What are some of your favorite dishes that are more or less universal in most restaurants in China? I can't read Chinese and still want to be able to order good food when there is not a picture menu.

magkaser · 4 months

糖醋里脊 - Tang2cu4li3ji3 - sweet and sour pork, every foreigner's favorite it seems

番茄（西红柿）炒蛋 - fan1qie2 (xi1hong2shi4)chao3dan4 -egg and tomato, both 番茄 and 西红柿 mean tomato. A really simple and great side.

韭菜炒蛋 - jiu3cai4chao3dan4 - chive and egg omelet, another great side

干煸芸豆/四季豆/豆角 - gan1bian1yun2dou4/si4ji4dou4/dou4jiao3 - depending on where you are the last part might be different, but they are all 干煸. Goes from spicy to salty depending on where Ive had it, but it's always pretty good. Beans with dried veggies and usually pork.

麻婆豆腐 - ma2po2dou4fu - A friend of mine once said you can tell if a restaurant is good by its 麻婆豆腐. It's a spicy and cheap tofu. Most restaurants actually offer it for 2-3 kuai (even good/reasonably expensive ones) because it's such a staple.

地三鲜 - di4san1xian1 - I love this one, it's potatoes, green peppers and eggplant all stir fried together in a nice sauce. "Three fresh earths", I like the name too!

蛋黄南瓜 - dan4huang2nan2gua1 - pumpkin battered in egg yolks then deep fried. This one is a gamble though, some places make it where it's downright amazing and other places make it pretty boring and lackluster. I'd say don't give up if you don't like it once.

锅包肉 - guo1bao1rou4 - This dish a bit much for me, usually. It's a sickeningly sweet fried meat dish found only in the northeastern provinces, but is pretty widespread in that area. Sweet, sweet and sweet pork would be a good translation I think.

回锅肉 - hui2guo1rou4 - "Back to the pot pork", or twice cooked pork. Usually sort of spicy, but also has peppers, onions and occasionally potatoes.

酸辣土豆丝 - suan1la4tu3dou4si1 - Vinegar-y and spicy potato strings.

酸辣白菜 - suan1la4bai2cai4 - hot and sour napa cabbage. Usually has pork or something, sometimes has bacon. Is amazing when it has bacon.

香菇青菜/油菜 - xiang1gu1qing1cai4/you2cai4 - mushrooms and a green (油菜 is more common in the northeast, 青菜 everywhere else) stir fried with a lot of garlic. You can usually always find it without the mushrooms（香菇） as well. Usually called 炒(chao3)青菜/油菜.

红烧土豆片 - hong2shao1tu3dou4pian1 - Fried up potato slices in a really nice sauce. Usually also has peppers. Sometimes you can order it so it comes in a big pot with an open flame underneath that is awesome.

红烧x - hong2shao1x - On that note, you can usually get 红烧 anything. eggplant, beef, lamb, pork, etc...

台湾卤肉 - tai2wan1lu3rou4 - minced pork and veggies. Good over rice. Seems to be a specialty in some places.

土豆牛肉 - tu3dou4niu2rou4 - a pretty common dish of beef and potatoes fried up together in a nice sauce.

日本豆腐 - ri4ben3dou4fu3 - Japanese style tofu. Consistency is a bit weird (ie not firm) but I still think it's pretty good.

xx年糕 - xxnian2gao1 - 年糕 is a really fantastic thing a lot of westerners don't seem to know about. They're basically little cakes made of glutenous rice, and and are awesome. There a ton of different kinds of 年糕 you can order. The most common would be 年糕汤, (nian2gao1tang1) which is a soup and is pretty good. You could also find 韩式年糕 (han2shi4nian2gao1) Korean style nian gao which is in a thick and delicious sauce, this might be the most popular and commonplace after the soup. My personal favorite is 炒年糕 (chao3nian2gao1) which is fried nian gao in the same vein as fried rice or fried noodles. I have not seen this in the northeast, though. However, it is very common down by Shanghai and Guangzhou.

Also, it should go without saying that 饺子 (jiao3zi) dumplings are awesome. I ordered a plate most times I went out in China. I preferred 锅贴 (guo1tie1) pot-stickers though. A good thing to try is 炒蛋锅贴 (chao3dan4guo1tie1) which is pot stickers but fried up in an omelet. Weirdly considered a "Hong Kong"-style dish, where dumplings are considered more northern fare.

