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What to eat in China? Top 100 Chinese Foods

Last update: Tue Dec 17 2024
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01
Zhēngjiǎo
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Zhēngjiao is a traditional Chinese dish consisting of steamed dumplings. The texture is somewhere between the crinkly and tender skins of boiled dumplings (shui jiao) and the crisp-bottom, chewy top style of pan-fried dumplings (guo tie or jian jiao or potstickers).


Once steamed, these dumplings will have a translucent wrapper covering the filling, which usually consists of pork and chives, cabbage, shrimp, or a combination of different vegetables. When served, zhēngjiao dumplings are often served with soy dipping sauce on the side.

MOST ICONIC Zhēngjiǎo

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02
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Biangbiang noodles, also known as belt noodles due to their broadness and length, are a specialty of Shaanxi province in China. The noodles are usually topped with vegetables and herbs such as spring onions, garlic, leeks, coriander, Sichuan peppercorns, cumin, and chili.


There are two stories about the origin of these unusual noodles: one says that the name stems from the sound of handmade noodles being stretched and flapped, and the other one says that the word biangbiang was invented by a Chinese Emperor. Unusually, the word biang doesn't exist in the Chinese language, and it is made up of 57 strokes, the most of any Chinese character. 

MOST ICONIC Biang Biang noodles

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03
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The history of Peking duck goes back to China's Yuan Dynasty of the 13th century. Bianyifang, Beijing's oldest restaurant specializing in Peking duck has been in business since the Jiajing reign of the 16th century, serving as a testament to the popularity of this succulent, tantalizing dish.


The duck is cooked until the skin turns golden and crispy and the meat becomes tender, slightly sweet, and moist. Both the meat and the skin are then folded in thin pancakes or steamed white buns. To make an authentic Beijing kao ya, the duck must be a white feathered American Pekin, hung for 24 hours, and pumped with air through a small puncture between the breasts and wings. 

MOST ICONIC Beijing kao ya

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04
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Traditional dan dan noodles are a true classic of Chinese cuisine. The star of the dish is a spicy sauce served with the noodles. Made with chili oil, preserved vegetables, Sichuan peppercorn, and sometimes sesame or peanut paste, the sauce bursts with heat and complex flavors.


The meat, most commonly minced pork or beef, is also commonly included, but mainly acts as a garnish. In China, the varieties differ only slightly, but worldwide the traditional dan dan noodles have been adjusted to the more gentle western palate and use significantly fewer spices. 

MOST ICONIC Dan Dan noodles

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05

Pancake

TIANJIN, China
4.5
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A favorite breakfast item in China sold by numerous street food vendors early in the morning, jianbing or fried pancake is a thin and savory crêpe-like pancake that is made by spreading batter over a hot, cast-iron slab with a wooden paddle.


The batter can be made with a variety of different flour, with the most common types being mung bean flour, black bean flour, and wheat flour. Always freshly prepared and warm, this fried pancake is usually topped with eggs, then flavored with various sauces such as chili sauce, hoisin sauce, or tianmianjiang (savory bean paste) sauce, and filled with ingredients such as spring onions, mustard pickles, radishes, scallions, cilantro, or even a protein such as Chinese sausage or chicken. 
06
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Liangpi is a noodle dish that originated in China's Shaanxi province. To prepare the dish, noodles that are made from either wheat flour, rice flour, or a combination of both are dressed with soy sauce, chili oil, and vinegar, while typical garnishing includes thinly sliced strips of cucumber, bean sprouts, and cilantro.


The meaning of the name when translated is cold skin, referring to the chewy, thick, and translucent texture and appearance of the noodles, while their genesis, according to a folk tale, happened during the Qing Dynasty. Depending on what ingredients are used, several variations of the dish exist; liangpi from the city of Hanzhong is prepared with steamed garlic and hot chili oil, maijang liangpi is named after the black sesame paste that's used in the sauce, and shan xin gan mianpi is garnished with wheat gluten, mashed garlic, and bean sprouts in a sauce made with vinegar, chili oil, and salt. 

MOST ICONIC Liangpi

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07
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A version of typical Cantonese siu mei (roasted meat dishes), siu yuk is a hefty meal that is mostly consumed in small quantities, made by roasting a whole, seasoned pig in charcoal furnaces at very high temperatures, resulting in succulent, tender meat and crispy skin.


