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Chinese dish names rarely tell the full story. Find the main ingredients, cooking style, likely flavor, and the details a literal translation leaves out.
20 decoded dishes
Browse by English or Chinese dish nameWhat are Chinese dumplings called
饺子jiǎo zi
Boiled dumplings with a wheat-flour wrapper and meat-and-vegetable filling — the default 'dumpling' across northern China, especially for Chinese New Year.
Recipes vary by region and restaurant. If you have allergies, confirm ingredients directly with the restaurant. DISH GUIDEWhat are dan dan noodles
担担面dàn dàn miàn
A Sichuan street-food noodle dish with a small portion of wheat noodles in a complex sauce of sesame paste, chili oil, Sichuan peppercorn, soy sauce, and black vinegar, topped with minced pork and pickled mustard greens.
Recipes vary by region and restaurant. If you have allergies, confirm ingredients directly with the restaurant. DISH GUIDEa Chinese wonton
馄饨hún tun
Thin-skinned, often triangular or square-wrapped dumplings served in clear broth — lighter and more delicate than 饺子, with regional names and variations across China.
Recipes vary by region and restaurant. If you have allergies, confirm ingredients directly with the restaurant. DISH GUIDEchar siu
叉烧chā shāo
Cantonese barbecue pork — strips of pork shoulder or belly marinated in a sweet-savory mixture of hoisin, honey, five-spice, and fermented red bean curd, then roasted until the outside is caramelized and sticky.
Recipes vary by region and restaurant. If you have allergies, confirm ingredients directly with the restaurant. DISH GUIDEChinese beef noodle soup
牛肉面niú ròu miàn
Beef noodle soup — but the specific form depends entirely on region: Lanzhou-style has clear broth and hand-pulled noodles, Taiwanese-style has dark braised beef in soy-spiced soup, Sichuan-style adds chili oil and Sichuan pepper.
Recipes vary by region and restaurant. If you have allergies, confirm ingredients directly with the restaurant. DISH GUIDEChinese fried rice
炒饭chǎo fàn
Day-old rice stir-fried at high heat until each grain is separate, dry, and lightly charred — a technique-driven staple, not a catch-all leftovers dish.
Recipes vary by region and restaurant. If you have allergies, confirm ingredients directly with the restaurant. DISH GUIDEChinese hot pot
火锅huǒ guō
A shared meal where raw ingredients are cooked at the table in simmering broth — equal parts eating, social ritual, and regional identity marker.
Recipes vary by region and restaurant. If you have allergies, confirm ingredients directly with the restaurant. DISH GUIDEChinese spicy crayfish
麻辣小龙虾má là xiǎo lóng xiā
Freshwater crayfish boiled in a fiercely spiced broth of dried chilies, Sichuan peppercorn, garlic, and spices — the defining summer-night food across China, eaten outdoors with plastic gloves and copious cold beer.
Recipes vary by region and restaurant. If you have allergies, confirm ingredients directly with the restaurant. DISH GUIDEChinese tomato egg
西红柿炒鸡蛋xī hóng shì chǎo jī dàn
Scrambled eggs stir-fried with fresh tomato chunks — the universal Chinese home-cooking dish, eaten over rice, and often the first dish a Chinese person learns to cook.
Recipes vary by region and restaurant. If you have allergies, confirm ingredients directly with the restaurant. DISH GUIDEchow mein
炒面chǎo miàn
Stir-fried wheat noodles — a category of dishes, not a single recipe. The noodles, toppings, and sauce vary by region, from Cantonese soy-sauce noodles to Xinjiang cumin lamb noodles.
Recipes vary by region and restaurant. If you have allergies, confirm ingredients directly with the restaurant. DISH GUIDEdry pot cauliflower
干锅花菜gān guō huā cài
Cauliflower florets stir-fried and then served in a small wok over a flame with slices of pork belly, dried chilies, Sichuan peppercorn, and garlic — a sizzling, intensely flavored vegetable dish that keeps cooking at the table.
Recipes vary by region and restaurant. If you have allergies, confirm ingredients directly with the restaurant. DISH GUIDEfish-fragrant eggplant
鱼香茄子yú xiāng qié zi
Eggplant braised or fried in 鱼香 (yú xiāng) sauce — a Sichuan flavor profile combining pickled chili, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sugar, and vinegar, originally created for cooking fish but now most famous on eggplant.
Recipes vary by region and restaurant. If you have allergies, confirm ingredients directly with the restaurant. DISH GUIDEKung Pao Chicken
宫保鸡丁gōng bǎo jī dīng
Diced chicken stir-fried with dried chilies, Sichuan peppercorns, and peanuts — a Sichuan classic balancing heat, numbing, sweet, and sour.
Recipes vary by region and restaurant. If you have allergies, confirm ingredients directly with the restaurant. DISH GUIDEliangpi
凉皮liáng pí
Cold wheat-starch or rice-based noodles from Shaanxi province, dressed with black vinegar, chili oil, crushed garlic, sesame paste, and cucumber — a refreshing street snack eaten year-round but especially in summer.
Recipes vary by region and restaurant. If you have allergies, confirm ingredients directly with the restaurant. DISH GUIDEMapo Tofu
麻婆豆腐má pó dòu fu
Silken tofu in a blazing red sauce of doubanjiang (fermented broad bean paste), douchi (fermented black beans), minced pork, Sichuan peppercorn, and chili oil — numbing, hot, savory, and deeply aromatic.
Recipes vary by region and restaurant. If you have allergies, confirm ingredients directly with the restaurant. DISH GUIDEPeking Duck
北京烤鸭Běijīng kǎo yā
A ceremonial Beijing dish centered on duck skin roasted to a lacquered crispness, carved tableside and eaten in thin pancakes with hoisin sauce, cucumber, and scallion.
Recipes vary by region and restaurant. If you have allergies, confirm ingredients directly with the restaurant. DISH GUIDEroujiamo
肉夹馍ròu jiā mó
Shaanxi-style braised meat (usually pork) chopped and stuffed into a freshly baked flatbread — a street-food staple from Xi'an that predates the hamburger by centuries.
Recipes vary by region and restaurant. If you have allergies, confirm ingredients directly with the restaurant. DISH GUIDESweet and Sour Pork in Chinese
糖醋里脊táng cù lǐ ji
Crispy-fried pork tenderloin strips tossed in a balanced sweet-sour sauce — one of the most popular restaurant dishes across China, especially in Shandong and Jiangsu-Zhejiang cuisine.
Recipes vary by region and restaurant. If you have allergies, confirm ingredients directly with the restaurant. DISH GUIDEtwice-cooked pork
回锅肉huí guō ròu
Pork belly boiled, cooled, sliced thin, then stir-fried a second time with doubanjiang, fermented black beans, garlic sprouts, and chili — the iconic Sichuan home dish that defines 家常味 (home-style flavor).
Recipes vary by region and restaurant. If you have allergies, confirm ingredients directly with the restaurant. DISH GUIDExiaolongbao
小笼包xiǎo lóng bāo
Thin-skinned steamed pork buns with hot savory broth sealed inside — a Shanghainese and Jiangnan specialty, eaten with black vinegar and ginger.
Recipes vary by region and restaurant. If you have allergies, confirm ingredients directly with the restaurant.