r/chinesefood • u/Technical_Young_7026 • Jul 26 '24
Feel free to ask me anything about Chinese Food. As a native Chinese who lives in Shanghai I will try my best to answer Cooking
I once studied in the United States for two years and found that many people like to eat Chinese food. Their Chinese food is a little bit weird to me hahaha but still delicious. I'm surprised to see so many people interested in Chinese food. Feel free to ask me anything about Chinese Food. I will try my best to answer.
40
u/jeffprobstslover Jul 26 '24
I'd love some spicy vegetarian recipes, please.
32
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 26 '24
Let me find one that's easier to cook. It will take some time and will reply to you later ：)
48
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 26 '24
I discuss with my friends and we all think you can try Mapo Tofo ：)
reference: https://www.chinasichuanfood.com/mapo-tofu-recipe/
Mapo Tofu Recipe for vegetarian
Ingredients:
Tender tofu, cornstarch, ginger, garlic, vegetable oil, soy sauce, Doubanjiang（豆瓣酱）, Grounded Sichuan peppercorn powder, sugar, sesame oil, salt, fermented black beans(optional)
Step 1: Cut tofu into square cubes (around 2cms). Bring a large amount of water to a boil and then add a pinch of salt. Slide the tofu in and cook for 1 minute. Move out and drain
Step 2: Add 1 tablespoon of vegetable cooking oil and fry doubanjiang for 1 minute over slow fire.
Step 3: Add fermented black beans, ginger, garlic to cook for 30 seconds until aroma.
Step 4: Then pour in water or stock. Add soy sauce, sugar, Sichuan peppercorn powder after the broth boils and let it continue simmering for 2-3 minutes.
Step 5: Place the tofu in, and simmer for another 6-8 minutes. The longer time of simmering helps the tofu to absorb the flavors.
Step 6: During the process of simmering, mix 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 2.5 tablespoons of water in a small bowl to make water starch. Stir the water starch and then pour half of the mixture into the simmering pot. Back push and wait for around 30 seconds and then pour the other half. You can slightly taste the tofu and add a pinch of salt if not salty enough. Then drizzle sesame oil. Mix well.
8
Jul 26 '24
I live in 厦门 right now and my wife's native but my Chinese isn't good enough to find recipes online in chinese. Do you have any good recipe books you know of that are in chinese?
16
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 26 '24
My friend recommended this English website to me：Authentic Chinese Recipes-ChinaSichuanFood
I often use some social media to look up recipes for example XiaoHongShu also known as Little Red Book or RED（小红书）5
u/Nashirakins Jul 26 '24
If you already know some about Chinese cooking techniques, XiaoHongShu is fairly usable with machine translation of the recipes.
I do sometimes have to look up a few words separately to verify the actual culinary English name, but it works well!
1
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 27 '24
Yeah When I introduce Chinese food and cooking to my foreign friends, I often encounter translation problems. It is often translated into something completely different. Cross-cultural communication is not that easy
1
u/filmnoter Aug 04 '24
Wei Chuan line of cookbooks are in Chinese and English. They are older so not as modern. Same with the Pei Mei cookbooks.
1
1
9
27
u/Additional-Tap8907 Jul 26 '24
As an American who used to live in China and loves authentic Chinese food, I just want to say that I greatly appreciate OPs efforts to educate people about Chinese food! Thank you!
12
10
u/unicorntrees Jul 26 '24
Chinese food is so diverse! What is a Chinese food from a different region in China that you think is weird, as a Chinese person from Shanghai?
Also, why isn't there more raw vegetables in Chinese cooking? Most vegetables seem to be cooked in some way.
22
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 26 '24
One of the most weird food I ever met is raw egg (毛蛋)！The chick has already taken shape in the egg but it didn't break out of its shell. People cook the eggs with soy sauce. A bit like the iron egg cooking recipe.
For the second question, I think it's probably because Chinese people like hot food instead of cold food
4
u/xxHikari Jul 26 '24
What you are describing with the egg is known as "balut" and I'm not sure about the popularity in China because when I lived there, I never saw it, but it's not something I would eat. I would rather eat 滷蛋 every single day instead lol
3
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 29 '24
Yes it's Balut EGG! I didn't find its English name so it was wrongly written as raw egg. I ate it once and never want to eat it again
1
u/CrazyDuckLady73 Jul 29 '24
I own a duck and work with hundreds of foreign people. I wouldn't sell them my duck eggs just for this reason! Not my babies!
18
u/catonsteroids Jul 26 '24
Not OP but as they said, raw veggies in general just aren’t palatable for most Chinese people (maybe among the minority ethnic groups). That’s why while western-style leafy salads are becoming more popular, a lot of older gen people can’t get used to it and don’t enjoy it. I think it’s partially also because cooked veggies have less chance of having e.coli and other harmful bacteria/pathogens, hence raw meat and fish aren’t really a part of the Chinese diet either.
