Chinese Recipes Authentic Chinese recipes collected
mainly in Taiwan, some from China; all tested in my kitchen.
Starters/Snacks
Pickled
Cucumber Salad涼拌黃瓜(liang-2
ban-4 huang-2 gua-1) A lightly pickled salad commonly served in Taiwan
as a zesty appetiser.
Anchovies
with Peanuts丁香花生 (ding-1 xiang-1
hua-1 sheng-1) A classic Taiwan savoury appetiser.
White
Cut Chicken白切雞 (bai-2 qie-1 ji-1) A pure-flavoured
chicken dish – served cold it makes a great starter.
Tea
Eggs茶葉蛋 cha-2 ye-4 dan-4) A cheap snack food, found all
over China. In spite of the name, tea is not the dominant flavour.
Zongzi (Rice
Dumplings in Bamboo Leaves) 粽子 (zong-4
zi) A traditional Taiwanese recipe.
Rice Dishes
White
Rice白米飯 (bai-2 mi-3
fan-4) Short, medium and long grain rice is eaten in
China. As long as rice is served pure, white and fluffy,
all will be well under the heavens.
Egg
Fried Rice蛋炒飯 (dan-4
chao-3 fan-4) This dish is typical of what is served in Taiwan,
though many variations exist.
Lard
Rice豬油拌飯 (zhu-1 you-2 ban-4
fan-4) Only plain white rice is simpler than this pauper's dish.
Noodle
Dishes
Clear
Beef Noodle Soup清燉牛肉麵 (qing-1
dun-4 niu-2 rou-4 mian-4) Taiwanese rendering of a northern China
staple.
Ants Climbing
a Tree螞蟻上樹 (ma-3 yi shang-4 shu-4)
A simple, tasty dish originating in Sichuan.
Soups
Hot
and Sour Soup 酸辣湯 (suan-1
la-4 tang-1) This is a hearty, chunky Taiwanese version of the soup
that can be found in Chinese restaurants worldwide.
Bamboo
and Pork Soup筍子排骨湯 (sun-3 zi pai-2
gu-3 tang-1) A simple, traditional Taiwanese Soup.
Ginseng
Chicken Soup人參雞湯 (ren-2 shen-1- ji-1 tang-1)
Ginseng has been treasured by Chinese as a tonic for thousands of
years. This dish is a tasty example of Chinese medicinal cooking.
Three
Cup Chicken三杯雞 (san-1 bei-1 ji-1)
A classic Taiwanese dish that is simply pungent. The three cups refer
to one each of sesame oil, rice wine, and soy sauce.
Dongpo
Pork東坡肉(dong-1 po-1 rou-4) Hangzhou's
trademark dish. To eat dongpo pork is to begin to understand the role
of fat in making meat taste good.
Steamed
Fish清蒸魚 (qing-1 zheng-1 yu-2) A really simple
dish that requires only the most basic arsenal of Chinese ingredients.
Vegetable Dishes
Chafing
Dish Tofu鐵板豆腐 (tie-3 ban-3 dou-4
fu-3) Bubbling away on your table, chafing dishes like this one from Taiwan,
are always fun to eat.
Deep
Fried Tofu炸豆腐 (zha-4 dou-4 fu-3)
Great as a snack or as part of a meal.
Sauces
Soy
Dipping
Sauce醬油沾醬 (jiang-4 you-2 zhan-1
jiang-4) A sauce that can be served with dumplings or Chinese steamed
or fried breads.
Soy
and Oil Hot Sauce辣椒醬 (la-4
jiao-1 jiang-4) Soy sauce and oil spiced with chillies: the Chinese
answer to vinaigrette? But for noodle soup and dumplings, rather
than salads.
Sweets and Drinks
Sweet
Mung Bean Soup綠豆湯 (lü-4 dou-4 tang-1) A refreshing
summer snack or dessert. Very easy to make.
Kumquat
Tea金桔茶 (jin-1 ji-2 cha-2) Tasty,
tangy drink that may be helpful in fighting cold or flu symptoms.
China is the world's
leading rice producer (followed by India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Vietnam,
and Thailand). 186.73 million metric tons was harvested in 2004. In
2003 China exported 2.597 million metric tons of rice, making it the
5th largest exporter. China trails Thailand at number one, then India,
Vietnam and the United States.
