Breads and
Pastries
|
饼
|
bing
|
Some
|
| Chinese |
Pinyin |
Description |
窝头
窝窝头
|
wo tou
wo wo tou
|
North-eastern steamed corn
bread.
|
煎油饼
|
jian you bing
|
Folded fried pancake.
|
锅贴
|
guo tie
|
Lightly salted baked
pancake.
|
煎饼
|
jian bing
|
Fried pancake. (Pictured left.)
|
春卷
|
chun juan
|
Pancake roll, sometimes
with filling.
|
油炸饼
|
you zha bing
|
Fried pancake with filling.
|
葱油饼
|
cong you bing
|
Fried spring onion pancake.
|
|
Cabbage and
Mushrooms
|
白菜木耳
|
bai
cai mu er
|
Yes
|
Stir fried cabbage with wood ear
mushrooms, and a few other vegetables such as carrot.
|
Candied
Vegetables
|
挂浆
|
gua
jiang
|
Yes
|
North-eastern dishes of candied
vegetables, usually pumpkin. Very sticky and difficult to eat after
they set! When hot, really
hot - some restaurants provide dipping water to cool the pieces down.
Chinese
|
Pinyin
|
Description
|
南瓜挂浆
|
nan gua gua jiang
|
Pumpkin candy. (most
common)
|
| 土豆挂浆 |
tu dou gua jiang
|
Potato candy. (also common)
|
| 香蕉挂浆 |
xiang jiao gua jiang
|
Banana candy. (uncommon)
|
| 苹果挂浆 |
ping guo gua jiang
|
Apple candy. (uncommon)
|
|
Chinese Buns
|
包子
|
bao
zi
|
Yes
|
Breakfast buns filled with all
sorts of tasty goodies. You can acquire these from streetside
vendors - just look for steaming piles of round, bamboo
containers. Most buns are lightly salted.
Chinese
|
Pinyin
|
Description
|
花卷
|
hua juan
|
Salted flour bun with
diced spring onion throughout.
|
菜包 *
|
cai bao
|
Catch all name for buns
with vegetable mix inside.
*Watch out, some 菜包 contain a small amount of diced meat, so
remember to ask before buying!
|
香菇菜包
|
xiang
gu cai bao |
Salted bun with mushroom
and vegetable mix inside.
|
豆沙包
|
dou sha bao
|
Sweet bun with red bean
paste inside.
|
|
Cold Cucumber
Salad
|
凉拌黄瓜
|
liang
ban huang gua
|
Yes
|
A lightly salted cucumber salad
with chilli, served cold.
|
Crispy-Skin
Tofu
|
脆皮豆腐
|
cui
pi dou fu
|
Yes
|
Blocks of tofu served sweet red
sauce.
|
Dumplings
|
菜饺子
|
cai
jiao zi
|
Yes
|
These are little, boiled,
flour-wrapped packages with various veggies inside, usually served in a
soup, with additional sauces such as vinegar and soy for flavouring.
Warning: Many places serve these in soups which include chicken
stock.
Some places may include small amounts of meat. Ask using the
phrases listed above, or inspect before ordering.
|
Egg and
Tomato Soup
|
番茄蛋汤
|
fan
qie dan tang
|
No
|
A simple soup made of eggs and
tomato. Salty, and available country-wide.
|
Eggplant with
Chilli and Potato
|
地三鲜
|
di
san xian
|
Yes
|
Stir fried eggplant, chilli and
potato braised with soy sauce. Northern dish.
|
Fried
Beansprouts
|
炒豆芽
|
chao
dou ya
|
Yes
|
Stir fried beansprouts, lightly
salted. Sometimes accompanied with carrot or cucumber.
Sometimes served cold.
|
| Garlic Fried
Chinese Spinach |
蒜泥菠菜
|
suan
ni bo cai
|
Yes
|
Garlic stir-fried Chinese
spinach.
|
Golden Needle
Mushrooms &
Cucumber (cold)
|
金针菇拌黄瓜
|
jin
zhen gu ban huang gua
|
Yes
|
A cold dish: mixed golden needle
mushrooms (long, thin, white ones), shredded cucumber, coriander and
garlic. Northern dish.
|
Green Chilli
& Potato Shreds
|
青椒土豆丝
|
qing
jiao tu dou si
|
Yes
|
Northern dish. Shredded green
chilli and potato, lightly salted and fried with oil. The chillis
are not usually very hot. Sometimes includes onion.
|
Green Chilli
& Dried Tofu
|
青椒干豆腐
|
qing
jiao gan dou fu
|
Yes
|
Northern dish. Green chilli
slices and piles of thinly cut dried tofu sheets. The chillis are
not usually hot.
|
Homestyle Tofu
|
家常豆腐
|
jia
chang dou fu
|
Yes
|
A mild, slightly sweet and chewy
tofu dish with a tomato-based sauce and veggies.
Warning: Sometimes has meat. Ask
using the
phrases listed above, or inspect before ordering. |
Hot &
Sour Soup
|
酸辣汤
|
suan
la tang
|
Yes
|
A hot and sour soup, usually
very thick, with mushrooms, bamboo shoots, carrots and chilli.
