Chengdu, China
Long Wontons in Chilli Oil
龙抄手
Thin-skinned pork wontons folded to a peak, served either in clear chicken broth or, more typically, red in chilli oil.
eastern-asia
China
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Beijing Essentials
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Traditional foods from China.
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Zhejiang, China
Longjing Shrimp
龙井虾仁
Longjing xiaren, river shrimp stir-fried with fresh Longjing leaves and drunk-tea liquor, is a named Hangzhou dish tied to a two-week harvest and is not a tea card.
China
Lor Mee
卤面
Thick yellow noodles under a starchy dark gravy thickened with egg and cornflour, with braised pork, fish cake and ngoh hiang, finished with black vinegar and garlic.
China
Lotus Root
莲藕
The linked underwater rhizome of the lotus, whose cross-section is a ring of holes; crunchy when stir-fried, floury when slow-cooked in soup.
China
Luosifen Snail Noodles
螺蛳粉
Luosifen, the river-snail rice noodle whose smell is its selling point, is a named Guangxi dish that became a national phenomenon.
Beijing, China
Luzhu Huoshao
卤煮火烧
Pork lung, intestine and fried tofu simmered for hours in a spiced brown broth with quartered flatbread that soaks it up.
Guangdong, China
Lychee
荔枝
A summer fruit with a red pebbled shell over translucent, perfumed white flesh and a single glossy stone.
Fujian, China
Lychee Pork
荔枝肉
A Cantonese dish of pork shaped and fried to resemble lychees, in a sweet-sour sauce with lychees.
Beijing, China
Lüdagunr (Rolled Glutinous Rice Cake)
驴打滚
A glutinous rice sheet rolled around red bean paste and dusted heavily with toasted soy flour, cut into short lengths.
Sichuan, China
Mala Xiangguo
麻辣香锅
A Sichuan 'spicy pot' of stir-fried meats, vegetables and noodles tossed with numbing mala seasoning.
Sichuan, China
Malatang
麻辣烫
Self-served skewers and loose ingredients scooped into a basket, weighed, then cooked in numbing chilli broth and handed back as a bowl.
Guangdong, Hong Kong
Mango Pomelo Sago
杨枝甘露
Chilled mango purée with coconut milk, sago pearls and shreds of pomelo, which stay bitter against the sweetness.
Sichuan, China
Mao Xue Wang
毛血旺
A fiery Sichuan stew of beef tripe, duck blood curd, eel and vegetables in a deep red chilli oil broth with Sichuan peppercorns, a Chongqing specialty.
Sichuan, China
Mapo Tofu
麻婆豆腐
Soft tofu cubes simmered in a red sauce of fermented broad-bean paste, fermented black beans, minced beef or pork and chilli, finished with ground Sichuan pepper.
Guangdong, Hong Kong
Milk Tea
丝袜奶茶
Strong black tea drawn repeatedly through a cloth sock filter and cut with evaporated milk, served hot or over ice.
Tibet, China
Momos
ममः
Filled dumplings travelled through the Himalayan region and became a defining Nepali street food, steamed or fried and served with achar.
Shandong, China
Moo Shu Pork
木樨肉
Mu xu rou, egg and wood-ear stir-fried with pork and rolled into thin pancakes, is a named northern Chinese dish and not the American takeaway version.
China
Mooncake
月饼
A Chinese festival pastry of thin tender skin around lotus-seed paste, salted egg yolk or mixed nuts, stamped with patterns and exchanged at the Mid-Autumn Festival
China
Moutai
茅台
The sauce-aroma baijiu distilled at Maotai town in Guizhou through eight rounds of fermentation and aged for years, China's state banquet spirit.
Sichuan, China
Mouth-Watering Chicken (Koushuiji)
口水鸡
Cold-poached chicken under a red chilli-oil dressing with garlic, peanut and sesame — the Sichuan dish whose name means drooling.
China
Mung Bean Cake
绿豆糕
Skinned mung beans steamed, sweetened and pressed into small moulded blocks that crumble to a dry paste on the tongue.
Shaanxi, China
Mutton Stew with Torn Bread
羊肉泡馍
You are handed a dense unleavened bun to tear into fingernail-sized pieces, which the kitchen then cooks in mutton broth with vermicelli and lamb.
Jiangsu, China
Nanjing Salted Duck
盐水鸭
Duck dry-salted with Sichuan pepper, brined and gently poached, then served cold in chopped pieces with pale, faintly pink flesh.
China
New Year Rice Cake
年糕
Pounded glutinous rice steamed into a dense sticky cake, sweet and sliced in the south, or cut into ovals and stir-fried as a savoury staple.
Shandong, China
Nine-Turn Intestines
九转大肠
Braised pork intestines coiled into a spiral, a Shandong delicacy.
Beijing, China
Noodles with Fried Bean Sauce
炸酱面
Thick wheat noodles under a dark salty sauce of pork belly fried in fermented yellow soybean paste, ringed with raw cucumber, radish and soy bean garnishes.
China
Northeastern Sour Cabbage
酸菜
Whole Chinese cabbages salted and pressed under stones in a jar through the northeastern winter until they turn sour and translucent.
China
Orh Nee
芋泥
Teochew dessert of taro steamed and mashed with shallot oil and sugar into a dense warm paste, topped with gingko nuts and pumpkin or coconut cream.
China
Osmanthus Cake
桂花糕
A soft translucent cake of rice flour and sugar set with osmanthus blossoms, cut into small squares and eaten cool.
Tainan, China
Oyster Omelette
海蛎煎
Small oysters cooked into a sweet potato starch batter with egg and garlic chives, fried until the edges crisp and the middle stays gelatinous.
Guangdong, Hong Kong
Oyster Sauce
蚝油
A thick brown seasoning made by reducing oyster liquor with sugar and salt, used to finish greens and stir-fries.
Shanghai, China
Pan-Fried Pork Buns
生煎包
Thick-skinned yeasted buns filled with pork and jellied stock, fried base-down in a flat pan with a splash of water, sesame and spring onion on top.
China
Pao Fan
泡饭
Rice cooked or steeped in a rich seafood broth until the grains loosen, served with prawns, crab or fish and topped with crisped rice puffs.
China
Pea Shoots
豆苗
The young tendrils and leaves of the pea plant, stir-fried in seconds with garlic, sweet and faintly grassy.
Beijing, China
Peking Duck
北京烤鸭
Duck inflated between skin and flesh, glazed with maltose, air-dried and roasted over fruitwood, then carved into skin and meat at the table.
China
Pickled Cabbage Fish
酸菜鱼
Fish fillets poached in a sour broth of pickled mustard greens, pickled chilli and garlic, sharp rather than numbing.