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BEIJING SNACKS
Quickly-Boiled Tripe(bào dǔ, 爆肚)
As it’s a kind of Islamic snacks, only the tripe of sheep or cattle is used as the ingredient. The sliced tripe is put into the boiled water and is then dipped in the sesame sauce. A finely-boiled tripe is crisp and tender, really a nice dish!You may also season the sauce with vinegar, onion or mashed garlic according to your taste.
Filled Sausage (guàn cháng, 灌肠)
To make the sausage, flour or starch is firstly mixed with flavorings, and the paste is stuffed into prepared pigs’ intestine. The long sausage will then be boiled and be cut into cubes to be fried. After mashed garlic is poured on it, the delicious sausage is ready. Usually, diners may use little bamboo sticks for a better convenience..jpg)
Fried Liver (chǎo gān, 炒肝)
People in Beijing take this traditional snack as a breakfast. The name is a bit misleading, for the liver is one third of the diet while the intestines of pigs are main ingredient. Unexpectedly, liver and intestine that are fried with soy sauce, garlic and bone soup are not greasy but very light. No wonder it has been a favorite breakfast since early times.
Mungbean Milk (dòu zhī, 豆汁)
Don’t belittle this homely milk. It is very popular with people born and bred in Beijing. As a matter of fact, it is a fermented drink made from mungbean. It is rich in protein, vitamin C and dietary fibre and was once listed in the imperial menus. It doesn’t taste well when you drink it for the first time, but you may get addicted to it after several brave tries..jpg)
Fried Bread Circle (jiāo quān, 焦圈)
It is beloved by all the people, male or female, old or young. When people in Beijing have clay oven rolls or mungbean milk, they generally like to enjoy them with the fried bread circle. The flour is made into a paste with added salt, alkali and alum. The paste strips are then fried in the hot cooking oil. It is crisp and yellow in color; which makes it irresistible. This snack can be preserved for up to ten days or so without going bad in taste.
Rolling Donkey (Lǘ dǎ gǔn, 驴打滚)
It is well-known not only in Beijing, but also in other regions of China. It is made by wrapping the stuffing (usually sweetened bean paste or brown sugar) in a piece of sticky dough. The last step is to roll the wrapped paste in yellow flour made of soy bean, which seems like a donkey wallowing in the ground with the dust rising. This snack finds favor with those who have a natural sweet tooth.
Sticky Rice with Sweet Stuffing (ài wō wō, 艾窝窝)
For this snack, you needn’t worry whether it is in season. It is supplied all the year round. With steamed sticky rice as the coating, it has a rich filling inside. The sweet filling is made from several saute kernels such as peanut, walnut and melon seeds.Pea Cake (wān dòu huáng, 豌豆黄)
This snack is mainly available in spring when the pea is ripe. It is an imperial dish which Empress Dowager Cixi loved very much. It is sweet because sugar is added to the peas after they have been stewed for mashing. The Fangshan Restaurant in the Beihai Park makes the most authentic Pea Cake. If there happens to be a temple fair in spring, the pea cake is sure to be served..jpg)
Fried Sandwich (dā liàn huǒ shāo, 褡裢火烧)
This sandwich is a little different from your traditional variety. It has the paste outside and meat of sea cucumber, shrimp and pork inside. This item, fried to a rich golden color, is a really tasty snack for seafood lovers. To sample it, you are advised to go the Ruibin Restaurant in Xuanwu District.Pancake (shāo bǐng, 烧饼)
This is a very common snack in Beijing. There are many varieties, each having a different filling. The Horse-Hoof Pancake which resembles the hoof of a horse doesn’t have any filling. The other kinds have bean paste, sesame, brown sugar or dried vegetable, and each has a distinctive flavor.You may ask, ‘Is there a restaurant that supplies all the typical snacks?’ Definitely yes. The Nan Lai Shun Restaurant supplies more than seventy kinds of snacks. It’s also a good idea to go to the Dongfang Longfu Restaurant which excels in Beijing snacks with Islamic style. If you are enjoying yourselves at the Beihai Park, you may go to the Fangshan Restaurant in the park for the Imperial snacks. Also, you may make your way to the food streets to serve the purpose.
BEIJING DISHES
Beijing is the ancient capital of many dynasties. As such, it served as a cultural center for much of its history, bringing diverse elements together to create a colorful tapestry of cultural traditions. This richness is especially seen in Beijing Cuisine, which combines cuisines from many different regions with the local cuisine of the North China plains grassland and agricultural region. Beijing cuisine is broken down into specific categories: including Palace cuisine, Official cuisine, Commoner cuisine, Minority cuisine and Temple cuisine.
Features
The Chinese mark Beijing cuisine with several notable features. Great emphasis is placed upon selecting quality in-season ingredients. Dishes are delicately cooked with great attention to detail. Knife techniques, cooking time, and seasoning are all vital to the process. Finally, soups are an essential part of traditional Beijing meals.
Representative Dishes
Because of Beijings history, its cuisine is famous for hosting hundreds of different types of dishes and snacks, yet several key dishes are popularly understood by the Chinese to best represent Beijing cuisine. These include: “Beijing Roast Duck,” “Rinse Mutton”, “Broiling Pork Cutlet, “Crystal Pork” and “Crispy Fish. In addition, there are over 2,000 kinds of Beijing snacks – a wide variety – attributed to the convergence of many different ethnic cultures, such as Han, Hui, Mongolian, and Manchu. Ming and Qing dynasty palace recipes are still followed today, creating some tasty delights with incredible unique flavors.
Beijing Roast Duck
The most famous Beijing dish is Beijing Roast Duck, popular throughout all of China. Nearly 1500 years ago, during the Yuan Dynasty, the royal doctor Hu Sihui listed it as a decent and delicate food in his masterpiece medical book Yinshanzhengyao. In his time, the duck was prepared by first removing the entrails, mixing them with shallots, caraway and salt, then placing them back and roasting the duck above a charcoal fire. Traditionally, roast duck is eaten in a small wrap – diners place slices in a roll with sweet sauce and perhaps some vegetables. Its delicious!
Cuisine of the Imperial Court
Cuisine of the Imperial Court
The Cuisine of Chinas Imperial Courts have been well preserved. This style is widely popular – the treasure of Chinese cooking. Its history has also created a host of stories, legends and anecdotes. For example, at the beginning of the Qing dynasty, an army of the Man minority entered central China, facing resistance by the Han people. Fighting was fierce, sporadic and frequent – giving soldiers little time prepare their food. As a result, they cooked by putting meat above the fire, cutting it first into small pieces, and ate them with soy sauce. After peace and tranquility returned, the Man people still liked to eat this kind of food, so the royal chefs enriched the original recipes. It became tastier and spread throughout China to become a standard meal for commoners as well as royalty.