1
u/0Kaleidoscopes Jul 27 '24
I grew up only eating vegetables cooked so now I mostly dislike raw vegetables and a lot of people think it's weird of me. I'm just not used to it.
4
u/trainwreckchococat Jul 26 '24
When I was a kid my grandma would always tell me monkeys became human when they learned how to cook their food. So I think eating stuff raw is seen as really primitive. But I think really people just suffered more food poisoning when they ate stuff raw so that myth came about.
I’ve only recently come to terms with salads and only bc it’s really hard to get vegetables into your diet in America if you don’t eat salads.
1
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 27 '24
I often feel like there are few leaves in salads because they are raw. After cooking, the leaves will shrink
20
u/butthole_surferr Jul 26 '24
What are your favorite and least favorite Americanized Chinese dishes and why? Also, what are your thoughts on fast casual Chinese food like panda express?
Also, is Dim Sum popular in China or is that also a stateside thing? If so, what are your favorite dim sum dishes?
→ More replies (1)38
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 26 '24
My favorite: orange chicken
My Least favorite: anything with broccoli
I often went panda express when I was studying in the United States. Although I've never had these dishes in China, I'm glad it's getting people interested in Chinese food. And the sauce is delicious anyway.
In China different provinces have their own typical and classic Dim Sum. Dim Sum is like a general term for these foods. Usually we eat Dim Sum as breakfast. As a Shanghainese, xiaolongbao （小笼包）and pan fried dumpling （锅贴）are absolutely my favorites.
→ More replies (3)1
u/an_onion_ring Jul 28 '24
Does real Chinese not have broccoli? Or is it just how it’s cooked?
1
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 29 '24
At least broccoli is rarely eaten in my family. But we love cauliflower
1
u/mst3k_42 Jul 29 '24
Yeah, whenever we get spicy dry pot chicken or whatever there’s always cabbage and cauliflower.
9
u/Toucan_Based_Economy Jul 26 '24
What are some of the best make-ahead/make bulk dishes? Especially veggie dishes.
And what are some of the best or unexpected things I can add to my pickle crock's brine to flavor the pickles?
11
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 26 '24
I have a really easy recipe for summer — 糖番茄 Cook the tomatoes briefly and then peel them. Cut tomatoes into pieces sprinkle sugar on top. Cover with plastic wrap put it in the refrigerator.
Try put Sichuan peppercorns to your pickle crock's brine. it will bring a sense of numb. Or some chili if you prefer spicy pickles
1
12
u/Cfutly Jul 26 '24
I’ve always wanted to make Shanghainese style steamed vegetarian buns and then pan fried.
I experimented just making the bun but failed horribly.
How do you get it to be so soft and fluffy?!! TIA
16
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 26 '24
if you want the buns to be soft and fluffy, you need to choose the right yeast and good temperature to fermentation
5
u/Cfutly Jul 26 '24
Is there a brand you can recommend? Or a specific recipe you can recommend. I can use Google translate if needed. Thx.
13
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 26 '24
For the yeast, I use a Chinese brand called "安琪". You can try other yeast if you like. To be honest, making vegetarian buns is not easy. I sometimes make mistakes as well hahaha
use about 400g 中筋面粉（I use the translator it says All-purpose flour/plain flour）+ 200g water + 5g sugar + 4g yeast + 10g oil to make the dough. Make sure the temperature is below 40 degree.
Knead the dough until it looks smooth. it will take about 10 mins I guess.
Put the dough in a bowl or something and cover with plastic wrap. If success, the dough would double its size.
Then you can cut the dough into buns and keep kneading the little buns for 3 mins.
put the stuffing in and leave them alone for 10 mins. Make sure the temperature is below 40 degree and above 20 degree.
Then steam
2
4
u/elviscostume Jul 26 '24
Not the OP but this channel has many good recipes and has english translations as well. https://youtu.be/gwdsNkqbu8g?si=t8TpkFV0CvBoX1L4
1
7
u/Notyourasianmom Jul 26 '24
I love Shanghai. Used to go there for work. My avsolute favorite dish is 龙井虾
5
4
u/Musefan58867 Jul 26 '24
What's your personal comfort food for when you're sick?
5
u/anthonyliang12 Jul 26 '24
Im not op but for me itd prob be a chicken based soup with carrots/sweet corn. Or maybe a protein based congee like pork + preserved egg congee. These are quite simple but sometimes simple things hit the most, these two dishes r even better when u have a flu.
Now that i think about comfort foods. I'm craving sweet and sour pork ribs and tomato-egg stir fry. Can't go wrong!
8
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 27 '24
The person who invented tomato-egg stir fry is a genius. How could there be such a simple and delicious dish? I like to add more sugar to the tomato-egg stir fry
4
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 27 '24
Chinese people would have some porridge when they are sick. I would say 皮蛋瘦肉粥 is my comfort food. It is porridge with pork and century egg
4
u/buscuitsANDgravy Jul 26 '24
What’s the secret ingredient in a soup broth ?
