[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":336},["ShallowReactive",2],{"country:china":3,"feed:country:china":43,"links:country:china":283,"country:musttry:china":312},{"slug":4,"name":5,"nativeName":6,"iso2":7,"continent":8,"subregion":9,"cuisineIntro":10,"cuisineDeepDive":11,"signatureIngredients":12,"eatingCustoms":22,"mustTrySlugs":23,"regions":27,"heroImage":40},"china","China","中国","cn","Asia","East Asia","There is no single \"Chinese cuisine\" — there are many, and Chinese cooks will tell you so first. Tradition counts eight great regional traditions (Sichuan, Cantonese, Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Hunan, Anhui), and even that grid flattens enormous variety: the numbing chili heat of Chengdu has almost nothing in common with a delicate Cantonese steamed fish, and neither resembles the wheat noodles and vinegar of the north. What the regions share is a way of thinking rather than a flavor: the meal built around fan (grain) and cai (dishes to accompany it), ingredients cut small before cooking rather than at the table, and an obsession with texture — crisp, silken, springy, tender — as a pleasure equal to taste. Fire, timing and knife work do the talking; a home wok, honestly used, gets you remarkably far.","The organizing idea of a Chinese meal is fan and cai: a staple grain — rice in the south, wheat noodles, breads and dumplings in the north — surrounded by shared dishes of vegetables, tofu, meat or fish. Dishes land in the middle of the table and everyone eats from them with chopsticks; the private plated portion is a restaurant convention, not the home norm. Balance is judged across the whole table, so a fiery dish is answered by a plain soup and a simply stir-fried green, not by more fire.\n\nTechnique is where the cuisine concentrates its genius. Stir-frying in a wok is the most famous move: small, evenly cut pieces tossed fast over the highest heat the stove allows, finished in minutes. Restaurant burners produce wok hei — the faintly smoky \"breath of the wok\" — that home stoves can only approximate, but approximating it (dry rice, screaming pan, small batches) is exactly the skill worth learning. Steaming is the quiet counterpart, prized for fish, dumplings and buns because it hides nothing: only pristine ingredients survive it. Braising in soy, wine and rock sugar — red cooking — gives the Jiangnan region its lacquered pork belly, and slow double-boiled soups are a southern devotion of their own.\n\nThe pantry runs on fermentation. Soy sauce (light for seasoning, dark for color), Shaoxing rice wine, black vinegar, fermented black beans, and Sichuan's chili-bean paste doubanjiang supply the deep, savory backbone; ginger, garlic and scallion are the universal aromatic trio, tipped into hot oil at the start of nearly everything. Sichuan adds its own signature: the citrusy, lip-tingling Sichuan peppercorn, which paired with chili creates málà — \"numbing-hot\" — a sensation the region treats as its calling card.\n\nRegionality is not a footnote; it is the whole map. Cantonese cooks pursue freshness and restraint, and gave the world dim sum and roast meats. Sichuan and Hunan build layered heat. Jiangnan, around Shanghai, leans sweet, wine-scented and refined. The wheat-eating north turns out hand-pulled noodles, jiaozi dumplings and Peking duck. Treat each as its own country of food and everything on a Chinese menu starts to make sense.",[13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21],"soy sauce","rice","scallions","ginger","garlic","tofu","doubanjiang (chili-bean paste)","Sichuan peppercorns","Shaoxing wine","Meals are shared: dishes sit in the center, everyone serves themselves with chopsticks (or the serving spoons provided), and rice bowls are lifted to the mouth — that is