My favorite types of dumplings are: 羊肉 (yang2rou4) lamb meat, not uncommon; 韭菜肉 (jiu3cai4rou4) chive and pork (THESE ARE THE BEST), should be everywhere; 牛肉青椒 (niu2rou4qing1jiao1) beef and bell pepper, I've only seen this in the northeast.

edit: tried not to copy what other people already wrote but ended up doing it anyway... 囧rz

ciaocibai · 4 months

How has nobody suggested gong bao ji ding - aka kung pao chicken? It seems like the dish every foreigner in China eats, along with 串儿 - mostly yang rou chuan - lamb kebabs - not my favorite though.

I love 干煸豆角 gan bian dou jou - aka 干煸四季豆 which is a very tasty spicy bean dish, 番茄炒鸡蛋 - fan qie chao ji dan - tomato and egg cooked together, 辣子鸡, la zi ji - spicy chicken and a whole bunch more.

That should be enough to get you started though.

1arora1 · 4 months

I never really ate eggplant until I came to China, but I highly recommend anything with eggplant aka 茄子 (qie zi). Most places should have either 风味茄子 (feng weir qie zi), which is deep fried eggplant with a yummy sauce on top. Or you can try 鱼香茄子 (yu xiang qie zi), eggplant in a lightly sweet red sauce. I also recommend 地三鲜 (de san xian), it is potato, eggplant and green pepper in a sweet brown sauce, so good and available most places. Of course tang su li ji (not sure on the Chinese characters) which is sweet and sour pork.

Longnez · 4 months

鱼香肉丝, yu xiang rou si, strips of pork with a sweet and sour sauce. Can be spicy in some restaurants.

炸酱面，zha jiang mian, noodles with minced pork, no soup, just a sauce, that usually varies from place to place.

If you go to Wuhan, don't forget 热干面, re gan mian, "dry" noodles (no soup) with a sesame paste sauce, with or without chili, as you wish.

and 汤包, tang bao, steamed buns with soup and a ball of meat inside. the soup and the meat are inside.

Cole___ · 4 months

I tried to collecting everything on this thread and abridging/organizing it into a list to email myself to keep on my phone. Some of them don't have hanzi so if anyone wants to add that, you're awesome.

It's weird, studying Menu food was exactly what I had planned to do today so that I could finally start ordering something other than Gong Bao Ji Din every damn time. So thanks all for the inputs. I'll check back and edit in any corrections or additions.

R/China's Favorite Chinese Dishes

[Sides/Vegetables/Potatoes/etc]

番茄（西红柿）炒蛋 - fan1qie2 (xi1hong2shi4)chao3dan4 -egg and tomato, both 番茄 and 西红柿 mean tomato.

Gan bian yun dao or Gan bian si ji dao depending on where you are. Fried green beans with red peppers, sichuan pepper corns and little crumbles of pork

韭菜炒蛋 - jiu3cai4chao3dan4 - chive and egg omelet

红烧土豆片 - hong2shao1tu3dou4pian1 - Fried up potato slices in a really nice sauce.

酸辣白菜 - suan1la4bai2cai4 - hot and sour napa cabbage. Usually has pork

香菇青菜/油菜 - xiang1gu1qing1cai4/you2cai4 - mushrooms and a green (油菜 is more common in the northeast, 青菜 everywhere else) stir fried with a lot of garlic. You can usually always find it without the mushrooms（香菇） as well. Usually called 炒(chao3)青菜/油菜.

地三鲜 - di4san1xian1 - potatoes, green peppers and eggplant stir fried in a nice sauce. "Three fresh earths"

蛋黄南瓜 - dan4huang2nan2gua1 - pumpkin battered in egg yolks then deep fried. This one is a gamble

Hu pi la jiao (green chillies fried with soy sauce, garlic and salt)

酸辣土豆丝 - suan1la4tu3dou4si1 - Vinegar-y and spicy potato strings.

xiao bai cai, as a cheap and easy salad

茄子 (qie zi)eggplant, aubergine 风味茄子 (feng weir qie zi)deep fried eggplant with a yummy sauce 鱼香茄子 (yu xiang qie zi)eggplant in a lightly sweet red sauce 地三鲜 (de san xian), it is potato, eggplant and green pepper in a sweet brown sauce, so good Gong bao qie zi Hong shao qie zi

xx年糕 - xxnian2gao1 - 年糕 fantastic little cakes of glutenous rice. most common would be 年糕汤, (nian2gao1tang1) which is a soup and is pretty good. You could also find 韩式年糕 (han2shi4nian2gao1) Korean style nian gao which is in a thick and delicious sauce, this might be the most popular and commonplace after the soup. My personal favorite is 炒年糕 (chao3nian2gao1) which is fried nian gao in the same vein as fried rice or fried noodles. I have not seen this in the northeast, though. However, it is very common down by Shanghai and Guangzhou.

