Chinese cuisine is one of the most popular in the world. From Chowmein to Kung Pao Chicken, Hotpots to Spring Rolls, every dish is good. China is also famous for its delicious street foods. They are primarily savory like Baozi, Noodles, etc but there are also sweet ones like Tanghulu. Here are 20 Chinese street foods.
1.Baozi
Baozi is also known as bao. It is a steam bun stuffed with different kinds of fillings. Bao buns have become popular recently. They are a part of the Chinese cuisine. Zhuge Liang, a military strategist, is said to have invented bao. Ingredients to make bao buns are flour, baking powder, yeast, and oil. Different fillings can be added, like chicken, garlic, ginger, capsicum, onion, tomato, and other sauces.
2.Jianbing
It is one of the most popular breakfast dishes in China. Ingredients are flour and eggs. Coriander or spring onions are sprinkled as a garnish. Different fillings and sauces are used. Tianjin-style jianbing is the most common one found as street food. It is said to have originated in Shandong.
3.Sichuan Dumplings
The ingredients are pork, cornstarch, soy sauce, scallions, ginger, Sichuan peppercorn, salt, and oil. It is served with red chili oil or sweet soy sauce. It is also called Zhong dumplings.
4.Lamian
They are hand-pulled noodles. They are soft and made from wheat- this noodle-making method originated in China. Lamian noodles are usually served with a sauce or beef soup called tangmian. To make the noodles, only flour, water, and oil are required.
5.Xiaolongbao
They are also called soup dumplings. Xiaolong is a small bamboo basket where the dumplings are steamed. Usually, xiaolongbao is filled with a pork filling, but other stuff can be used like crab, shrimp, vegetables, etc. It is said to have been invented by Huang Mingxian near Shanghai. Ingredients are the same as a bao but with a pork filling.
6.Yang Rou Chuan
It is a lamb kebab. It is one of the most delicious street foods in China. Ingredients are lamb, onion, cumin, chili powder, salt, and oil. It originated in the Xinjiang region.
7.Jiaozi
Chinese dumplings are called jiaozi. Ingredients are flour, pork, soy sauce, ginger, pepper, garlic, salt, and oil. Chinese rice wine and napa cabbage are also used as ingredients. Prok can be replaced with shrimp, crab, etc. It is folded in a crescent moon shape. It is a popular dish eaten during New Year’s in the northern region of China.
8.Rou Jia Mo
It is also called rougamo Or the Chinese hamburger. This street food originated in the Shaanxi Province. This fish can be dated about 2200 years back. Ingredients are pork, flour, sugar, onion, soy sauce, ginger, peppercorns, bay leaves, oil, and Shaoxing wine.
9.Tanghulu
It is also known as bingtang hulu. It is a popular Chinese street food. Fruits are served in a bamboo skewer. They are coated with sugar syrup. It is a sweet and sour dish. Chinese hawthorn is also used. The most common fruits used are grapes, kiwi, pineapple, strawberry, mandarin orange, cherry tomato, and Chinese hawthorn. Sometimes, Chinese hawthorn is filled with bean paste. Tanghulu is served with edible sugar paper around the fruits.
10.Stinky Tofu
This dish is made of fermented tofu. Stinky tofu is served with soy sauce or chili sauce. It is usually deep-fried but can also be steamed or stewed. The odour of the stinky tofu is terrible but it is said that the worse the smell, the better the tofu. The ingredients are fermented tofu, oyster sauce, cornstarch, vinegar, salt, and oil.
11.Cifantuan
They are also known as chi faan or fantuan. They are rice balls with different fillings that can be sweet or spicy. They originated in Jiangnan, China. Ingredients to make rice balls are sticky rice, sesame seeds, and water. Fillings might be zha cai(pickled vegetables), rousong(meat product), and youtiao(sweet variant).
12.Banmian
It is a Chinese dish where handmade noodles are served in a soup. Ingredients needed are flour, water, pork, egg, pepper, bok choy, salt, and oil. This dish is popular in China, Malaysia, and Singapore. The noodles are usually egg noodles, and the soup consists of pork, crab, shrimp, vegetables, etc.
13.Chinese Tea Egg
This dish is boiled eggs that are boiled a second time in tea. This dish originated in Zhejiang, China. Spices can be added to this dish. The ingredients are eggs, soy sauce, tea, peppercorns, sugar, salt, and water. Chinese tea eggs are also called marble eggs.
14.Laziji
This is also known as mala chicken or Chongqing chicken. The ingredients are chicken, soy sauce, cornstarch, red chili flakes, Shaoxing wine, Sichuan peppercorns, ginger, garlic, salt, and oil. This is a spicy dish. It is a part of Sichuan cuisine.
15.Roasted Sweet Potatoes
This street is famous not only in China but also in Korea and Vietnam. The ingredients are sweet potato, onion, vinegar, salt, and oil. This is primarily a winter snack. China is the biggest producer of sweet potatoes, so this is a popular street food.
16.Dandan Noodles
They are also known as dandanmian. It is a part of the Chinese and Sichuan cuisine. Dandan noodles were first made by Chen Baobao. Ingredients are white noodles, spinach, red chilli flakes, pork, soy sauce, garlic, peanuts, sesame paste, chilli oil, and salt. To make the authentic dandan noodles, hoison sauce and shaoxing wine is also added.
17.Zongzi
This is a traditional dish in China. Sticky rice has different kind of fillings and they are wrapped in bamboo leaves. They are steamed or boiled. The fillings include red bean paste, pork, yam, xiang gu, nuts, etc. Ingredients are rice, bamboo leaves, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, pork, Shaoxing wine, salt, and oil. The fillings can be added as necessary.
18.Shaobing
It is a type of flatbread in Chinese cuisine. The ingredients are flour, yeast, sugar, salt, and oil. White sesame seeds can be sprinkled on top after baking. Shaobing has many sorts of stuffing, like red bean paste, beef, pork, tofu, black sesame paste, etc.
19.Shanghai Noodles
It is a popular Chinese street food. The ingredients are soy sauce, cornstarch, Chinese egg noodles, cabbage, garlic, ginger, onion, sugar, salt, and oil. Japanese udon noodles can also be used.
20.Youtiao
It is a popular breakfast snack in China. It is a long, deep-fried flour dough. The ingredients are flour, egg, baking powder, milk, butter, sugar, salt, and oil. Youtiao can be served with soy milk or rice congee.
