meat to veggies to bean paste, depending on the type and where they were made. They’re usually steamed—which makes the buns delightfully squishy and soft—and served with dipping sauces like soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil and chile pastes.
8.Peking Duck (Běijīng Kǎoyā)
Personally, I think Peking duck is the best way to eat duck, 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).
9 Kung Pao Chicken (Gong Bao Ji Ding)
This is probably the most well-known Chinese chicken dish outside of China. It’s also an authentic and traditional dish that you can find in many restaurants in China. The spicy stir-fried chicken dish originates from the Sichuan province of southwestern China, and while you’ve probably had the Westernized version, the real thing is fragrant, spicy and a little bit mouth-numbing, thanks to Sichuan peppercorns. That is actually quite easy to re-create at home.
Try it at home: Kung Pao Chicken
10 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.)
Try it at home: Fried Rice / Vegan version
11. Chow Mein
Other than rice, noodles are a mainstay in Chinese cooking . 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.
Try it at home: Chow Mein
12. 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.
13. 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.
14. Soup Dumplings (Xiao Long Bao)
On the other hand, soup dumplings are dumplings with the soup inside. The filling is made with a pork stock that’s so packed with collagen, it solidifies as it cools. Then it gets folded into a delicate wrapper that’s pleated into a neat little packet and steamed, melting the broth. To eat, simply bite the top off and slurp out the broth before popping the rest in your mouth.
15. Hot Pot (Huǒguō)
Less a dish and more an experience, hot pot is a cooking method where raw ingredients are cooked table side in a giant pot of simmering broth. There’s a lot of room for variation: different broths, meats, veggies, seafood, noodles and toppings. It’s also meant to be a communal event where everyone sits down together and cooks their food in the same vessel.