Traditionally, the meat is served as it is, but it is sometimes accompanied by either hoisin sauce or soy sauce. Since it is a known fact that the Chinese have many beliefs, in Hong Kong siu yuk is often oferred to the Jade Emperor (the first god in Chinese culture) in order to celebrate a movie's opening, hoping that the movie achieves great success in the cinemas. 

MOST ICONIC Siu yuk

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08

Stew

SICHUAN, China
4.5
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Sichuan hotpot is a numbingly hot and spicy dish made by poaching raw ingredients in a pot of boiling broth. The ingredients might include sliced meat, offal, seafood, vegetables, noodles, and most importantly, Sichuan peppercorns. Consuming hotpot is a communal affair, so people usually gather around the pot while socializing and adding the ingredients into it.


As its name suggests, the dish was invented in Sichuan at the beginning of the 20th century. Originally, fisherman and port workers from the region could not afford regular cuts of meat, so they used offal, which was cooked in a spicy broth in order to disguise its pungent aromas. 

MOST ICONIC Sichuan hot pot

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09
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Stir-fry shrimps or you bao xia is a Chinese dish where whole shrimps are stir-fried in a wok until crispy. They are then soaked in a savory sauce that typically consists of chicken broth, black vinegar, sesame oil, sugar, and Shaoxing wine.


Scallions and ginger slices are often used during the cooking process, but they might also be used as garnishes before the dish is served. Stir-fry shrimps are especially popular at Chinese New Year celebrations.

MOST ICONIC You bao xia

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10
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Smacked cucumber is a traditional Asian dish that’s especially popular in Tibet as a snack for picnicking. The dish is usually made with a combination of cucumbers, garlic, sesame oil, black vinegar, and soy sauce. The cucumber is peeled and smacked with a rolling pin so that it’s bruised and starting to break apart.


It’s sliced into chunks and mixed with the rest of the ingredients. The ingredients are tossed well and then served on a large plate. The cucumber is smacked because it will absorb the flavors of garlic, oil, vinegar, and soy sauce even better and it will have a more intense flavor.

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Stew
SICHUAN, China
4.4
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13
14
15
16
17
Noodle Dish
CHINA  and  3 more regions
4.4
18
19
20
21
Meat Dish
CHINA  and  one more region
4.3
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
Dumplings
TIBET, China  and  one more region
4.3
29
30
31
Fried Chicken Dish
HUNAN, China  and  one more country
4.2
32
33
34
35
Pudding
MACAU, China  and  one more country
4.2
36
Snack
FUZHOU, China  and  one more country
4.2
37
38
39
40
Flatbread
SHANDONG, China
4.1
41
42
Noodle Dish
GUANGDONG, China  and  one more region
4.1
43
Egg Dish
FUJIAN, China  and  one more country
4.1
44
45
46
47
Rice Dish
HONG KONG, China  and  one more country
4.1
48
49
Stir-fry
GUANGDONG, China
4.0
50
Stir-fry
HUNAN, China  and  one more country
4.0
51
Fish Dish
GUANGDONG, China  and  one more region
4.0
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
Appetizer
GUANGDONG, China  and  one more region
3.9
60
61
62
63
64
65
Dessert
SOUTH CENTRAL CHINA, China
3.8
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
Wrap
FUJIAN, China  and  one more country
3.7
73
74
Frozen Dessert
GUANGDONG, China  and  one more country
3.7
75
Sweet Pastry
HONG KONG, China
3.7
76
77
78
Pickling
SICHUAN, China
3.6
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
Salad
CHINA  and  2 more regions
3.5
86
87
88
89
90
91
Sweet Pastry
HONG KONG, China
3.4
92
93
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95
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97
98
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100
Duck Dish
CHAOZHOU, China  and  one more country
n/a

TasteAtlas food rankings are based on the ratings of the TasteAtlas audience, with a series of mechanisms that recognize real users and that ignore bot, nationalist or local patriotic ratings, and give additional value to the ratings of users that the system recognizes as knowledgeable. For the “Top 100 Chinese Foods” list until December 17, 2024, 12,365 ratings were recorded, of which 10,513 were recognized by the system as legitimate. TasteAtlas Rankings should not be seen as the final global conclusion about food. Their purpose is to promote excellent local foods, instill pride in traditional dishes, and arouse curiosity about dishes you haven’t tried.

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