polite, not rude. Never stand chopsticks upright in a bowl of rice; it echoes incense at a funeral. The host orders generously, because abundance honors guests, and refusing every refill is a losing game. Tea flows through the meal; tapping two fingers on the table quietly thanks the person pouring. Soup often arrives late in the meal in the south, and fresh fruit — not pastry — is the usual ending.",[24,25,26],"egg-fried-rice","mapo-tofu","tomato-egg-stir-fry",[28,31,34,37],{"name":29,"description":30},"Sichuan","The southwest's basin of bold flavor: doubanjiang chili-bean paste, Sichuan peppercorns and the numbing-hot málà sensation define Chengdu and Chongqing cooking — mapo tofu, hotpot and twice-cooked pork are its ambassadors.",{"name":32,"description":33},"Guangdong (Canton)","The south's temple of freshness and restraint — steamed fish, roast goose, dim sum and slow soups, seasoned lightly so the ingredient itself is the point. Most of the world's historic Chinatowns speak this kitchen's language.",{"name":35,"description":36},"Shanghai & Jiangnan","The Yangtze delta's refined, faintly sweet kitchen: red-braised pork lacquered in soy and rock sugar, xiaolongbao soup dumplings, Shaoxing wine and freshwater fish and crab from the canal country.",{"name":38,"description":39},"The North (Beijing & Shandong)","Wheat country — hand-pulled noodles, jiaozi dumplings, sesame-studded breads — plus the imperial showpieces of Beijing, above all Peking duck, and Shandong's vinegar-sharp, seafood-leaning cooking that shaped the palace kitchens.",{"src":41,"alt":42},"\u002Fimages\u002Fcountries\u002Fchina.jpg","Overhead photograph of China kitchen staples — soy sauce, rice, scallions and ginger — on a dark wooden table",{"items":44,"total":136,"page":280,"limit":281,"hasMore":282},[45,78,107,131,156,175,191,215,239,256],{"slug":46,"title":47,"nativeName":48,"romanized":49,"countrySlug":4,"region":50,"baseServings":51,"prepMinutes":52,"cookMinutes":53,"restMinutes":54,"difficulty":55,"course":56,"diet":58,"mainIngredients":61,"images":64,"keywords":68,"publishedAt":76,"updatedAt":76,"authorSlug":77},"char-siu","Char Siu (Cantonese Barbecue Pork)","叉燒","Chāshāo","Guangdong",4,20,40,720,"medium",[57],"main",[59,60],"dairy-free","nut-free",[62,63,17,16],"pork-shoulder","soy-sauce",[65],{"src":66,"alt":67},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fchar-siu\u002Fhero.jpg","Sliced Cantonese char siu pork with glossy dark red glaze and charred edges, served over steamed rice",[69,70,71,72,73,74,75],"char siu","cantonese","barbecue pork","siu mei","roast pork","hong kong","guangdong","2026-08-19","dishroute-kitchen",{"slug":79,"title":80,"nativeName":81,"romanized":82,"countrySlug":4,"region":83,"baseServings":51,"prepMinutes":84,"cookMinutes":52,"restMinutes":85,"difficulty":86,"course":87,"diet":91,"mainIngredients":93,"images":95,"keywords":99,"publishedAt":76,"updatedAt":76,"authorSlug":77},"cong-you-bing","Cong You Bing (Flaky Chinese Scallion Pancakes)","葱油饼","Cōng yóu bǐng","Northern China & Shanghai",30,45,"easy",[88,89,90],"bread","snack","street-food",[92,59,60],"vegetarian",[94,15],"flour",[96],{"src":97,"alt":98},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fcong-you-bing\u002Fhero.jpg","Golden flaky scallion pancake cut into wedges showing thin layers, with a dish of black vinegar dip",[100,101,102,103,104,105,106],"cong you bing","scallion pancake","chinese flatbread","laminated dough","street food","breakfast","northern china",{"slug":108,"title":109,"nativeName":110,"romanized":111,"countrySlug":4,"region":112,"baseServings":51,"prepMinutes":113,"cookMinutes":52,"difficulty":55,"course":114,"diet":115,"mainIngredients":116,"images":119,"keywords":123,"publishedAt":76,"updatedAt":76,"authorSlug":77},"dan-dan-noodles","Dan Dan