Browse Techniques

Biang biang mian (biángbiáng面 — the word biang is one of the most complex characters in Chinese writing, with 58 strokes, and exists only in the context of this noodle's name) is the thick, wide, belt-like noodle of Xi'an and Shaanxi province — a single noodle per portion that can be 60cm long and 5-8cm wide, torn from a flat dough and then dressed with a spiced, chilli-and-garlic-forward sauce. The name biang biang refers to the sound the noodle makes when slapped against the counter during preparation. It is one of the eight unusual foods of Shaanxi (Qin Ba Guai, 秦八怪).

Suan cai (酸菜, literally sour vegetable) is the traditional lacto-fermented napa cabbage of northern China — particularly Dongbei (northeast China: Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang provinces) — made by salting and fermenting whole or quartered napa cabbage heads in ceramic crocks over the winter months. The fermentation produces a pleasantly sour, slightly tangy preserved cabbage that is the foundation of several northern Chinese preparations: suan cai hot pot (酸菜锅子), suan cai dumplings (酸菜饺子), and the iconic northeastern dish of suan cai with pork (猪肉酸菜). It is the Chinese equivalent of German sauerkraut or Korean kimchi.

San bei ji (三杯鸡, three cup chicken) is a preparation made famous in Taiwan but with origins in Jiangxi province — named for the three equal cups (bei, 杯) of its sauce: one cup of sesame oil, one cup of soy sauce, and one cup of Shaoxing wine (or mijiu, Taiwanese rice wine). Bone-in chicken pieces are braised in this three-cup sauce over high heat until the sauce caramelizes and reduces to a thick, glossy glaze, then finished with a large amount of fresh Thai basil. The resulting dish is intensely savoury, slightly sweet from the caramelized soy, fragrant with sesame and basil, and the chicken should be lacquered and sticky with the reduced sauce.

Pineapple rice (菠萝饭, bo luo fan) is a preparation associated with the Dai minority people of Xishuangbanna in southern Yunnan — an ethnic Thai-adjacent group whose food culture shares more with northern Thailand and Laos than with Han Chinese cooking. Glutinous rice is cooked inside a hollowed pineapple — the rice absorbs the pineapple's juice, sugar, and fragrance during steaming, producing a rice that is fragrant, slightly sweet, and tropical in character. The technique is also used in Yunnan for stir-fried rice served inside the pineapple half.

Duo jiao yu tou (剁椒鱼头, literally chopped chilli fish head) is one of the most dramatic and beloved preparations of Hunan cuisine — a large silver carp head (yong ke yu, 镛客鱼, or bighead carp) split open and face-up, blanketed entirely with a vivid red paste of fermented chopped chillis (duo jiao, 剁椒), garlic, and ginger, then steamed for 15-20 minutes until the fish is just cooked. Finished at the table with a drizzle of hot oil poured over the chilli paste to release the final aromatic bloom. The fish head's collagen-rich cheeks and gelatinous skin absorb the fermented chilli paste flavour completely, and the soft texture of the fish against the bold, sour-spicy fermented chilli is the defining Hunan flavour experience.

Hua juan (花卷, literally flower rolls) are yeasted steamed rolls made by rolling a thin sheet of dough with an oil, salt, and scallion (or sesame paste) filling, cutting into strips, stacking two strips together and twisting to create the characteristic rolled, layered flower shape. They are softer and more aromatic than mantou and are served alongside braised dishes, soups, and hot pots throughout northern China. The twisted shape creates pockets of filling between the dough layers, visible when the roll is pulled apart.

La rou (腊肉, literally wax meat — so called because the curing and smoking process gives the meat a waxy appearance) is the traditional cured and smoked pork of Hunan province, made during the winter months (December-January, the la month of the Chinese agricultural calendar, the 12th month). Pork belly, pork leg, and sometimes whole sides of pork are dry-cured with salt, sugar, Sichuan peppercorns, and Shaoxing wine, then hung and smoked over fragrant wood and grain husks (traditional Hunan smoking uses cypress branches, rice husks, and orange peel) for 2-3 weeks. The resulting la rou has an intense smoked, salty, slightly sweet flavour with a firm, slightly dry texture that becomes tender and juicy when steamed or stir-fried.

Jian bing guo zi (煎饼果子, literally fried cake with the crispy thing) is the most iconic Beijing breakfast street food — a thin mung bean or wheat flour crepe cooked on a flat, circular griddle (鏊子, ao zi), topped with a beaten egg spread across its surface, scattered with sesame seeds, chopped coriander, and scallion, spread with sweet bean sauce (tian mian jiang) and chilli sauce, then wrapped around a shattering-crispy fried wonton wrapper or fried crullers (you tiao). The combination of soft crepe, runny egg, savoury sauces, and the exploding crunch of the fried wrapper is one of the great textural sequences in Chinese street food.

Qi guo ji (汽锅鸡, steam pot chicken) is a uniquely Yunnanese preparation cooked in a specially designed clay pot with a hollow tube rising from the center of the pot base to its interior — the steam pipe (qi guo, 汽锅). The pot is placed above boiling water. Steam rises through the central tube and condenses inside the sealed pot onto the chicken pieces, which cook slowly in the accumulating condensed steam-liquid without any added water. The result is a broth of extraordinary purity and concentration — no stock, no water, only the liquid that condenses from steam plus the juices released by the chicken. It is considered a medicinal dish in Yunnan — light enough for the sick, rich enough for celebration.

Tang hulu (糖葫芦, literally sugar gourd) are the iconic Beijing and northern Chinese street snack of tart hawthorn berries (shan zha, 山楂) threaded on a bamboo skewer and dipped in a crackling, crystalline sugar glaze. The candied coating — a hard-crack sugar syrup — creates a glass-like shell that shatters when bitten, revealing the intensely tart, slightly astringent fruit beneath. Tang hulu are sold in winter on hutong (alleyway) streets and at festival markets; the seller carries a large bundle of skewers anchored in a straw bale. Modern versions may use other fruits — strawberries, mandarin segments, grapes, kiwi — but the traditional hawthorn version is the standard.

Yunnan province has the most diverse wild mushroom culture in China — it is estimated that more than 250 of the world's 400 edible wild mushroom species grow in Yunnan's forests, and mushrooms are a central element of Yunnan cuisine in a way that is unique in China. The annual wild mushroom season (July-September) is eagerly anticipated across the country. Yunnan wild mushrooms include: matsutake (松茸, song rong) — the most prized and expensive; morels (羊肚菌, yang du jun) — used in the qi guo ji steam pot; chanterelles (鸡油菌, ji you jun) — the golden chanterelle, sauteed simply in butter or stir-fried; porcini (牛肝菌, niu gan jun) — used in dry-fried preparations; and termite mushrooms (鸡枞菌, ji zong jun) — one of the most uniquely Yunnanese species, found only near termite nests.