What to eat today?

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Shanghai red-braised pork

Every Shanghai family has its own hong shao rou, the dark, sticky pork belly at the heart of benbang (local) home cooking. Unlike the Hunan version linked to Chairman Mao, there is no chilli here; the colour and gloss come from rock sugar, soy sauce and a long, quiet braise, and the flavour is unmistakably sweet and savoury. The cubes should hold their shape but give way under chopsticks, with soft fat and a sauce that clings like syrup. It is weekend and festival food, served with plenty of rice and something green, and it tastes even better the next day. Chef's tip: reduce the sauce uncovered over a high heat in the last 10 minutes and keep tossing; that is when the shine appears.

90 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Shanghai drunken chicken

Shanghai's cold-dish counters always have a tray of drunken chicken: smooth, pale poached chicken with jelly-like skin, steeped overnight in a fragrant, slightly sweet bath of Shaoxing wine. Please note that the wine here is not cooked, so the classic dish contains alcohol and is not suitable for children, during pregnancy or for anyone avoiding alcohol. For them, make the fragrant alcohol-free version given in the ingredients, which steeps the chicken in stock with goji berries, dried tangerine peel and a little rice vinegar. Serve it chilled as a starter in summer or at Chinese New Year with other cold dishes. Chef's tip: plunge the chicken into iced water straight after poaching; the quick chill is what gives the skin its springy texture.

60 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Huizhou stinky mandarin fish

From the mountain towns of Huizhou in southern Anhui comes a fish with a famous smell: mandarin fish lightly fermented for days, then braised with pork belly and bamboo shoots until the flesh separates into firm, almost garlic-clove-like flakes with a savoury, cheesy depth. Traditionally the fish ferments in a barrel at room temperature, which is not safe to copy at home. This version gives the same firm texture and a gentle tang by salt-curing the fish in the fridge for 1–2 days, never at room temperature; it is milder than the real thing. Serve it in its sauce with plenty of rice. Chef's tip: dry the cured fish very well before it goes into the pan, or the skin sticks and tears.

60 min

Chinese Fish

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Huangshan braised pigeon

In the villages below the Huangshan mountains of Anhui, pigeon slowly stewed with Chinese yam in a clay pot is a classic nourishing dish, given to people recovering from illness and served to guests in cold weather. The broth is clear, light and gingery; the dark, rich squab turns tender enough to pull off the bone, and the yam goes soft and slightly creamy. Bring the pot to the table and eat the meat with rice, sipping the broth between mouthfuls. Squab is sold by good butchers and Asian grocers, often frozen. Chef's tip: wear gloves when peeling the yam; its sticky juice makes many people's hands itch.

120 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Braised intestines in brown sauce

Jinan restaurants have served this Shandong classic for more than a century, and its name, 'nine turns', borrows from Taoist alchemy to praise how many times the flavour seems to change on the tongue. Sections of pork intestine are cleaned thoroughly, simmered until tender, fried golden and then braised in a dark glaze that is sweet, sour, salty, peppery and gently spiced all at once, finished with a dusting of cinnamon and white pepper. The texture is soft and rich with a slight chew. It is banquet food in Shandong, eaten with plain rice or steamed buns and a green vegetable. Chef's tip: buy intestines already cleaned by a butcher if you can; you will still give them a wash, but the hard part is done.

120 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Sweet and sour carp

On Jinan's banquet tables a whole carp, its tail curled up as if leaping the Dragon Gate on the Yellow River, is a wish for success, so it turns up at weddings, exam celebrations and New Year. The fish is scored deeply, coated in a thin starch batter and fried until the skin crackles, then a hot glaze of sugar, vinegar and soy is poured over so it sizzles at the table. Inside, the flesh stays white and moist. Serve with steamed rice and a stir-fried green vegetable. Chef's tip: carp has fine bones, so if you are cooking for children use sea bass or tilapia; the method is the same.

50 min

Chinese Fish

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Dezhou braised chicken

For generations, travellers passing through Dezhou station in Shandong bought this chicken in a paper wrap from the platform sellers, and boxes of it are still a favourite gift to take home. A whole bird is trussed with its legs tucked into the body, glazed and fried to a reddish gold, then barely simmered for hours in a stock of soy and a dozen spices. The result is fragrant, savoury and so soft that a gentle shake loosens the bones. Eat it warm or cold, torn into pieces, with steamed buns, a cucumber salad or plain congee. Chef's tip: keep the stock at the barest shiver, never a boil; that is how the skin stays whole while the meat turns meltingly tender.

180 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Qingdao mackerel dumplings

Every spring, when Spanish mackerel run off the Shandong coast, Qingdao families fill the kitchen table with flour and fish for these large boiled dumplings; restaurants by the harbour serve them by the plate all year. The filling is whipped with peppercorn-infused water until it turns light and almost mousse-like, with chives for freshness and a little fatty pork for richness. Bitten open, they are juicy, briny and sweet rather than fishy. Eat them straight from the pot with black vinegar and crushed garlic, with a pot of jasmine tea. Chef's tip: if you can't find Spanish mackerel, ordinary mackerel or a mix of mackerel and cod works well.

75 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Mongolian lamb hot pot

When the first cold winds blow through Beijing, old restaurants around Dongcheng light their chimney-shaped copper pots and diners start swishing paper-thin lamb through plain, gently bubbling water. Unlike fiery Sichuan hot pot, this one is all about the meat: the broth stays clear and mild, and the flavour comes from a creamy dip of sesame paste, fermented tofu and chive flower sauce. Everyone cooks their own slices for a few seconds, then adds cabbage, tofu and glass noodles to the pot as the evening goes on. It is a slow, sociable meal for winter weekends, with sesame flatbreads on the side. Chef's tip: half-freeze the lamb for 1–2 hours and it slices thin as paper with a sharp knife; or buy ready-rolled hot-pot lamb from an Asian grocer.