Warning: Sometimes has meat. Ask
using the
phrases listed above, or inspect before ordering. |
Hot Pepper
Tofu
|
麻辣豆腐
|
ma
la dou fu
|
Yes
|
Not to be confused with ma po do fu, which has meat, this
is a hot, stir-fried tofu dish which goes well with rice and can be
eaten right across the country.
|
Hot
Pot
|
火锅
|
huo
guo
|
Yes
|
Most parts of China have 'hot
pot' restaurants, which provide respite from endless rice or noodle
dishes. The basic idea is that you get a pot, with boiling water
or soup, and then order various things to put in. Because this is
entirely voluntary (opt in on each ingredient) it's entirely safe for
vegetarians and vegans. The only problem is the soup - use the
phrase list above to ensure you have hot water instead of a meat stock
to start with. The hotpot pictured on the left is a 'yuan yang guo', which features two
soups - often one hot and one watery.
|
Ice
Cream
|
冰淇淋
|
bing
qi lin
|
Some
|
There's a huge array of ice
creams available across China, which usually vary a lot more in
texture, material, taste and price than those available in western
countries, which are mostly dominated by the products two or three ice
cream companies. Vegans can probably safely try the green or red
bean flavoured ice poles.
|
Milk
|
牛奶
|
niu
nai
|
No
|
In some cities milk can be found
on the street at special vendors. In many places, however, you
will have to go to a store.
|
Mushroom
& Gluten Clay Pot
|
香菇面筋煲
|
xiang
gu mian jing bao
|
Yes
|
A hot clay pot containing a soup
with fragrant mushrooms, green veggies and gluten balls. One of
my favourites. Southern dish.
Warning: Sometimes the soup may
contain chicken stock. Ask using the
phrases listed above, or inspect before ordering. |
Mushroom
& Veggie Hearts
|
香菇菜心
香菇青菜
|
xiang
gu cai xin
xiang gu qing cai
|
Yes
|
Mushrooms in a thick, strong,
salty sauce, with green vegetables. Occasionally includes
additional vegetables such as carrot. Some restaurants will lay
the dish out in a quaint flower pattern.
|
Naan
(Moslem Bread)
|
新疆大饼 馕
|
xin jiang da bing
nang
|
Yes
|
If you miss bread, as I sure
did, just find a moslem restaurant. A great many of these will
have 'Xinjiang' (the name of China's westernmost province) in the
name. The phrase I have heard used is 'xinjiang da bing'
(Xinjiang big bread/biscuit), however you can say naan instead (the name for bread in
the Turkic languages of Central Asia).
|
Oyster
Mushrooms
|
蚝油双菇
|
hao
you shuang gu
|
No
|
Various mushrooms stir fried
with oyster sauce. Not particularly common.
|
Porridges
(Congees)
|
粥
|
zhou
|
Some
|
Chinese
|
Pinyin
|
Description
|
红豆粥
|
hong
dou zhou
|
Red bean porridge (sweet).
|
大米粥
|
da mi
zhou
|
White rice porridge
(sometimes sweet).
|
黑米粥
|
hei mi
zhou
|
Black rice porridge with
jujubes (sweet).
|
八宝粥
|
ba bao
zhou
|
Eight ingredient porridge
(sweet).
|
小米粥
|
xiao mi zhou
|
Millet congee.
|
玉米粥
|
yu mi zhou
|
Corn / maize porridge.
|
绿豆粥
|
lv dou zhou
|
Green bean porridge
(sometimes sweet).
|
|
Shredded Kelp
|
凉拌海带丝
|
liang
ban hai dai si
|
Yes
|
Just what it sounds like -
kelp. Reportedly good with vinegar.
|
Sour
Spicy Cabbage
|
酸辣白菜
|
suan
la bai cai
|
Yes
|
Cabbage dish made from chilli,
salt, garlic and cabbage, sometimes with pepper added.
|
Soya milk
|
豆浆
|
dou
jiang
|
Yes
|
Soy milk, often found boiling at
breakfast time. Plain, sweet or salty versions are
available. Usually if you have a bowl of this at breakfast, you
can also eat various munchies alongside.
Chinese
|
Pinyin
|
Description
|
油条
|
you tiao
|
Deep fried doughstick.
Long, munchy things hard to handle with chopsticks. These soften up
once you give them a good bathing in soy milk. (Pictured left) |
|
Stir-fried
Cabbage
|
炒白菜
|
chao bai cai
|
Yes
|
Stir fried cabbage, usually with
a little bit of chilli and salt. See also Sour Spicy Cabbage.
|
Tiger Salad
|
老虎菜
|
lao
hu cai
|
Yes
|
There are two main variants of
this. North-eastern (dong bei)
and North-western (xi bei).
Both dishes are essentially a mix of onion and chilli strips tossed
with vinegar and usually coriander. The xi bei variant, which I prefer,
also includes tomato. Goes great with breads.
|
Tofu
Brains
|
豆腐脑
|
dou
fu nao
|
Yes
|
Great breakfast-time soup dish
made from tofu, woodear musrooms, coriander and chilli.
Warning: Watch out for dried
shrimps - some places will sprinkle them on top. |
Yoghurt
|
酸奶
|
suan nai
|
No
|
In many places you
can buy yoghurt in glass bottles with tinfoil or paper lids from street
vendors. These are most active in the morning.
Also, in other areas you can often buy yoghurt in larger food stores or
convenience stores.
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