[Dumplings]

饺子 (jiao3zi) dumplings

XX锅贴 (guo1tie1) pot-stickers 炒蛋锅贴 (chao3dan4guo1tie1) pot stickers omelet.

韭菜肉 (jiu3cai4rou4) chive and pork (THESE ARE THE BEST)

牛肉青椒 (niu2rou4qing1jiao1) beef and bell pepper

羊肉 (yang2rou4) lamb meat,

[Meat]

宫保鸡丁 - gong bao ji ding

锅包肉 - guo1bao1rou4 - sweet fried meat dish. Sweet, sweet and sweet pork would be a good translation

红烧x - hong2shao1x - you can usually get 红烧 anything. eggplant, beef, lamb, pork, etc

回锅肉 - hui2guo1rou4 - twice cooked pork. Usually sort of spicy, but also has peppers, onions and occasionally potatoes

辣子鸡, la zi ji - spicy chicken(or 猪pork,牛beef, etc)

水煮肉片 shui3zhu3rou4pian4. An awesome dish of pork pieces in a spicy peppery broth on a layer of cabbage and other vegetables

糖醋里脊 - Tang2cu4li3ji3 - sweet and sour pork,

台湾卤肉 - tai2wan1lu3rou4 - minced pork and veggies.

土豆牛肉 - tu3dou4niu2rou4 - beef and potatoes fried up together

鱼香肉丝, yu xiang rou si, strips of pork with a sweet and sour sauce. Can be spicy

[Soup/Noodles]

亁炒牛河 Gan chao niu he Noodles, beef and bean sprouts wide rice noodles stir fried in sesame sauce AND/OR sesame oil with sprouts, beef, and onion. The dish

LaTiaozi - Muslim. noodles in this tomato sauce with lots of veggies and some meat if you want

热干面, re gan mian, "dry" noodles (no soup) with a sesame paste sauce

炸酱面，zha jiang mian, noodles with minced pork, no soup, just a sauce

[Tofu]

干煸豆角 gan bian dou jou - aka 干煸四季豆 which is a very tasty spicy bean dish

家常豆腐 Jia Chang Doufu - Homestyle tofu

麻婆豆腐 - ma2po2dou4fu spicy tofu

日本豆腐 - ri4ben3dou4fu3 - Japanese style tofu. a bit weird (ie not firm)

ChinaBridge · 4 months

亁炒牛河 Gan chao niu he Noodles, beef and bean sprouts! Can be found in just about every restaurant in China! YUM!

Polarenvy · 4 months

guo bao rou

It's more a NE China Dish, but it's deliciousness makes it worth noting.

jtlarousse · 4 months

Another good technique is to point to other customers and say: "I want what they have."

AnElectricDangerous · 4 months

It's all about the 西红柿炒蛋. Xihongshi chaodan. It is the scrambled egg and tomato dish and it might as well be scrambled cocaine. Almost every restaurant serves it and although it'll vary in sweetness and saltiness, it is nearly impossible to screw up.

I don't eat it as much as I once did, but I still get excited every time I eat it!

Also, fish from Hangzhou/Zhejiang restaurants is the best I have had in China.

Finally, for those not too keen of fish bones, like yours truly, I would recommend 功夫鱼. Literally 'Kung Fu Fish', this fish is cooked all day so that by the time you eat it, not only is the meat juicy, flavorful, and falling off the bone, but the bones themselves are soft enough to chew and consume with no wentis whatsoever!

Edit: autocorrect typos.

pittsburgh924 · 4 months

I don't speak or read Chinese, but my favorite dish served in Guangdong is ginger fried rice. Ha-gao is great too.

koreth · 4 months

A few of my go-to dishes when I'm over there (I like spicy food, as you'll soon see):

辣子鸡 (la4zi ji1) Spicy chicken. This varies a lot from place to place but is usually diced boneless chicken in a savory spicy sauce.

刀削面 (dao1 xiao1 mian4) Knife-cut noodles. These are thick noodles, optionally served in soup. If you need a quick hit of starchy carbs, this is the dish for you. Most often seen at Muslim restaurants in my experience but I've seen them elsewhere too.

水煮牛 (shui3 zhu3 niu2) Literally "water-boiled beef" but really beef slices in hot numbing broth. This one is not for the spice-averse.

麻辣烫 (ma2 la4 tang4) You could literally translate it as "hot hot hot." It's a spicy, numbing soup with veggies, meats, and sauces mixed in. Most places that offer this let you choose the ingredients.