45 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tianjin pork baozi

Tianjin people queue on winter mornings for these small steamed buns, famous since the 1850s for their many fine pleats and for the burst of savoury juice inside. The filling is minced pork beaten with ginger and spring onion water until it holds a surprising amount of liquid, so the first bite is soupy and the soft, slightly springy wrapper soaks up the rest. Bakers aim for 18 pleats arranged like a chrysanthemum. Eat them hot for breakfast with a dish of vinegar, crushed garlic and a bowl of millet porridge or soy milk. Chef's tip: use pork with about 30 per cent fat; lean mince gives dry, crumbly filling however much water you add.

120 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Suan cai pork stew

Across north-east China, autumn means packing crocks with salted napa cabbage to ferment through the long winter, and this hearty stew is the reward. Thin slices of boiled pork belly lie in a pale broth with shreds of sour cabbage and slippery glass noodles; the tang cuts the richness, and the broth tastes both clean and deeply savoury. It is everyday winter family food in Harbin and Shenyang, often served in a clay pot at the centre of the table with rice and a garlic-soy dip for the pork. Chef's tip: let the boiled pork cool for 15 minutes before slicing; warm belly crumbles, slightly cooled belly cuts into neat, thin slices.

90 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pork and pickled cabbage dumplings

These are the dumplings north-eastern families make together on New Year's Eve and on any snowy Sunday, with the whole household rolling, filling and boiling around the kitchen table. Tangy fermented cabbage, chopped fine and squeezed dry, is mixed with fatty pork and sizzling Sichuan-pepper oil, so the filling is juicy, sour and warmly numbing at the same time. The wrappers are slightly thick and chewy, the way Dongbei cooks like them. Pile them on a plate and serve with black vinegar, garlic and a spoon of chilli oil; a bowl of the cooking water to drink afterwards is a northern habit. Chef's tip: pour the hot pepper oil straight onto the spring onions in the filling; the sizzle releases their fragrance into every dumpling.

90 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Dongbei stewed chicken with mushrooms

Ask anyone from Heilongjiang what their grandmother cooked when guests arrived and this is the likely answer: a farmyard chicken stewed in a big iron pot with dried hazel mushrooms gathered from the forests of the Greater Khingan range. The mushrooms give a deep, woodsy flavour to a dark, lightly sweet soy gravy, and glass noodles go in at the end to drink up the juices. Bone-in chicken keeps it rich and tender. Serve in big bowls with steamed rice or cornbread, and a crunchy cabbage salad on the side. Chef's tip: let the soaking water from the mushrooms settle, then pour it gently into the pot and leave the grit behind.

75 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Cumin lamb

This smoky, aromatic stir-fry carries the flavours of Xinjiang's night markets, where cumin and chilli are scattered over everything grilled, into a home wok. Thin slices of lamb are seared over the fiercest heat so the edges char, then tossed with crushed cumin seeds, dried chillies, onion and a big handful of coriander. Expect bold, earthy spice, a little numbing tingle and juicy meat. It is a weeknight favourite all over northern China, eaten with plenty of steamed rice or wrapped in warm flatbread. Chef's tip: toast and lightly crush the cumin seeds yourself just before cooking; ready-ground cumin alone tastes flat here.

25 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Big plate chicken

Born in roadside restaurants along the highways of northern Xinjiang in the 1980s, when truck drivers wanted something big enough to share, this dish arrives on a platter the size of a steering wheel. Chunks of bone-in chicken and potato braise in a spicy, star anise-scented sauce with green peppers, and the leftover gravy is spooned over wide, chewy belt noodles at the end. It is warming, a little numbing and very generous. Serve it for a crowd on a cold evening, with a bowl of sliced cucumber and garlic to cool things down. Chef's tip: cook the noodles first in the same pot and toss them in a little oil; they wait happily while the stew cooks and you only have one pot to wash.

60 min

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Lanzhou beef noodle soup

In Lanzhou, capital of Gansu, the day starts at a noodle shop where cooks stretch dough into strands before your eyes and drop them into bowls of clear, fragrant beef broth. Locals describe the ideal bowl in five colours: clear broth, white radish, red chilli oil, green coriander and garlic shoots, and yellow noodles. The broth is light yet deeply beefy and gently spiced, the radish sweet, the chilli oil toasty rather than fierce. This version uses good bought noodles, with an optional route for pulling your own if you fancy the challenge. Chef's tip: simmer the broth, never boil it; a hard boil turns it cloudy and the clear, golden look is the whole point.

180 min

Chinese Soups

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Xinjiang lamb skewers

Clouds of cumin-scented smoke rise from long charcoal troughs at night markets from Ürümqi to Kashgar, where Uyghur grill men fan the coals and turn dozens of skewers at a time. Small cubes of lamb, often with a piece of fat between them, are seasoned with salt, cumin and chilli right on the grill, so the outside is crusty and spicy while the inside stays pink and juicy. Street vendors across China copy them, but the best are simple. Eat them hot off the skewer with flatbread, sliced onion and a cold drink. Chef's tip: thread a small cube of lamb fat after every three pieces of meat; it melts over the lean as it grills and keeps it moist.

30 min