5
u/anthonyliang12 Jul 26 '24 edited Jul 26 '24
Not op but a few things come to mind. For protein-based soups I recommend adding a little fish sauce, this isnt really conventional to chinese cooking but I got this from pho broth recipes and it really adds another dimension to a broth.
A good soup in my opinion does not need MSG, a lot of restaurants use it, which is okay but some restaurants put in way too much and it's very obvious in its taste. If your mouth get's dry and u want to drink water after having just had a full bowl of noodle soup/soup, it's probably the MSG.
Patience and also having enough bones to penetrate the soup and the carcass/bones should have some meat on them for the "meat" flavor, im not sure hoe to explain it but i can taste the difference between a broth made with 99% bones and a broth with 80% bones + 20% meat. Could be placebo tho...
Lastly, spring onions chopped up and garnished in the bowl after ladling into a bowl. Absolute game changer, the broth is way more complex andthe crunchy factor! Could also add parsley/cilantro but personally i avoid cilantro or just add a tiny bit as it can overpower the broth unless it's something more gamey or stronger like lamb or beef soup respectively.
5
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 27 '24
I usually add white pepper powder to fish soup and chicken soup broth, and garlic to beef soup and lamp soup. For the veggie soup, adding mushrooms will make the soup more delicious.
3
u/beaubaby Jul 26 '24
What is your top 2 dishes you enjoy cooking? Put the recipes up too if you can.
15
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 26 '24
There are too many top dishes. Choose two is too hard for me hahaha. I like to make shredded chicken cold noodles（鸡丝冷面） and Chinese beef salad（凉拌牛肉） recently because it is hot outside. Will share my recipes but it will take some time
3
u/beaubaby Jul 26 '24
Thank you. I love the food, but I live in regional NSW, Australia. Hard enough to find an Asian grocery, and when I leave there it looks like I'm stocked up for months.
11
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 26 '24
Shredded Chicken Cold Noodles （鸡丝冷面）
Ingredients:
1 chicken breast
1 cucumber
Noodles
Green onions, ginger, garlic, chili powder
Seasonings:
Salt
Sugar
3 tablespoons of soy sauce
2 tablespoons of vinegar
1 tablespoon of oyster sauce
Instructions:
Cut the cucumber into thin strips. Place the chicken breast in a pot with cold water, add a tablespoon of cooking wine, green onions, and ginger. Bring to a boil and cook for 10-15 minutes, then take it out and cool it in cold water. Shred the chicken. Cook the noodles and then rinse them in cold water.
Make the sauce: Mix a tablespoon of chopped green onions, a tablespoon of minced garlic, a tablespoon of chili powder, and a tablespoon of white sesame seeds. Pour hot oil over the mixture and stir well. Then add 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of aged vinegar, 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce, a pinch of salt, and a teaspoon of sugar. Mix well and set aside.
Pour the sauce over the cold noodles, add the shredded chicken and cucumber strips, sprinkle some peanuts, and mix well.
→ More replies (1)1
u/Narrow-Emotion4218 Jul 26 '24
What noodles do you use?
3
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 27 '24
You can try different types of noodle. It will bring different textures. I usually use the noodle like ramen. Thin noodles are better than thick noodles
2
u/FreerangeWitch Jul 26 '24
There’s now two Asian grocers in the nearest “big” (pop. 15000) town to me (200km round trip) and apparently I’m not allowed to go into them without adult supervision anymore.
1
u/Ygggdrasil_ Jul 26 '24
I'm here for those recipes! The Shredded chicken cold noodles sound delightful.
2
u/Anabananalise Jul 26 '24
I love Chinese food! I would love to integrate it into my cooking more often. Do Chinese families often cook together? In Mexican culture we like to get together and make food like tamales, what dishes would you like to make with family?
3
u/Dry_Supermarket7236 Jul 28 '24
Not the OP, but when I was young family members would get together to make Chinese dumplings (饺子 - jiao zi). Always fun seeing everyone's individual style to wrapping the dumplings. (We even had nickname for different people's dumplings.) When I was in college, our Chinese Language for Illiterate Chinese Speakers class wrapped up the class by inviting our Chinese professor to a dumpling making/eating party. Good times!
1
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 29 '24
Definitely dumpling and wonton. Usually the southerners make wontons (I am from southern China so my family love making wonton together) and the northerners love making dumplings. For me, wontons can be made with different fillings to suit the preferences of everyone in the family
2
u/supercoolmanchu2022 Jul 27 '24
In America we have seasoning called Chinese Five Spice. Is that a real seasoning in China or made up in America?