Mian (Sichuan Sesame Chili Noodles)","担担面","Dàndàn miàn","Sichuan (Chengdu)",15,[57,90],[59],[117,118,17,63],"ground-pork","pasta",[120],{"src":121,"alt":122},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fdan-dan-noodles\u002Fhero.jpg","Bowl of dan dan noodles with chili oil sauce, crisp minced pork, preserved greens and sliced scallions",[124,125,126,127,128,129,130],"dan dan noodles","dandan mian","sichuan","chili oil","sesame paste","chengdu","noodles",{"slug":24,"title":132,"nativeName":133,"romanized":134,"countrySlug":4,"baseServings":135,"prepMinutes":136,"cookMinutes":137,"difficulty":86,"course":138,"diet":140,"mainIngredients":141,"images":143,"keywords":147,"publishedAt":155,"updatedAt":155,"authorSlug":77},"Egg Fried Rice (Wok-Style Dan Chao Fan)","蛋炒饭","Dan chao fan",2,10,8,[57,139],"side",[92],[14,142,15,63],"eggs",[144],{"src":145,"alt":146},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fegg-fried-rice\u002Fhero.jpg","Wok-fried egg fried rice with separate golden grains, soft egg curds and sliced scallions",[148,149,150,151,152,153,154],"fried rice","egg","wok","chinese home cooking","day-old rice","wok hei","quick dinner","2026-08-18",{"slug":157,"title":158,"nativeName":159,"romanized":160,"countrySlug":4,"region":161,"baseServings":51,"prepMinutes":52,"cookMinutes":52,"restMinutes":84,"difficulty":55,"course":162,"diet":163,"mainIngredients":164,"images":166,"keywords":170,"publishedAt":76,"updatedAt":76,"authorSlug":77},"jianbing","Jianbing Guozi (Tianjin Savoury Breakfast Crepe)","煎饼果子","Jiānbing guǒzi","Tianjin and Shandong",[105,90],[92,59],[142,94,15,165],"sesame-seeds",[167],{"src":168,"alt":169},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fjianbing\u002Fhero.jpg","Folded jianbing crepe cut in half showing egg, scallion, dark bean sauce and a sheet of crisp fried cracker inside",[157,171,104,172,173,174,149],"chinese breakfast","mung bean crepe","tianjin","savory crepe",{"slug":25,"title":176,"nativeName":177,"romanized":178,"countrySlug":4,"region":29,"baseServings":51,"prepMinutes":113,"cookMinutes":113,"difficulty":86,"course":179,"diet":180,"mainIngredients":181,"images":182,"keywords":186,"publishedAt":155,"updatedAt":155,"authorSlug":77},"Mapo Tofu (Sichuan Tofu in Chili-Bean Sauce)","麻婆豆腐","Mapo doufu",[57],[59,60],[18,117,17,16],[183],{"src":184,"alt":185},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fmapo-tofu\u002Fhero.jpg","Mapo tofu with soft tofu cubes in glossy red chili-bean sauce, topped with scallions and ground Sichuan peppercorn",[187,126,188,189,190,18,129],"mapo tofu","doubanjiang","sichuan peppercorn","mala",{"slug":192,"title":193,"nativeName":194,"romanized":195,"countrySlug":4,"region":196,"baseServings":51,"prepMinutes":52,"cookMinutes":52,"difficulty":86,"course":197,"diet":200,"mainIngredients":201,"images":204,"keywords":208,"publishedAt":76,"updatedAt":76,"authorSlug":77},"hot-and-sour-soup","Suan La Tang (Chinese Hot and Sour Soup)","酸辣汤","Suān là tāng","Northern China & Sichuan",[198,199],"soup","appetizer",[59,60],[18,202,142,203],"mushrooms","vinegar",[205],{"src":206,"alt":207},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fhot-and-sour-soup\u002Fhero.jpg","Bowl of hot and sour soup with egg ribbons, wood ear strips, tofu matchsticks and sliced scallions",[209,210,211,212,213,214,18],"hot and sour soup","suan la tang","chinese soup","wood ear","black vinegar","white pepper",{"slug":216,"title":217,"nativeName":218,"romanized":219,"countrySlug":4,"region":220,"baseServings":51,"prepMinutes":53,"cookMinutes":113,"restMinutes":52,"difficulty":86,"course":221,"diet":223,"mainIngredients":225,"images":228,"keywords":232,"publishedAt":76,"updatedAt":76,"authorSlug":77},"tangyuan","Tangyuan (Black Sesame Rice Balls in Ginger Syrup)","汤圆","Tāngyuán","Jiangnan — Shanghai and Ningbo",[222],"dessert",[92,224],"gluten-free",[226,165,16,227],"sticky-rice","butter",[229],{"src":230,"alt":231},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Ftangyuan\u002Fhero.jpg","White glutinous rice balls floating in clear ginger syrup, one cut open showing dark black sesame filling",[216,233,234,235,236,237,238],"black sesame","lantern festival","glutinous rice balls","chinese dessert","winter solstice","ningbo",{"slug":26,"title":240,"nativeName":241,"romanized":242,"countrySlug":4,"baseServings":135,"prepMinutes":136,"cookMinutes":136,"difficulty":86,"course":243,"diet":244,"mainIngredients":245,"images":247,"keywords":251,"publishedAt":155,"updatedAt":155,"authorSlug":77},"Tomato Egg Stir-Fry (Fanqie Chao Dan)","番茄炒蛋","Fanqie chao dan",[57,139],[92,224],[246,142,15],"tomato",[248],{"src":249,"alt":250},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Ftomato-egg-stir-fry\u002Fhero.jpg","Soft scrambled eggs folded through jammy stir-fried tomatoes with scallions, served over white rice",[252,253,151,254,142,255,14],"tomato egg","fanqie chao dan","stir-fry","weeknight",{"slug":257,"title":258,"nativeName":259,"romanized":260,"countrySlug":4,"region":261,"baseServings":51,"prepMinutes":262,"cookMinutes":263,"restMinutes":264,"difficulty":265,"course":266,"diet":267,"mainIngredients":268,"images":269,"keywords":273,"publishedAt":76,"updatedAt":76,"authorSlug":77},"xiaolongbao","Xiaolongbao (Shanghai Soup Dumplings)","小笼包","Xiǎolóngbāo","Jiangnan (Shanghai & Wuxi)",75,60,240,"hard",[199,57],[59,60],[117,94,16,15],[270],{"src":271,"alt":272},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fxiaolongbao\u002Fhero.jpg","Pleated Shanghai soup dumplings in a bamboo steamer with a dish of black vinegar and slivered ginger",[257,274,275,276,277,278,279],"soup dumplings","shanghai","steamed dumplings","pork","dim sum","jiangnan",1,12,false,{"links":284,"total":136},[285,289,292,295,298,301,303,305,307,309],{"slug":46,"title":286,"iso2":287,"minutes":288},"Char Siu","CN",780,{"slug":79,"title":290,"iso2":287,"minutes":291},"Cong You Bing",95,{"slug":108,"title":293,"iso2":287,"minutes":294},"Dan Dan Mian",35,{"slug":24,"title":296,"iso2":287,"minutes":297},"Egg Fried Rice",18,{"slug":157,"title":299,"iso2":287,"minutes":300},"Jianbing Guozi",70,{"slug":25,"title":302,"iso2":287,"minutes":84},"Mapo Tofu",{"slug":192,"title":304,"iso2":287,"minutes":53},"Suan La Tang",{"slug":216,"title":306,"iso2":287,"minutes":262},"Tangyuan",{"slug":26,"title":308,"iso2":287,"minutes":52},"Tomato Egg Stir-Fry",{"slug":257,"title":310,"iso2":287,"minutes":311},"Xiaolongbao",375,{"items":313,"total":335,"page":280,"limit":335,"hasMore":282},[314,321,328],{"slug":24,"title":132,"nativeName":133,"romanized":134,"countrySlug":4,"baseServings":135,"prepMinutes":136,"cookMinutes":137,"difficulty":86,"course":315,"diet":316,"mainIngredients":317,"images":318,"keywords":320,"publishedAt":155,"updatedAt":155,"authorSlug":77},[57,139],[92],[14,142,15,63],[319],{"src":145,"alt":146},[148,149,150,151,152,153,154],{"slug":25,"title":176,"nativeName":177,"romanized":178,"countrySlug":4,"region":29,"baseServings":51,"prepMinutes":113,"cookMinutes":113,"difficulty":86,"course":322,"diet":323,"mainIngredients":324,"images":325,"keywords":327,"publishedAt":155,"updatedAt":155,"authorSlug":77},[57],[59,60],[18,117,17,16],[326],{"src":184,"alt":185},[187,126,188,189,190,18,129],{"slug":26,"title":240,"nativeName":241,"romanized":242,"countrySlug":4,"baseServings":135,"prepMinutes":136,"cookMinutes":136,"difficulty":86,"course":329,"diet":330,"mainIngredients":331,"images":332,"keywords":334,"publishedAt":155,"updatedAt":155,"authorSlug":77},[57,139],[92,224],[246,142,15],[333],{"src":249,"alt":250},[252,253,151,254,142,255,14],3,1787360041324]