Sichuan, China
Ants Climbing a Tree
蚂蚁上树
Mayi shangshu ("ants climbing a tree"), glass noodles with minced pork clinging to them, is a named Sichuan dish with a fixed identity and a memorable name.
eastern-asia
China
Explore 248 foods connected to China, from everyday staples to rare local specialties.
248 foods12 leading categories2 Essentials guides
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The local shortlist
Beijing Essentials
9 editor-selected foods for understanding the place through what people eat.
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Traditional foods from China.
248 foods in this view. Filter by category, type, rarity, or search every recorded name.
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China
Baijiu
白酒
A clear grain spirit distilled from sorghum and fermented with qu starter, bottled between 40 and 60 percent, and drunk in small toasted cups.
China
Bakkwa
肉干
Bakkwa is thinly sliced meat marinated in a sweet-savoury mixture, grilled until caramelised at the edges, and sold as a festive Chinese New Year snack.
China
Bamboo Shoot
笋
The young shoot of bamboo, dug before it breaks ground, peeled to an ivory core and blanched before cooking to remove bitterness.
Sichuan, China
Bang Bang Chicken
棒棒鸡
Poached chicken pounded with a stick to loosen the fibres, shredded by hand, and dressed cold in sesame paste, chilli oil and Sichuan pepper.
China
Baozi (Steamed Filled Buns)
包子
Yeasted wheat buns pleated shut round pork and cabbage, beef, or vegetables, steamed in stacked bamboo baskets.
Guangdong, Hong Kong
Barbecue Pork Buns
叉烧包
Steamed white buns that split into three at the top, filled with diced barbecued pork in a sweet-savoury sauce.
Guangdong, Hong Kong
Beef Chow Fun
干炒牛河
Wide flat rice noodles dry-fried at maximum heat with marinated beef, bean sprouts and spring onion, seasoned only with soy.
China
Beggar's Chicken
叫花鸡
A whole chicken wrapped in lotus leaves and clay, baked slowly until the meat is fall-off-the-bone tender, a legendary Hangzhou dish.
Beijing, China
Beijing Mutton Hotpot
涮羊肉
Paper-thin lamb swirled for seconds in a plain broth heated by a charcoal chimney pot, then dipped in sesame paste with fermented bean curd and chives.
Beijing, China
Beijing Set Yoghurt
老酸奶
Thick set yoghurt sold in a squat glazed clay pot sealed with paper and string, drunk through a straw or spooned out.
Shaanxi, China
Biangbiang Noodles
Biángbiáng面
Belt-wide hand-pulled noodles slapped against the counter to stretch, topped with chilli powder, garlic and spring onion, then finished with smoking oil.
Xinjiang, China
Big Plate Chicken
大盘鸡
Chicken on the bone braised with potato, green pepper, chilli and star anise, served on a platter over hand-pulled belt noodles added at the end.
Sichuan, China
Bobo Chicken
钵钵鸡
Bobo chicken, cold poached chicken on skewers dipped from a bowl of chilli oil and sold by the stick, is a named Sichuan street format.
China
Boiled Dumplings
饺子
Half-moon dumplings of pork and cabbage, chives or fennel in a rolled wheat wrapper, boiled and dipped in vinegar with garlic.
Fujian, China
Braised Abalone
焖鲍鱼
Whole abalone braised slowly in rich chicken-and-pork stock until tender — a Fujian banquet classic built on commercially farmed abalone.
Guangdong, Hong Kong
Braised Chicken Feet
凤爪
Chicken feet deep-fried to blister the skin, then braised soft in black bean, garlic and chilli until the skin slips off the bone.
China
Braised Duck Rice
卤鸭饭
Duck braised for hours in dark soy, galangal and star anise, sliced over rice cooked with yam or over plain rice with the braising liquor spooned across.
China
Buddha Jumps Over the Wall
佛跳墙
A sealed jar of abalone, sea cucumber, scallop, ham, quail egg and mushroom steamed for hours in Shaoxing wine and superior stock.
China
Buddha's Delight (Luo Han Zhai)
罗汉斋
Luohan zhai (Buddha's delight), the fixed Buddhist vegetarian dish of eighteen ingredients eaten on the first day of Lunar New Year, is a named ceremonial dish with a documented composition.
Beijing, China
Candied Hawthorn Skewers
糖葫芦
Hawthorn berries threaded on a bamboo stick and dipped in molten sugar that sets to a glass shell.
Guangdong, Hong Kong
Cantonese Barbecue Pork
叉烧
Strips of pork shoulder lacquered with maltose, honey, soy and fermented bean curd, then roasted until the edges char.
Guangdong, China
Cantonese Congee
粥
Rice simmered for hours until the grains dissolve into a smooth white cream, then flavoured with fish slices, preserved egg and pork, or beef balls.
Guangdong, China
Cantonese Herbal Tea
凉茶
A dark bitter decoction of medicinal herbs drunk to counter what Cantonese tradition calls internal heat, sold from shopfront counters by the bowl.
Guangdong, China
Cantonese Slow-Cooked Soup (Lao Huo Tang)
老火汤
Lao huo tang, the Cantonese soup simmered for hours and drunk before the meal, is a named daily institution of Guangdong households and restaurants rather than a generic broth; it is ordered by name and its ingredients change with the season.
China
Century Egg
皮蛋
Duck egg cured in alkaline clay, ash and salt for weeks until the white turns to dark amber jelly and the yolk to grey-green cream.
China
Chairman Mao's Red-Braised Pork
毛氏红烧肉
A Hunan version of red-braised pork belly, caramelised with rock sugar and soy sauce until glossy, with chilli and star anise, Mao Zedong favourite dish.
Hunan, China
Changde Beef Rice Noodles
常德牛肉粉
Changde beef noodles, rice noodles under a fiery Hunan beef broth, is a named city dish with dedicated shops nationwide.
Hunan, China
Changsha Black Stinky Tofu
长沙臭豆腐
Changsha-style stinky tofu: black fermented-bean curd deep-fried until the outside is dark and crackling, the inside soft.
China
Cheng Tng
清汤
A clear, barely-sweet syrup served hot or over ice with longan, dried persimmon, barley, white fungus, gingko nut, lotus seed and strips of agar.
Tibet, Bhutan
Chhaang
छ्याङ
Millet or rice is fermented and steeped with hot water into a lightly alcoholic Himalayan drink shared across Tibet, Nepal, and Bhutan.
China
Chin Chow Drink
仙草
Black grass jelly boiled from mesona leaves, chilled, chopped and served in its own lightly sweetened syrup as a cooling drink.
Shaanxi, China
Chinese Meat Sandwich
肉夹馍
Pork stewed for hours in a spiced master stock, chopped fat with lean, and packed into a crisp griddle-baked wheat bun.
Sichuan, China
Chongqing Chilli Chicken
辣子鸡
Small bone-in chicken pieces deep-fried crisp and then buried in a wokful of dried chillies and Sichuan peppercorns, from which you excavate them.
Sichuan, China
Chongqing Grilled Fish
重庆烤鱼
Chongqing grilled fish is cooked whole, then simmered in a tray of chilli oil with vegetables and aromatics for sharing.
Sichuan, China
Chongqing Xiaomian
重庆小面
A Chongqing street food of fresh wheat noodles in a spicy, numbing bowl of chilli oil, Sichuan peppercorn, garlic, vinegar and sesame, topped with scallions.