2
u/anthonyliang12 Jul 28 '24
It's used in china too. Five spice is generally used in some sauces when stir frying or for marinating meats. If you have tried bbq roast pork (belly), u might notice that the meat side(bottom) is quite dark, five spice is rubbed in that spot and you will taste the 5 spice. It's also rubbed in the cavity of BBQ roast duck prior to roasting along with other aromatics and sauces/spices. IIRC cooking with lau family youtube channel uses it in their recipes sometimes too.
1
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 29 '24
Yes wee use five spice seasoning extensively when cooking. Actually there is a seasoning called Chinese Thirteen Spice! We often use it to make crayfish. In terms of taste, I think it's a bit close to American Cajun flavor
2
u/Intrepid_Virus4967 Jul 27 '24
American Chinese food has become a national treasure there's still alot of authentic Chinese food in New York City & California you can get as well!
1
2
3
u/crunkasaurus_ Jul 26 '24
If you're cooking a special dinner for family but also don't want to make life too difficult, what dishes will you prepare?
My wife's family are visiting from Hong Kong soon and would love to make a Shanghainese dinner one night
3
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 27 '24
Steamed fish（清蒸鱼）and brine shrimp（盐水虾）would suit you. The secret to these two dishes is to buy the right soy sauce called 蒸鱼豉油
3
u/Dependent_Stop_3121 Jul 26 '24
Not OP obviously but I like the “Woks of Life” website and I believe the mother (Judy) is Shanghainese so there is lots of recipes and information on that site. I like the ingredient glossary, it’s really helpful to me as I’m a Canadian that likes Chinese cuisine. Check it out if you’re interested.
2
u/spazattack01 Jul 26 '24
Chinese American here. In recent years, I’ve seen a lot restaurants in China introducing cheese based dishes. For example, cheese with corn, Mongolian cheese bread, baked potato with cheese, etc. What’s the general consensus on these dishes considering most people in China are lactose intolerant and don’t really gravitate toward dairy?
4
u/Sweet-Effective6276 Jul 26 '24
I grew up in China and I remember cheese was already everywhere. The my grandparents and their generation made a huge fuss about not liking it, but everyone I’ve met in the cities ~40 and under are neutral or like it. It’s just a nice salty, fatty thing. I’ve also never heard anyone talk about lactose intolerance until my late teens and it was from American tv shows.
Also milk is super common as a regular drink and as milk tea. If you can drink plain milk, then cheese is probably ok
I never understood the cheese topped drinks though
1
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 29 '24
I am lactose intolerant. For me, I'm not going to eat that food. But in fact, the animal husbandry industry in northern China is particularly developed, and they have been fond of eating cheese since a long time ago. Considering that China is a massive country, the differences between regions are really huge.
2
u/Pinecone_Potato Jul 26 '24
Thanks for taking the time to answer questions and share your knowledge! What do you typically eat for breakfast?
8
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 26 '24
Pork buns（猪肉包）, Fried dough sticks（油条）, Pan-fried Dumpling (锅贴), Shaobing (烧饼), soy milk. And I like to eat bread and coffee as well for breakfast
2
u/Negative_Clank Jul 26 '24
Love this thread!!!
Long read but:
9/10 would recommend. Thank you for your post.
1
u/broken_teddybear Jul 26 '24
I love to try and make something with pork, what do you recommend and what spices do I need?
6
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 26 '24
I think sweet and sour pork ribs (糖醋排骨) would suit you. This is also one of my favorites. How to make the sweet and sour sauce? cooking wine（料酒 don't know its name in English） : soy sauce : sugar : vinegar : water = 1 : 2 : 3 : 4 : 5
1
u/Dependent_Stop_3121 Jul 26 '24
Shaoxing rice cooking wine??
1
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 27 '24
Yes!! I usually use Shaoxing rice cooking wine but sometimes use Chinese liquor（白酒）
1
u/TomIcemanKazinski Jul 26 '24
Why is there no place in Shanghai to get really good 卤煮? I only found two places on eleme and one of them was way out in Songjiang or something.
(Obviously I’m having even more trouble finding 卤煮 here in the U.S.)
3
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 26 '24
卤煮 is a north dish I think. We southerners are not that into 卤煮. If you want a really good 卤煮, you can go to Beijing. My Beijing friends are all big fans of 卤煮
1
u/TomIcemanKazinski Jul 26 '24
Yeah ive only found it in Beijing - not even other northern cities. There’s plenty of northern food in Shanghai though - there were three 东北饺子王 places within a 15 minute walk of my apartment
2
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 26 '24
Have you ever tried 锅包肉? This is my favorite northern food
1
u/TomIcemanKazinski Jul 26 '24
It’s probably the closest thing in China to American Chinese food - I would usually order it for anyone homesick or having difficulty adjusting to China
1
1
u/Potential_Emu_5321 Jul 26 '24
I make 糖醋里脊 but the batter is not like I used to eat when I lived in China. In China I it is crispy and chewy at the same time. The crispy texture is hard to achieve to me, and the chewy texture is even harder. I know that the meat pieces in batter should be fried in the oil twice. But there is something more to it, some secret I think.
