Top 10 Chinese Dishes You Must Try

The vast territory and profound history of China endow the country with not only various natural landscape and historical relics, but also abundant food culture. The Chinese food can be divided into Eight Cuisines including both sweet and sour flavors as well as hot and spicy tastes. Following is a list of the top 10 Chinese dishes among people at home and abroad:
 

Dumpling (饺子) has been an indispensable Chinese dish of the reunion dinner on Chinese New Year’s Eve, especially in the northern regions. It was invented by Zhang Zhongjing – the sage of Chinese medicine over 1,800 years ago to cure the frostbitten ears. Nowadays, people mix minced pork, chicken, mutton, or beef with chopped vegetables to make the filling, and then wrap it into a thin piece of dumpling skin and pinch the wrapper into the shape of an ear. On Chinese New Year, people also wrap brown sugar, coins, dates, or peanuts for a good omen.

Dumplings

Kung Pao Chicken

Kung Pao Chicken（宫保鸡丁）, definitely one of the top 10 Chinese dishes, is a popular dish not only among Chinese people. Its special flavor of sweet and sour with a little bit spicy is also well-liked abroad and this course even becomes the byword for Chinese cuisine for most foreigners. The main ingredient of Kung Pao Chicken is the diced chicken. Stir-frying the chicken with peanuts and dried chili can make it tastes fresh and crispy, spicy but not burning.
 

Chow Mein（炒面）is the Cantonese pronunciation of stir-fried noodles. It is one of the best Chinese dishes, usually made of noodles, onion, sliced meat, green pepper and green onion. Firstly, the noodles need to be boiled until 90% done. After cooling down, stir-fry the noodles with other ingredients until it is golden yellow. Without complicated preparation, Chow Mein is usually the first choice for late-night food to most Chinese people.

Chow Mein

Yangzhou Fried Rice

Yangzhou Fried Rice（扬州炒饭） is surely one of the most famous Chinese dishes, very popular throughout the country. As its name indicates, Yangzhou Fried Rice has its roots in Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province, and its origin can be traced back to the Spring and Autumn Period (770 – 476 BC). Rice and eggs are the two important ingredients. Served with ham, shrimps and peas, Yangzhou Fried Rice not only tastes fresh and fragrant, but is also brightly colored to whet diners’ appetite.
 

Although there is the word ‘fish’ in the name, neither fish nor fish sauce is used to cook this course. The flavor of fish comes from several seasonings including broad bean paste, salt, white sugar, cooking wine, soy sauce, and starch. People chop lean pork into slices and then add the concocted sauce to stir-fry the meat with lettuce, dried agarics, garlic and ginger. The refreshing taste of sweet and spicy makes the Fish-Flavored Shredded Pork（鱼香肉丝）one of the most popular Chinese dishes to go with rice.

Fish-Flavored Shredded Pork

Sweet and Sour Pork Fillet

The Sweet and Sour Pork Fillet （糖醋里脊）is another famous Chinese dish and has gained much popularity especially among women and children. The pork is usually coated with starch and will be stirred in boiling ketchup in the last step. Therefore, the Sweet and Sour Fillet is enriched with sweet and sour flavor, and the juicy pork covered by crispy crust can provide you a special mouth feel.
 

The Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes（西红柿炒鸡蛋）is undoubtedly on the top list of Chinese dishes to most Chinese people. The recipe is quite simple that only consists of eggs, tomatoes, oil, and salt. People living in the southern regions often replace the salt with sugar. Once it is done, the bright-red tomatoes together with the yellow and fluffy eggs can always open the diner’s appetite. Besides, this dish is rich in juice. Mixing the broth with rice is another popular way of eating.

Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes

Hot Pot

Chinese people consider the Hot Pot（火锅）their first choice to hold a dinner party since it can satisfy all the people’s taste. As its name indicates, the Hot Pot is cooked in a big wok which is placed on a stove to get continuously heated. Once the concocted soup is boiled, people put slices of meat and various vegetables into the wok and wait for them to be cooked through. The spicy Chongqing Hot Pot and Beijing Copper Pot featuring instant-boiled mutton are the two representatives of the China Hot Pot.  

Read more about Chengdu Hot Pot
 

Ma Po Tofu （麻婆豆腐）is a famous Chinese dish of the Sichuan cuisine and its hot and spicy taste best presents the feature of this category. It is said that this course was invented by a woman called Chen Mapo in 1862, and hence the name. To enrich the flavor, red and hot broth, ground beef and diced green onion will be drizzled over the tender tofu in the last step.

Ma Po Tofu

Spring Rolls

The way to make Spring Rolls（春卷）is quite similar to dumplings. People fill minced meat, vegetables or sweetened bean paste into a dough wrapper and fold it into a cylinder. Then fry it until it is golden yellow. For people living in the southern regions, it has been a custom to eat the crispy Spring Rolls on the day of the ‘Beginning of Spring’ which is one of the 24 Solar Terms and usually falls in February.