Main

Beggar's chicken

Beggar's chicken (simplified chinese: 叫化鸡; traditional chinese: 叫化雞; pinyin: jiàohuā jī) is a chinese dish of chicken that is stuffed, wrapped in clay and lotus leaves (or banana or bamboo leaves as alternatives), and baked slowly using low heat. preparation of a single portion may take up to six hours. although the dish is traditionally prepared with clay, the recipe has evolved; for convenience and safety it is often baked with dough, oven bags, ceramic cooking pots, or convection ovens.

Main

Braised bamboo shoots

Braised spring bamboo shoots

Main

Chao nian gao

Nian gao (年糕; also niangao; nin4 gou1 in cantonese), sometimes translated as year cake or new year cake or chinese new year's cake, is a food prepared from glutinous rice flour and consumed in chinese cuisine. it is also simply known as "rice cake". while it can be eaten all year round, traditionally it is most popular during the chinese new year. it is considered good luck to eat nian gao during this time of the year because nian gao (年糕) is a homonym for "higher year" or "grow every year" (年高), which means "a more prosperous year". the character 年 is literally translated as "year", and the character 糕 (gāo) is literally translated as "cake" and is identical in sound to the character 高, meaning "tall" or "high". nian gao (年糕) also has the exact homonym for "sticky cake" (粘糕); the character 粘 (nián), meaning "sticky". this sticky sweet snack was believed to be an offering to the kitchen god, with the aim that his mouth will be stuck with the sticky cake, so that he cannot badmouth the human family in front of the jade emperor. it is also traditionally eaten during the duanwu festival. originally from china, it spread to or gave rise to related rice cakes in southeast asian countries and sri lanka due to overseas chinese influences.

Main

Chicken and duck blood soup

Soup with congealed chicken and duck blood, liver, gizzards, intestines

Main

Chinese mitten crab

The chinese mitten crab (eriocheir sinensis; simplified chinese: 大闸蟹; traditional chinese: 大閘蟹; pinyin: dàzháxiè, lit. "big sluice crab"), also known as the shanghai hairy crab (上海毛蟹, p shànghǎi máoxiè), is a medium-sized burrowing crab that is named for its furry claws, which resemble mittens. it is native to rivers, estuaries and other coastal habitats of east asia from korea in the north to fujian, china in the south. it has also been introduced to europe and north america, where it is considered an invasive species. the species features on the list of invasive alien species of union concern. this means that import of the species and trade in the species is forbidden in the whole of the european union.

Dessert, Sweet

Chinese peanut cookies

Small pastries with peanuts

Dessert, Sweet

Chinese walnut cookies

Small cookies topped with walnuts

Drink

Dou jiang

Soy milk, used to make hot soup, serve with youtiao (deep-fried dough sticks), the combination of soy milk soup with fried dough is dou jiang you tiao (doujiang youtiao)

Breakfast

Dou jiang

Soy milk, used to make hot soup, serve with youtiao (deep-fried dough sticks), the combination of soy milk soup with fried dough is dou jiang you tiao (doujiang youtiao)

Breakfast

Fan tuan

Cífàntuán (simplified chinese: 糍饭团; traditional chinese: 粢飯糰) or simply, fantuan is a glutinous rice dish in chinese cuisine originating in the jiangnan area of eastern china which encompasses shanghai and surrounding regions. it is made by tightly wrapping a piece of youtiao (fried dough) with glutinous rice. it is usually eaten as breakfast together with sweetened or savory soy milk in its native jiangnan. today, cifantuan is commonly available in two varieties. whereas the "savory" variety includes ingredients such as zha cai (pickled vegetable), rousong (pork floss) and small pieces of youtiao being wrapped in the rice ball, the "sweet" variety adds sugar and sometimes sesame to the filling. there are many modern variations of the food which are made from purple rice and include fillings such as tuna, kimchi, or cheese. the cifantuan is a major breakfast food item in shanghai. the cifantuan is also popular in hubei, taiwan and hong kong.

Main

Four happiness pork

Pork cubes simmered in sherry, soy sauce, ginger and scallions

Dessert, Sweet

Gold thread buns

Strands of white bread wrapped inside a bun, then either deep-fried (golden thread buns) or steamed (silver thread buns)

Side, Snack, Appetizer

Hong shao kao fu

Braised wheat gluten with mushrooms, serve cold

Main

Hong shao rou

Red braised pork belly or hong shao rou (simplified chinese: 红烧肉; traditional chinese: 紅燒肉; pinyin: hóngshāoròu) is a classic pork dish from mainland china, red-cooked using pork belly and a combination of ginger, garlic, aromatic spices, chilies, sugar, star anise, light and dark soy sauce, and rice wine. the pork belly is cooked until the fat and skin are gelatinous, soft, and melt easily in the mouth, while the sauce is usually thick, sweet and fairly sticky. the dish has a melt-in-the-mouth texture that is formed as a result of a long braising process, during which the liquid reduces and becomes thick. it is generally served with steamed rice and dark green vegetables, often over holidays. the dish is often prepared with hard-boiled chicken eggs or vegetables, which are used to soak up the juices from the recipe.many chinese provinces have slightly different versions, but the hunanese one (often called "mao's family style red braised pork" (chinese: 毛氏紅燒肉; pinyin: máo shì hóngshāoròu)) is often said to have been one of chairman mao's favorite dishes, and is served at the many hunan restaurants across china specializing in so called "mao-style cuisine". the popularity of the dish has led the hunan provincial government to codify the recipe of the dish, in particular deciding that only meat of the celebrated ningxiang breed of pig should be used in authentic hongshao rou.