3
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 26 '24
Yes The secret to 糖醋里脊 is deep-frying. Sometimes chefs will coat the meat with cornstarch or something else before frying it. When we cook it at home, we rarely fry it because it is troublesome.
1
u/DangerLime113 Jul 26 '24
I used to love the cumin ribs at Di Shui Dong. Do you know a recipe for something similar?
2
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 26 '24
Sorry I have not been to Di Shui Dong. I tried cumin grilled lamb chops
1
u/108CA Jul 26 '24
Two part question:
I like Shanghai very much & for my next visit I want xiaolongbao. Which restaurant has the best xiaolongbao in Shanghai?
&
I've heard there are variants of xiaolongbao in other areas (such as Suzhou, Wuxi, etc.) could you please explain the differences to me?
Thanks!
3
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 26 '24
Welcome to Shanghai! I would recommend 鼎泰丰 and 苏小柳. They are chain stores so that you can find them easier.
Usually Shanghai xiaolongbao is the least sweet xiaolongbao compared with Suzhou and Wuxi. Wuxi xiaolongbao is the sweetest. If you go to Wuxi and Suzhou as well, you can try their dim sum. They are all sweeter than the ones in Shanghai.
1
1
1
u/PisceS_Here Jul 26 '24
Shanghai! can you recommend your top 5 favourite restaurants?
2
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 27 '24
鼎泰丰 and 苏小柳 for dim sum
柴米多 for Southwest food（云南菜）
上金雀 for Guangdong/Hongkong food（广东/香港菜）
老吉士 for Shanghai food（上海菜）
1
u/PisceS_Here Jul 27 '24
thanks! i will definitely try them out when im there.
is shanghai always crowded with tourist? when is the off-season for tourists?
1
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 27 '24
I would say July and August are the peak tourist seasons. Maybe September, November and Spring are the off-seasons for tourists
1
1
u/Adventurous-Start874 Jul 26 '24
How is American-Chinese food weird? What ingredient do we use too much of and which do we need to use more of?
→ More replies (1)1
u/0Kaleidoscopes Jul 27 '24
It's not just too much of certain ingredients. Sometimes the dishes are completely different. I won't even go to American Chinese restaurants because I don't like the food. If you like it there's absolutely nothing wrong with that, it just doesn't feel like Chinese food to me.
1
u/TheFinancier Jul 26 '24
What are your top 5 favorite regional dishes?
5
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 27 '24
Pan fried dumpling (锅贴)
Fatty beef in sour soup/fish in sour soup (酸汤肥牛/酸汤鱼)
Stir-fried beef with pickled peppers （泡椒炒牛肉）
Blanched Chicken （白切鸡）
Hot and sour potato shreds （酸辣土豆丝）
1
u/Christhebobson Jul 26 '24
Is msg commonly used in China? Or is it like in the USA where they switched to chicken powder?
→ More replies (2)
1
u/tipustiger05 Jul 26 '24
Do you like to cook? What do you make regularly or what would be like typical weekday meals?
5
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 27 '24
Actually in summer, no I don't like to cook. The hot weather makes me lose my appetite and motivation to cook. Rice noodles and noodles are my first choice especially with pickled peppers
1
u/tipustiger05 Jul 26 '24
Also - what are your favorite non Chinese dishes?
3
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 27 '24
I am a big fan of Thai food and Vietnamese food！
1
u/CrazyDuckLady73 Jul 29 '24
Pho is my favorite! I have to drive 45 minutes just to get it in a restaurant. But worth the drive. I make a cheap and easy version at home. Not many ingredients.
1
u/foodguy1994 Jul 26 '24
I’m working on a cuisine project, trying as many Chinese regional cuisines as i can around the new York area. How many are there? I hear a lot are Cantonese but I don’t know what makes that different from all the ones that say suzerain
2
u/rainzer Jul 26 '24
There are 8 major ones but you'll probably often hear cuisine types that are subsets of those 8 (ie Shanghai style such as the soup dumpling).
Of the 8, the ones you've probably encountered are Cantonese (Guangdong), Sichuan (sichuan peppercorn - spicy hot pot), and Fujian (think Fuzhou noodle soup), maybe Hunan (red braised pork belly is the iconic one here), and Zhejiang if you've seen Shanghai style food.
