Chinese Recipes Authentic Chinese recipes collected
mainly in Taiwan, some from China; all tested in my kitchen.
Starters/Snacks Recipes
Pickled
Cucumber Salad 涼拌黃瓜 (liáng bàn huáng guā) A lightly pickled
salad commonly served in Taiwan as a zesty appetiser.
Fish
Fry
with Peanuts丁香花生 (ding-1 xiang-1
hua-1 sheng-1) A classic Taiwan savoury appetiser.
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.
Spring Onion Flatbread蔥油餅 cōng yóu bǐng. This delicious, easy-to-make snack is sold on street corners all over the Middle Kingdom.
Fried Radish Cake 蘿蔔糕 (luóbo gāo) Radish cake is one of the great staples of breakfast stores and dim sum restaurants.
Fried Radish Cake with Pork and Mushrooms肉燥蘿蔔糕 (ròu zào luóbo gāo) The homestyle, meaty version of that great staple of Chinese breakfast shops and dim sum restaurants, fried radish cake.
White
Cut Chicken
白斬雞 (bai-2 zhan-3 ji-1) A pure-flavoured
chicken dish – served cold it makes a great starter.
Zongzi (Rice
Dumplings in Bamboo Leaves) 粽子 (zòng zi) A traditional Taiwanese recipe
eaten during the Dragon Boat Festival.
Rice Recipes
Plain White
Rice – Asian-style 白米飯 (bái mǐ fàn) 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
Recipes
Red Cooked Beef Noodle Soup 紅燒牛肉麵 (hóng shāo niú ròu miàn) The slow-braised dish that is the virtual national dish of Taiwan.
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, spicy mung bean noodle dish originating in Sichuan.
Taiwan-style
Cold Noodle Salad 台式涼麵 (tái shì liàng miàn) Taiwan has many refreshing drinks, snacks and appetisers to keep you cool in summer, but actual cold meals are hard to find, so you can count this easy noodle salad with a tangy sesame dressing as a rarity.
Soup Recipes
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 (rén shēng jī tāng)
Ginseng has been treasured by Chinese as a tonic for thousands of
years. This dish is a tasty example of Chinese medicinal cooking.
Roast Pork Belly 鹹豬肉 (xián zhū ròu) Pork belly, a slab of it, seasoned and roasted in the oven or crisped on a barbecue is a great appetiser that will set your taste buds racing.
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 Recipes
Stir-fried Water Spinach 炒空心菜 (chǎo kōng xīn cài) Water spinach is one of the great vegetable staples of Taiwan and southern China. This leafy green when cooked right is a great combo of crunchy stems and tender leaves.
Fried Tofu with Pork Belly and Mushrooms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 etc. Recipes
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.
Salt
and Pepper Dipping Powder 胡椒鹽 (hú jiāo yán) So simple it
hardly warrants the term 'recipe.' Good for poultry, and deep fried
food.
Sweets and Drinks Recipes
Sweet
Mung Bean Soup綠豆湯 (lǜ dòu tāng) A refreshing
summer snack or dessert. Very easy to make.
Kumquat
Tea Kumquat Tea 金桔茶 (jin-1 ju-2 cha-2, jin-1 ji-2 cha-2) Tasty, tangy drink that served hot may help in fighting cold or flu symptoms. Served cold it is the Chinese answer to American lemonade.
Chinese rarely sit down to a lunch or dinner that does not include soup (in the case of noodle soup, soup is the meal). Unlike the Western custom of having soup before the main course, Chinese prefer to eat soup during or towards the end of a meal. At a casual meal people tend to pick up the bowl and drink directly from it … more
