China has a vast territory and a long history of food culture, and the classic snacks bred in various places are not only a delight for the taste buds, but also carry local history and folklore. From the soft and glutinous dim sum of the north to the savory flavors of the south, each snack has its own unique production skills and stories.
Beijing donkey rolling
Donkey rolling was once a royal snack in the Ming and Qing dynasties, and has now become a popular traditional folk snack on the streets and alleys of Beijing. It uses high-quality glutinous rice flour, delicate red bean paste, and sweet white sugar as the core raw materials, and the production method is similar to that of Swiss cake rolls - first roll out the steamed glutinous rice balls on the chopping board, evenly spread a layer of dense red bean paste, roll them into a tight cylindrical shape, and then put them into the fried soybean flour and roll them repeatedly, so that the surface is covered with golden bean flour. The entrance is soft and glutinous, the aroma of rice and beans is intertwined, and the sweetness is mild and not greasy, showing the mellowness of northern dim sum.
If you want to taste authentic flavors, you can go to the long-established shops such as Halal Baiji Rice Cakes and Lao Huihui Snacks in Beijing Niujie to experience the charm of traditional craftsmanship.
Main ingredients: Glutinous rice flour, red bean paste, white sugar
Reference price: Generally sold by weight, about 8-10 yuan per 100g
Shanghai Xiaolongbao
Xiaolongbao is a bright business card of Shanghai cuisine and can be called a representative of Jiangnan dim sum. It is made with high-quality high-gluten flour to knead the dough, filled with fresh pork and thick meat skin jelly, and steamed slowly in a bamboo steamer over medium-low heat. The moment you open the steamer, the rich aroma is wrapped in warm steam, the transparent and shiny skin is thin and tough, and the slightly open folds at the top are like blooming flowers. When eating, you need to pay attention to "sucking the soup first, then eating the meat" - bite a corner, suck out the delicious soup, the meat aroma instantly spreads in your mouth, and then dip a little balsamic vinegar to neutralize the oiliness, and the taste is rich in layers. If you want to upgrade the experience, you can choose crab powder or shrimp filling, which takes the freshness to the next level, paired with a bowl of light chicken soup, which relieves greasiness and enhances freshness.
Restaurants such as Shanghai Lailai Xiaolong Qiao Ai and Gluttonous Sanchi Crab Noodle Xiaolong are good places to taste this snack, which is loved by locals and tourists alike.
Main ingredients: Pork, high-gluten flour, crab powder, shrimp
Reference price: About 30-40 yuan per cage
Sichuan Dan Dan Noodles
Dandan noodles originate from Sichuan and are popular all over the country with their spicy and fragrant flavor, making them a very representative Sichuan-style snack. It is based on noodles rolled out with high-quality wheat flour, and has a delicate and chewy texture that does not boil easily. The soup base is made from a rich broth, with side dishes such as stir-fried minced pork, chopped chopped green onions, and crispy crushed peanuts, then mixed with secret sauces such as chili oil, Sichuan peppercorn oil, and sesame paste. The noodles are fully coated in sauce, leaving every bite with endless aftertaste, showcasing the enthusiasm of Sichuan flavor.
In most snack bars and Sichuan-style restaurants in Chengdu, you can eat authentic dandan noodles, which is a popular choice for local diners to satisfy their daily cravings.
Main ingredients: Wheat flour, pork
Reference price: Ranges from 15-25 yuan per serving
Shaanxi Liangpi
Shaanxi Liangpi is a classic snack in the northwest that is suitable for all ages, and is divided into two mainstream types: dough skin and rice skin. The dough is made of wheat flour, which has a strong and tough taste; Rice skin is made of rice flour, which has a soft and delicate texture, and both need to be steamed and cut into finger-wide strips. When eating, it is paired with balsamic vinegar, red oil chili oil, garlic paste and other seasonings, sour and spicy and appetizing, and refreshing cucumber shreds, crispy bean sprouts and other vegetables will be added to enrich the texture. The cold skin is crisp and refreshing in the mouth, and the aroma of the seasoning blends with the original flavor of the ingredients, making it a good product for cooling off in summer and appetizing in winter.
Xi'an Zhiliang Steamed Dumplings Halal, Meridian Road Zhangji Meat Sandwich Buns and other well-known local restaurants, in addition to their signature staple food, their cold skin is also highly praised, allowing you to experience the flavors of the Northwest together.
Main ingredients: Wheat flour or rice flour, balsamic vinegar, chili pepper
Reference price: Ranging from 20-30 yuan per serving
Cantonese rice rolls
Rice rolls are a popular choice for Cantonese morning tea and street breakfast, known for their transparent and soft appearance and tender texture. When making it, pour the delicate rice milk into a special steaming plate and spread it into a pancake, put in the pre-prepared beef, shrimp, char siu and other fillings, and roll it into strips after a short period of steam heating, shaped like a ribbon. The rice rolls are smooth and tender in the mouth without residue, paired with the store's secret soy sauce sauce, the saltiness is moderate, and you can also add an appropriate amount of chili sauce to enhance the flavor according to your preference. Different fillings bring different flavors, beef rice rolls are tender, shrimp rice rolls are sweet, and they are must-eat delicacies to experience Cantonese "slow food" culture.
Local chain restaurants such as Guangzhou Liyin Rice Rolls and Suiyin Rice Rolls Shop have become popular places to taste rice noodles with their authentic production techniques, and almost every store is full.