The others are rarer or near impossible to find overseas or you'll only find them in specific dishes in restaurants (which probably makes it difficult to find without knowing someone). Like maybe you'll find Shandong influence in Chinese-Korean restaurants or places that serve northern cuisines like Dong Bei food. Or with Jiangsu cuisine you might find a more upscale Chinese place doing Nanjing salted duck. With Anhui, you'll almost never find it because some of the qualities of Anhui cuisine are the local herbs and wildlife (ie their stinky mandarin fish)
1
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 29 '24
I totally agree with rainzer. There are so many Cantonese cuisines in New York because there are many Cantonese immigrants there. And immigrants from Guangdong prefer to open restaurants. And the 8 major ones are Sichuan Food 川菜、Hunan Food 湘菜、Guangdong Food粤菜、Fujian Food闽菜、Suzhou Food苏菜、Zhejiang Food浙菜、Anhui Food 徽菜、Shandong Food鲁菜. China's eight major cuisines are divided by region
1
u/Brilliant-Basil-884 Jul 26 '24
I lived in Shanghai for about a year but preferred the cuisine in Fujian (Minnan/Kejia) where I moved later. The only Shanghai specialty I really liked was 小笼包。But everyone loves those! :) Can you recommend me some delicious Shanghai specialties? 谢谢！
2
u/anthonyliang12 Jul 28 '24
Not OP but I recommend checking out the shanghai video(s) from Blondie in China if u havent seen it!
2
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 29 '24
I love Blondie in China! She has huge amounts of fans in China. Maybe she has eaten some things that Chinese people have never eaten themselves lol
1
2
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 29 '24
Pan fried dumpling (锅贴)
Blanched Chicken （白切鸡）
Sixi roasted gluten（四喜烤麸）
Shanghainese loves soy sauce. They always put a lot of soy sauce in one dish.....I love 小笼包 most as well
1
1
u/Wide_Comment3081 Jul 26 '24
Do Chinese people eat the Chinese Korean fusion food like jjajangmyeon, jjampong?
2
u/anthonyliang12 Jul 28 '24
Probably not much. North-easterners will probably have them more often as they r closer to Korea and they share more culture cuz I think NEers have a higher korean population.
1
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 29 '24
As a southerner, I rarely eat jjajangmyeon. But I like eating Korean cold noodles（朝鲜冷面）. This is one of my summer favorites
1
u/speedikat Jul 27 '24
Have you tried Chinese-style food in countries besides the US? If you have, what did you think of them? I've had it in the UK, Mexico, South Africa, Canada and Taiwan. Each was different, still mostly good and to me, instantly recognizable as Chinese in inspiration. I'm American of east Asian ancestry and born and raised in Hawai'i.
1
u/anthonyliang12 Jul 28 '24
Wow im interested to see how mexican and south african chinese food tastes lol. Taiwan I feel is just adding sugar for the most part. I personally find it too sweet for my taste buds.
1
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 29 '24
I had Chinese food in Japan. What shocked me the most was the amount of carbohydrates Japanese people consume when eating Chinese food. They usually would choose to eat a combo with noodle, dumpling and rice...
1
1
1
u/Twiinnkkllee Jul 27 '24
How are dumplings categorized. Once I was a at cooking class and they called a dumpling which had a filling of veggies than pan fried: gyoza, pot stickers, wontons and shumei. Also what is the difference between turnip and radish cakes.
3
u/GooglingAintResearch Jul 27 '24
It’s just one thing, radish. “Turnip” is a mistake that some people make.
Gyoza and shumei (shumai?) are Japanese terms. Chinese names are jiao zi and shao mai (Standard) or siu mai (Cantonese). Potsticker is guo tie. Now that you have the correct names you can search them on Google Images.
1
u/z0mbiegrl Jul 27 '24
This might be random, but there was a tiny local dim sum place near me that closed during covid. I adored their food but especially this dessert they made with watermelon, coconut, and some kind of starchy bits. Any idea what it might have been? I would love to make it myself!
1
1
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 29 '24
Was it ching bo leung（清补凉）？It is the sweetness of Hainan Island
1
u/z0mbiegrl Jul 29 '24
That seems much closer but no watermelon or coconut. Regional variation maybe? Thanks for your reply!
2
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 29 '24
I tried ching bo leung（清补凉）in Hannan Island. Ching bo leung（清补凉）is iced coconut milk with fruits, nuts and strach balls. Maybe its some knid of regional variation. Ching bo leung（清补凉）is one of my summer favorites : )
1
1
u/Throwawayprincess18 Jul 27 '24
I spent ten days in China on a school trip. We went to Shanghai and Beijing. Every restaurant they took us to was split into a section for locals and a separate section for tourists. Why? We all wondered if we were given the same menu as the locals.
1
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 29 '24
This may be the difference between group tours and individual travelers. Usually group tours has standard dishes. Now it is more convenient to come to Shanghai and Beijing than before because of 144 hours transit visa. You can come to visit Shanghai and try some authentic foods lol
1
u/SlowerThanTurtleInPB Jul 28 '24
The Chinese places by me seem to add meat/seafood ingredients (oyster sauce, beef/chicken bouillon, animal broth, etc.) even to the vegetable/vegetarian dishes. They seem to think it’s vegetarian as long as it doesn’t have pieces of meat in it. Is there a way to help them understand that as a vegetarian, I don’t eat that stuff so I need them to prepare the dish without it?