Main

Jiangtuan fish

Steamed whole fish, commonly carp, from the jialing river

Main

Lion's head meatballs

Large pork meatballs flavored with soy sauce, shaoxing wine, ginger and scallions

Dessert, Sweet

Mung bean cake

Small pastry with a mung bean filling

Dessert, Sweet

Nian gao

Nian gao (年糕; also niangao; nin4 gou1 in cantonese), sometimes translated as year cake or new year cake or chinese new year's cake, is a food prepared from glutinous rice flour and consumed in chinese cuisine. it is also simply known as "rice cake". while it can be eaten all year round, traditionally it is most popular during the chinese new year. it is considered good luck to eat nian gao during this time of the year because nian gao (年糕) is a homonym for "higher year" or "grow every year" (年高), which means "a more prosperous year". the character 年 is literally translated as "year", and the character 糕 (gāo) is literally translated as "cake" and is identical in sound to the character 高, meaning "tall" or "high". nian gao (年糕) also has the exact homonym for "sticky cake" (粘糕); the character 粘 (nián), meaning "sticky". this sticky sweet snack was believed to be an offering to the kitchen god, with the aim that his mouth will be stuck with the sticky cake, so that he cannot badmouth the human family in front of the jade emperor. it is also traditionally eaten during the duanwu festival. originally from china, it spread to or gave rise to related rice cakes in southeast asian countries and sri lanka due to overseas chinese influences.

Main

Pai gu

Spare ribs (also side ribs or spareribs) are a variety of ribs cut from the lower portion of a pig, specifically the belly and breastbone, behind the shoulder, and include 11 to 13 long bones. there is a covering of meat on top of the bones and also between them. spare ribs (pork) are distinguished from short ribs, which are beef. pork spare ribs are cooked and eaten in various cuisines around the world. they are especially popular in chinese and american chinese cuisine; they are generally called paigu (chinese: 排骨; pinyin: páigǔ; cantonese yale: pàaih gwāt; lit. 'row of bones'), and in the cuisine of the southern united states.

Side, Snack, Appetizer

Pearl meatballs

Steamed meatballs rolled in glutinous rice, made with pork, fish

Dessert, Sweet

Pear syrup candy

Pear-syrup candy, also known as lígāotáng (梨膏糖) or líqīnggāo (梨清膏), is a traditional medicine and confection from eastern area of the jiangnan region of china. it has a crystal clear colour and can be used to help relieve coughing, reduce sputum, and stimulate appetite. its main components are pear juice, honey and various kinds of herbs. with the development of modern medical science, it is now rarely used to treat coughing; pear-syrup candy has become a souvenir and a snack, and is a part of jiangnan culture.

Main

Pork bao

Char siu bao (simplified chinese: 叉烧包; traditional chinese: 叉燒包; pinyin: chāshāo bāo; cantonese yale: chā sīu bāau) is a cantonese barbecue-pork-filled bun (baozi). the buns are filled with barbecue-flavored cha siu pork. they are served as a type of dim sum during yum cha and are sometimes sold in chinese bakeries. cha siu refers to the pork filling; the word bao means "bun".

Main

Sheng jian bao

Shengjian mantou (wu chinese: ssanji mhoedhou), shengjian bao, or shengjian for short, is a type of small, pan-fried baozi (steamed buns) which is a specialty of shanghai. it is typically filled with pork and gelatin that melts into soup/liquid when cooked. within shanghai, shengjian mantou typically have thin, crispy skins while those sold elsewhere usually have thicker, bread-like skins. it has been one of the most common breakfast items in shanghai since the early 1900s. as a ubiquitous breakfast item, it has a significant place in shanghai cuisine.

Side, Snack, Appetizer

Shumai

Shumai (simplified chinese: 烧卖; traditional chinese: 燒賣; pinyin: shāomài; cantonese yale: sīu-máai; pe̍h-ōe-jī: sio-māi) is a type of traditional chinese dumpling. in cantonese cuisine, it is usually served as a dim sum snack. in addition to accompanying the chinese diaspora, a variation of shao mai also appears in japan as (焼売, shūmai) and various southeast asian countries.

Dessert, Sweet

Song gao

Sōng gāo (chinese: 鬆糕; lit. 'loose cake'; shanghainese: [soŋ ɡɔ]) is a shanghai snack composed of rice flour, sugar, and water, with azuki beans embedded throughout the cake. giant pink-colored azuki beans with a diameter of about 1 inch (25 mm) are embedded on top of the cake; conventional sized azuki beans are embedded inside the cake. the cake also has a red bean (azuki) paste filling. this dessert is steamed as a large round cake and is then partitioned into sections for eating. madame chiang kai-shek, who loved to eat sōng gāo, had the grand hotel of taipei to include her version of the cake on the hotel's menu, which the hotel continues to offer to this day.

Main

Xiao long bao

Xiaolongbao () refers to a type of small chinese steamed bun (baozi) traditionally prepared in a xiaolong, a small bamboo steaming basket, hence the name. xiaolongbao are often referred to as a kind of "dumpling", but should not be confused with british or american-style dumplings, nor with chinese jiaozi or wonton (both also sometimes called "dumplings"). in some parts of china and overseas, xiaolongbao may specifically refer to a kind of soup dumpling, the tangbao (chinese 汤包) of jiangsu cuisine, which are particularly associated with shanghai and wuxi. in shanghainese, these are also known as siaulon moedeu or xiaolong-style mantous, as wu chinese-speaking peoples use the traditional definition of "mantou", which refers to both filled and unfilled buns. shengjianbao are very similar to tangbao but are pan-fried instead of steamed.

Breakfast

Yangchun noodles

Noodles in broth with soy sauce, green scallions, cabbage, eggs, vegetables, shrimp

Main

Yangchun noodles

Noodles in broth with soy sauce, green scallions, cabbage, eggs, vegetables, shrimp