43 Chinese Foods Everyone Should Try

Speaking of food, people generally believe China is a foodie heaven. Over 2600 years ago,Confucius said, “Eating is the utmost important thing in life” – no wonder the conversations between Chinese people always begin with polite chitchat about food and the classical question “Have you eaten?”

Given its Eight Great Cuisines, tens of thousands of dishes, and countless regional snacks, it is hard to choose the best food in China.

Recommended China Tours for foodies:

10-day Taste of China Top Cuisines

15-day China Culinary & Cooking Tour

To help world travelers plan on best China food tours, here we’ve filtered through recommendations from both gourmets and normal local people to bring you this list of China’s best picks for eating. Try at least some of them when touring in China.

In North China

* Roast Peking Duck – must-have food in Beijing

* Dumplings/jiaozi

* Sugar-coated haws on a stick

* Harbin sausage

* Donkey Huoshao, originated in Baoding Hebei Province, and has become a popular snack in Beijing

* Luoyang Soup Banquet – a dish from Yu Cuisine of Northern China

* Xian Rou jia mo (Chinese hamburger)

* Mongolia dried milk cake

* Fruit pancake (jianbin guozi)

* Lanzhou stretched noodles

 

  

In East China

* West Lake Fish in Vinegar Gravy and Dongpo pork – the two most famous foods of Hangzhou

* Squirrel-Shaped Mandarin Fish – a popular dish in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province

* Jiangsu’s braised meat balls in brown sauce

* Shanghai Steamed Buns

* Shanghai braised pork in brown sauce

* Huangshan Wonton

* Earthenware pot soup – a favored traditional food in Jiangxi Province

* Nanjing’s Duck blood and vermicelli soup

* Nanjing’s boil duck with salt

  

In Central China

* Pot-stewed Duck’s neck & hot-and-dry noodles in Wuhan

* Changsha Sticky Toufu

* Chilli Fish Head

  

In West China

* Pork lungs in chili sauce (husband and wife pork lungs) – a famous dish of Sichuan Cuisine

* Fish filets in hot chili oil (shui zhu yu) – a must-have dish in Chongqing

* Chongqing spicy chicken

* Yunnan’s Crossing the bridge noodles

* Sichuan Hot Pot

* Xianjiang style stir-fried chicken with big dish (Xinjiang Big plate Chicken)

* Dali Xizhou Baba

* Lao GanMa chilli sauce made in Guiyang, Guizhou

* Guizhou’s Fish in Sour Soup

  

In South China

* The Steamed Rice in Clay Pot is a traditional Cantonese dish

* Eat Zaocha (Guangzhou dim sum) in the morning

* Boiled chicken with sauce

* Fried spring rolls

* Bamboo-tube-cooked rice

* Guilin Rice Noodles

* Fried clam in Xiamen

* Yangshuo beer fish

* Fujian Fo Tiao Qiang

* Worm Jelly – with a worm as the main raw material, it is a popular specialty snack in South Fujian Province

  

Enjoy the Hot & Spicy Food in China

China has long been famed as a treasure-house of flavor and taken credit for excellent spicy food! Many wonder where to go for the distinguished spicy Chinese dishes. Therefore, we come up with a list of 7 “hottest” places in China. They are really worth a gourmet tour, provided you are addicted to world spicy food.

Take a taste-bud-tingling tour of China’s spiciest cuisines

1. Sichuan & Chongqing

  

Sichuan province together with Chongqing city is the paradise for food lovers, especially for anyone that likes spicy. There are Chuan restaurants and food streets packed with local dishes and snacks everywhere in Chengdu and Chongqing, all of which are hot and spicy. The most famous Sichuan and Chongqing food include the Hot Pot with red oil, Mapo Toufu (Bean curd with mince and chili oil) and Kungbao Chicken (Spicy diced chicken with peanuts).

2. Guizhou

Guizhou always reminds people of its overwhelming spicy food. In each family, there is chilli powder, Chopped hot pepper, Dried red pepper and chili with soya especially for noodles and rice noodles. With these Chili ingredients, Guizhou people make all kinds of mouth-watering spicy dishes. They also like sour and hot flavor.

3. Hunan

Hunan cuisine is known as one of China’s eight cuisines, and never lack of chili or pepper. The local dishes are spicy and appetizing. There are Hunan restaurant across the nation favored by spicy food lovers. The steamed fish head with diced hot red peppers and Dong-an chicken claim to be the most famous Hunan dishes.

Know more about Chinese food and cooking

4. Yunnan

Guess for what? Dehong in the West Yunnan province has the world’s hottest pepper variety, named Yunnan Shua Shua La, as hot as the Ghost Pepper in India. Elaborate Yunnan Cuisine pays attention to the use of fresh food and ingredients. When touring Yunnan, make sure to feast on wild mushroom hot pots, Yunnan-style steamed chicken and crossing the bridge rice noodles.

5. Jiangxi

Yet this is another province in China that stands out for spicy food. Pingxiang city of Jiangxi province is considered to be the “hottest” city in China. People here put chili in all dishes, even including the porridge and stew. However, people in Jingdezhen (home of Chinese ceramics), nearby Anhui province, prefer less spicy.

6. Guangxi

Spicy food is not very popular in Guangxi province, except Liuzhou city, Guilin city (nearby Hunan province) and the area inhabited by Dong people. Liuzhou food is famous for Snail Powder, while Guilin food for Guilin rice noodles and spicy Garlic Chilli Sauce.

7. Hubei

Hubei Cuisine is much less spicy than Chuan cuisine or Guizhou Cuisine, but the Hubei braised food, such as the spiced duck neck (a kind of snack food) has an extra-spicy kick, and is really addicting!