麻婆豆腐 (ma2 po2 dou4fu) Ma-po tofu, common in Chinese restaurants overseas too. When this is done well, it's really good, and it's still satisfying and tasty even when it's just of average quality. The best version of this I've had in my life is at 陈麻婆豆腐 Chen Ma-po Tofu in Chengdu.

mthmchris · 4 months

Crucial bit of information lacking: where in China do you live?

jingansi · 4 months

I loved 松子桂魚 (song1zi3gui4yu2) as a child and it's still one of my favorite dishes as an "adult." It's basically this fish that has been cut up perfectly so you won't get any bones, deep fried, covered in sweet and sour heaven sauce, with perfectly toasted pine nuts. I have yet to find similar entrees in restaurants in the US, but it's fairly common in China. I eat it at least three times when I visit China.

samort7 · 4 months

This thread is awesome.

Rocketa · 4 months

Great ones so far. I must add xiao bai cai hua shengmi, or just xiao bai cai, as a cheap and easy salad that everywhere will have. Some do it much better than others, but it's a good dish that I enjoy.

TheMediumPanda · 4 months

Universally you can find Muslim restaurants (Hui or Xinjiang) anywhere. They make some really damn tasty fried noodles. The names differ slightly from area to area but it's the one where they pull the noodles themselves, cook and fry it with some veggies and beef. Awesome. Alternatively (although almost the same) you can ask for ban mian which they usually all know. Plenty of good vegetable dishes are widely known all over China. I usually prefer Hu pi la jiao (green chillies fried with soy sauce, garlic and salt). I don't know if the Tang Cu prefix is widely used but around these parts it's the way you order sweet'n'sour meat. I also can't get enough of Pao Jiao Niu Rou (beef with pickled chillies) or Gan Ba -but I think the latter is local to SW China.

Feel free to correct my lousy pinyin. I can speak and understand stuff but my reading and writing is abysmal :)

TheMediumPanda · 4 months

Where is the love for mint fried redbeans (kidney beans)? If I had to pick ONE vegetable dish to eat every single time I ordered from now on until eternity this would be it. Bo he cu hong dou. Another dish with mint that I love is the pai gu,, done right it's awesomeness.

turkmenitron · 4 months

水煮肉片 anyone? shui3zhu3rou4pian4. An awesome dish of pork pieces in a spicy peppery broth on a layer of cabbage and other vegetables.

tipotter · 4 months

Not sure if anyone posted this. I'm to lazy to read the comments!

Gan bian yun dao or Gan bian si ji dao depending on where you are. So damn good!

Fried green beans with red peppers, sichuan pepper corns and little crumbles of pork. I could eat it everyday.

Uberche · 4 months

Jia Chang Doufu (家常豆腐） - Homestyle tofu, it's usually pretty good, but around the Nanjing/Shanghai area it's usually amazingly good, the tofu is fried, a bunch of veggies and a really damn good spicy sauce. I ate this 4-5 times a week when I was in Nanjing. In Beijing it's stickier and not so great

Most other dishes I love are already listed, In the Muslim places the best dish in my opinion is LaTiaozi which is noodles in this tomato sauce with lots of veggies and some meat if you want. It's like crack cocaine!

IowanRedditor · 4 months

tu dou si anyone? Its potatoes sliced and barely cooked with spicy sauce that is optional.

borgol · 4 months

番茄炒蛋 fan qie chao dan - tomato and egg, my favourite dish. also yuxiang qiezi - eggplant in fragrant sauce. amazing.

Chimp711 · 4 months

京酱肉丝 jing1jiang4rou4si1 It's strips of pork with red bean flavoring on a bed of onions. They give you tofu papers to roll it up in. It is by far my favorite.

d9-thc · 4 months

The simple, yet classically delicious 西红柿超鸡蛋 xi hong shi chao ji dan, tomato fried eggs.

牛肉拉面 niu rou la mian (or any kind of rou, really) - lo mein noodles

鸡蛋汤 - ji dan tang - egg soup

鸡汤 - ji tang - chicken soup

dteeban · 4 months

Another good one that I just had for lunch today is "mao dou ji ding". It's boneless chicken pieces in a not-so-oily sauce with soybeans. Not mushy, but more like the consistency of edamame. Sometimes it's served with chilis and/or peppers too.

By the way, if you want chilis added to something that normally doesn't have them, you can say "jia la jiao"

deadlast · 4 months

Ziran yangrou, aka cumin lamb. Often served on a bed of cilantro.

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