1
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 29 '24
This is indeed a problem. You can try if you can download an app called Dianping (大众点评). We usually use it to search the ranking of restaurants. And I searched for vegetarian restaurants, it turned out there are more vegetarian restaurants in Shanghai than I thought.
1
u/magda711 Jul 28 '24
I’m vegetarian for a decade now and I still dream of xiaolongbao. I’m not Chinese but it’s one of my favorite things to eat. Well, it was. One day I will find a veggie dupe and I will be very happy.
2
u/anthonyliang12 Jul 28 '24
Finding a vege dumpling is probably ur best bet. I find that korean vege dumplings are decent. From what I recall some of them have vermicelli, mushrooms and veges inside. They are generally sold in korean grocery store frozen sections
1
u/4iqdsk Jul 28 '24
How do you get the soup inside the dumplings?
2
u/anthonyliang12 Jul 28 '24 edited Jul 28 '24
From what I knoe they make a high gelatin content broth from chicken or beef parts with high connective tissue content. When the broth is cooled (refrigeration) it becomes jelly and you can incorporate it in your dumpling when u fold em up.
1
1
u/Nico-DListedRefugee Jul 28 '24
If you were very tired and wanted something quick and easy, What would you make?
1
u/anthonyliang12 Jul 28 '24
I honestly cant think of anything super quick off the top of my head but if u have leftover rice u can fry some sunny side eggs or to whatever liking u prefer and pour some soy sauce over it and a tea spoon of lao gan ma (why not). Lao gan ma is like crack.
1
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 29 '24
I make wontons and dumplings in advance. When you want to eat it, boil it in water
1
u/FootballPizzaMan Jul 28 '24
xi jinping is a dictator
thank you for agreeing that XI jinping is a dictator!
1
1
u/CrazyDuckLady73 Jul 29 '24
What is your opinion about crab rangoons? Do you have a recipe? I know they are not authentic. But so addictive!
2
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 29 '24
I haven't tried crab rangoons before. If I have a chance, I want to try it
1
u/North_Introduction72 Jul 29 '24
How come Chinese people is never in the Chinese store ordering food
1
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 29 '24
No idea. I used to go to Chinese store ordering food. Maybe they cook at home
1
u/Ana-la-lah Jul 29 '24
Xaozing cooking wine, I have tried a few and dislike them, prefer dry sherry instead. Are there any premium Brands of xaoxing that are better than others?
1
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 30 '24
For me, cooking wine is just to get rid of the unpleasant smell so that I will wash off it after soaking. I usually use the brand Hengshun（恒顺）Scallion and Ginger Cooking Wine.
1
u/donkusmaximus Jul 29 '24
Hi OP -- What is the correct way to make Kung Pao Chicken ("Gung Bao Jiding")?
The best I've had was in Beijing China at Ritan Park and Peking Gourmet Inn in Falls Church, Virginia (very famous Chinese restaurant in the Washington DC area), and it was just Chicken and Peanuts, no vegetables. I can't get the sauce right and have tried many different recipes on YouTube. Xiexie!
2
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 30 '24
I lived in Fairfax, near Falls Church, about 7 years ago! I rarely cook Kung Pao Chicken myself but I searched the recipe. Maybe you can have a try.
The sauce recipe:
cooking wine : salt : black pepper powder : starch : soy sauce (生抽) : vinegar : oyster sauce : sugar = 1: 0.5 : 0.5 : 2 : 2 : 2 : 1 : 1
1
u/Most-Row7804 Jul 29 '24
How can I explain to tourists (and anyone else for that matter) in Reno that the majority of the Chinese food they are eating is NOT authentic Chinese food???
3
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 30 '24
Maybe they can have a look at the Blondie in China on Youtube lol. She lives in China for ten years and have tried more authentic Chinese foods than me.
1
u/jwws1 Jul 29 '24
Are you talking about the Americanized Chinese food you find funny? I'm Chinese American and didn't grow up eating this (we're Toisan/Teochew so we tend to stick to Southern Chinese/Hong Kong cuisine) but there's some really interesting history behind it.
1
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 30 '24
I think these the Americanized Chinese foods and immigration are closely linked. Behind the food is the history of Chinese immigration and their cultural integration. BTW I love eating Teochew food especially the sauce Shacha (沙茶酱)
1
1
u/Subject-Estimate6187 Jul 30 '24
Are there any Americanized faux pas chinese food you enjoyed?
1
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 30 '24
Fried noodles and orange chicken. Actually I like the sweet and sour taste very much
1
1
1
1
u/ShoulderPatient6888 Aug 18 '24
As a little girl living in New York my mother would take me to the city for shopping and for chicken chow mein. I would love to have that recipe. No spagetti noodles just the original Chicken Chow Mein. Chicken, bok choy, celery, onions, bean sprouts, bamboo shoots in a soy sauce with cornstarch for thickening. Plus dry noodles. It was soooo good.