Main ingredients: Rice, beef, pork, shrimp
Reference price: Around 30 yuan per serving
Chongqing small noodles
Chongqing small noodles are an indispensable snack in the daily life of mountain city people, especially suitable for breakfast. The base seasoning is the key to flavor - stir-fry the bean paste to red oil, add minced ginger, minced garlic, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, chili oil, etc., then add the noodles and stir-fry evenly, and finally sprinkle with chopped green onion, coriander, chopped mustard, and crushed peanuts for garnish. The noodles are chewy and chewy, the soup is sour and spicy, and you can add ingredients such as greens, braised eggs, beef, etc. according to your personal taste to customize your own flavor, and one bite is full of the fiery atmosphere of Chongqing.
In Chongqing's snack bars, food courts and other places, Chongqing small noodles can be seen almost everywhere, each store has its own seasoning secrets, it is worth trying one by one.
Main ingredients: Wheat flour
Reference price: Ranges from 15-25 yuan per serving
Nanjing Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup
Nanjing duck blood vermicelli soup is an outstanding representative of Jinling cuisine, which is not only the first choice for Nanjing people for breakfast, but also a must-try snack for tourists to check in. The soul of this snack lies in the duck soup - simmered for hours with fresh duck meat and bones for a clear color and rich umami. The soup is filled with duck blood as smooth as tofu, crispy duck intestines like strings, and duck gras as soft as cotton, paired with chewy vermicelli, and sprinkled with chopped green onions, coriander, and pepper to enhance the flavor, creating a rich texture and full of fresh aroma. Take a sip of the hot soup, and the delicious taste spreads down the throat to the whole body, instantly dissipating the chill, showing the warmth of Jiangnan cuisine.
Local time-honored snack bars such as Nanjing Jinzhong Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup, with their authentic taste, have been favored by diners for many years and are a reliable choice for tasting this delicacy.
Main ingredients: Duck offal such as vermicelli, fried tofu, duck blood, duck gizzards, duck intestines, and duck liver
Reference price: Ranges from 15-30 yuan per serving
Tianjin Goubuli buns
Goubuli buns are the iconic delicacy of Tianjin cuisine, originating in 1858, named after the founder Gao Guiyou's milk name "Gouzi", and now it has become the first of Tianjin's "three uniques", and was included in the national intangible cultural heritage list in 2011, and was also used as a special food for the state banquet of the Great Hall of the People. Its production process is unique, known as the "Eight Operation Method", from kneading noodles to filling with strict standards, the finished product has the characteristics of thin skin and large filling, fresh and delicious, fat but not greasy. Gently bite into the soft and elastic dough, the aroma of wheat and the meaty aroma of the filling instantly blend, and you can feel the ingenuity of traditional craftsmanship in every bite.
Tianjin Goubuli Bun chain restaurant is the official choice to taste this classic snack, where you can experience the most authentic flavor of production.
Main ingredients: High-gluten wheat core powder, pork (30% fat, 70% lean), ginger water, soy sauce, sesame oil, minced green onion
Reference price: Ranges from 40-100 yuan per serving
Changsha Stinky Tofu
Changsha stinky tofu is a classic snack in Hunan cuisine, famous for its unique characteristics of "smelling and eating fragrant". It is made from high-quality soybeans and is made into tofu embryos through more than ten processes such as screening, shelling, soaking, grinding, filtering, boiling, pulping, molding, blocking, and fermentation, and then soaked in special brine to taste, and finally fried in tea until the skin is golden brown and crispy. When eating, you can drill a hole in the middle of the tofu and inject chili oil, soy sauce, sesame oil and other seasonings, the skin is crispy and not mushy, the inside is tender and juicy, the spiciness is rich and mellow, and you can also add garlic paste, chopped green onion, and coriander according to your preference for more flavor.
Changsha Fire Palace is a well-known place to taste stinky tofu, as a century-old size, its production process has been passed down to this day, and it is a must-visit place to experience the flavor of Changsha.
Main ingredients: soybeans, coarse salt, tea oil, sesame oil, chili oil, tempeh, gypsum juice, green alum
Reference price: Ranges from 10-20 yuan per serving
Lanzhou Beef Noodles
Lanzhou beef noodles are known as "the first noodles in China", which began during the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty, created by Chen Weijing, a student of the National University of Huaiqing Prefecture, Henan Province, and improved by later generations to form the classic standard of "one clear, two white, three red, four green and five yellow" - soup clear, radish white, chili oil red, coriander garlic sprouts green, noodles yellow and bright. The soup base is made from yak bones and yak beef from Gannan and Tianzhu grasslands, carefully simmered for several hours with a variety of spices, fresh but not greasy; The noodles are made of fresh high-gluten flour with an appropriate amount of fluffy ash, and there are many types, and you can choose from more than ten forms such as large width, two width, leek leaves, and capillary according to your preference. When eating, pair it with diced beef, garlic sprouts, and coriander, drizzle with a spoonful of red oil, the noodles are flexible and smooth, the soup is mellow and spicy, and every bite is full of the heroic flavor of the northwest.
Lanzhou Ma Zilu Beef Noodles, Jinding Beef Noodle Shop and other time-honored sizes are the first choice for tasting authentic Lanzhou beef noodles, attracting many diners to wait in line every morning.
Main ingredients: High-gluten flour, beef, beef bones, radish, coriander, garlic sprouts
Reference price: Ranges from 10-20 yuan per serving