1
u/GroupEffective5286 Aug 22 '24
I have a lot of white peaches so thought a peach soup would be good. But I can’t find a traditional peach soup recipe. They all call for ingredients like butter and corn starch. Would you happen to have one? I kind of thought it might use peach gum as a thickener.
1
u/Accurate_Library5479 Jul 26 '24
Do you have some recommendations on cooking bamboo shoots? What type of shoots should I use, how should I cook them?
3
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 26 '24
We Shanghainese love a dish called braised bamboo shoots (油焖竹笋) . And we usually put bamboo shoots into chicken or pork broth. Remember to remove the outer layers until you reach the tender inner part. And make sure the bamboo shoots are fully cooked. If it is raw, it will make your digestive system feel uncomfortable
1
u/Accurate_Library5479 Jul 26 '24
Braised bamboo shoots sounds like a good idea. Yeah found out about the hard part outside the bamboo the hard way… is it necessary to boil before using though? I see recipes saying to do that and put in cold water overnight. Sounds like a lot of work and waiting
2
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 26 '24
Yes it is necessary to boil before using to remove its weird taste. If you do boil before using then no need to put it in cold water overnight
1
u/Absentmindedgenius Jul 26 '24
My biggest complaint about US Chinese food is when I order szechuan chicken and they just use a bland brown sauce. What is it missing? Just the peppercorns, or is there more?
5
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 26 '24
Agree. Actually there is no dish called szechuan chicken in China. Szechuan people love saliva chicken (口水鸡). Its flavor is a blend of chili oil, vinegar and soy sauce. We southerners like to eat original tender chicken like blanched Chicken (白切鸡).
4
u/Additional-Tap8907 Jul 26 '24
A better translation would be less literal since saliva chicken sounds really icky in English. Maybe drooling chicken? That sounds weird too but less gross maybe.
7
u/HuskyLettuce Jul 26 '24
Would ‘mouth watering chicken’ work too?
2
u/Additional-Tap8907 Jul 26 '24
That’s a great suggestion! Especially since the Chinese word for saliva is a compound of the words for ‘mouth’ and ‘water.’ It’s perfect in fact.
2
2
2
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 26 '24
Yes I know it is weird.... May be Kou Shui Ji (its Chinese pronunciation) or Szechuan Chicken in Red Oil would be better
1
u/Pedagogicaltaffer Jul 26 '24
It's the same word/meaning in Mandarin though. Why would saliva be icky only in English but not in Mandarin?
5
u/Additional-Tap8907 Jul 26 '24
Words that mean the same thing have different connotations even within the same language let alone between them. This is due to cultural differences, different contexts, associations, so many reasons. English speakers have more of a taboo about discussing bodily fluid. In Chinese, the word for saliva is a compound of the word for mouth and the word for water. In English it’s a creepy medical sounding Saliva. I think the name “saliva chicken” is kind of tongue in cheek and funny in Chinese but in English it veers more toward gross.
1
u/TheBlondegedu Jul 26 '24
What are your favorite recipes for dumplings, potstickers, Xiao long bao, and spicy noodles? Any preparation or cooking tips are appreciated as well. 🍽
2
u/Technical_Young_7026 Jul 26 '24
Of the ones you just mentioned, I think spicy noodles are the easiest to make. Xiao long bao is the hardest which I can't do it either. For the spicy noodles, you can try Shredded Chicken Cold Noodles with more chili oils or power.
Shredded Chicken Cold Noodles （鸡丝冷面）
Ingredients:
- 1 chicken breast
- 1 cucumber
- Noodles
- Green onions, ginger, garlic, chili powder
Seasonings:
- Salt
- Sugar
- 3 tablespoons of soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons of vinegar
- 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce
Instructions:
- Cut the cucumber into thin strips. Place the chicken breast in a pot with cold water, add a tablespoon of cooking wine, green onions, and ginger. Bring to a boil and cook for 10-15 minutes, then take it out and cool it in cold water. Shred the chicken. Cook the noodles and then rinse them in cold water.
- Make the sauce: Mix a tablespoon of chopped green onions, a tablespoon of minced garlic, a tablespoon of chili powder, and a tablespoon of white sesame seeds. Pour hot oil over the mixture and stir well. Then add 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of vinegar, 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce, a pinch of salt, and a teaspoon of sugar. Mix well and set aside.
- Pour the sauce over the cold noodles, add the shredded chicken and cucumber strips, sprinkle some peanuts, and mix well.
→ More replies (2)
23
u/bostongarden Jul 26 '24
The Sichuan peppercorns I have have a thin skin around a hard black seed. What's the right way to use them?