Food is heaven in Chinese culture. Visit any of China’s twenty-two provinces shows and you are sure to find food spilling out of restaurants, bars and street stalls at scintillating speed.

China is a country that treats us to eight major cuisines (and anything up to eleven depending on who you talk to) across its provinces from Sichuan to Shangdong. Emphasis on freshness, the purpose of each ingredient, and social togetherness creates Chinese cuisine’s unique feel, making food an essential part of any gathering or celebration.

Dim sum 點心 — Cantonese sharing dishes which translate to ‘touch the heart’ — encapsulate this spirit of togetherness perfectly as does Chinese Hot Pot or barbecue.

Each region holds its own distinct spirit and style of cuisine, and a staggering variety of flavours, aromas and textures tingle tastebuds long after eating.

While a Western idea of Chinese food might be a greasy takeaway authentic Chinese dishes are often incredibly healthy – full of fresh vegetables, meat, and light carbs like rice and noodles. From a sea of delicious foods, here we share with you our top 11 mouth-watering Chinese foods to get you licking your lips. 

Jiaozi (jiǎo zǐ 饺子)

A light dough wraps around a filling of mouth-watering meats and vegetables. Your teeth sink in and are greeted with a wash of unforgettable flavour. True euphoria. This style of Chinese dumpling is commonly eaten during Chinese New Year celebrations and believed to bring great fortune!

It’s believed jiaozi were created over 1,800 years ago by doctor Zhang Zhongjing to cure frostbitten ears (see their ear-shape today). Try them boiled, steamed, or pan-fried and dipped in soy sauce, chilli, or sesame oil or black vinegar. 

Chinese Hot Pot (火锅)

What better than a simmering pot of tasty, tingly hot broth to warm your hearts and bring people closer together on a cold night? Throw in mushrooms, tofu, leafy greens, carrots, potatoes, noodles, thinly sliced meats, seafood and much more — and hit sensory overload.

Share conversations with friends around the table (at home or in a restaurant) as a variety of moist flavours caress your tastebuds and lift your spirits.

Beijing Peking Duck (北京烤鴨)

Peking duck is the definitive food of Beijing. Dating back to Yuan Dynasty (1279–1368), Beijing roast duck is called ‘the first dish to taste in China’. It’s crispy skin outside tender and moreish meat account for its obsession.

In a restaurant, the chef will emphatically cut the duck into up to 100 thin pieces at the table (each with crispy skin). Place it in a thin pancake, add green onion, shallot, plum sauce, fresh cucumber, and garlic paste – and welcome to ultimate pleasure.

Mapo Tofu 麻婆豆腐

The pride of China’s Sichuan province, mapo tofu is an aromatic and spicy tofu dish named after a restaurant owner in Chengdu. Sichuan pepper, chilli bean paste and powder give it a mala (麻辣) feeling: a numbing hotness.

Add the tenderness of the tofu, the sensual aroma of fermented black beans (douchi) and minced meat, plus the moisture of the sauce. Step into food heaven.

Read More: Asian Cookbooks for Inspiring Home Cooking

Yangzhou Fried Rice 扬州炒饭

Fried rice is a big hit across all of China. Wok-fried rice with (often chicken, egg and veg) that can feed the whole family! However, Jiangsu Province’s Yangzhou fried rice is particularly scrumptious – including egg, carrot, green peas, green onion, shrimp and Chinese ham.

Known as special or house fried rice in the West, this delicious mix of carefully-chopped ingredients sets it apart.

Knife-Cut Noodles (dao xiao mian, 刀削面)

Of the Shanxi province, knife-cut noodles (刀削面, also called dao xiao mian) scream authentic China. As the name suggests, a sharp knife shaves off strips of dough to create elegant and long noodles.

This is a true art form perfected by years of training (it’s believed an expert chef can shave 200 noodle strands in 1 minute!). Often called ‘longevity noodles’, many devour them in the hope of a long and prosperous life. As if they needed another reason.

Moon Cake 月餅

A moon cake or geppei is a delicious delicacy associated with China’s Mid-Autumn or Moon festival (15 August).

A tender pastry skin envelops sweet fillings including red bean paste, lotus seed paste, dried plum, and egg yolk (symbolising the moon).

Its roundness symbolises family togetherness and pays homage to the moon during this festival.

Chinese Spring Rolls (春卷)

China’s take on spring rolls is the ultimate crispy comfort food. Dating back to the Eastern Jin Dynasty (265 AD to 420 AD) people used to fill pancakes with vegetables to mark the first day of Spring.

Still today, Chinese spring rolls are essential part of the Spring Festival. These golden cynclindral bars of shredded meat and vegetables symbolise wealth and prosperity. Across China, they are a hugely popular appetizer dim sum choice!

Cheung Fun (猪肠粉)

Originating in Guangdong Province, cheung fun is steamed noodles made from rice (called shahe fen). These noodle rolls can be filled with delicious vegetables, shrimp, beer and more – usually eaten as part of dim sum.

It’s made with flour and water – the mixture ratio of which alters its thickness, transparency and stretchiness. Hugely addictive and morish, cheung fun is a popular street stall option in Hong Kong especially – often served with soy sauce, hoisin sauce, and sesame sauce.

Kung Pao Chicken (宫保鸡丁)

With a sensual hit of spicy, salty and sweet flavour, kung pao chicken (or gong bao ji ding) is an explosion of taste.

Traced back to Sichuan Province (south-western China), boneless marinated chicken chunks, peanuts, chilli peppers are stir-fried—to perfection – leaving a finger-licking flavour that will leave you longing for more long after its finish.

Char Siu (Chinese roast pork, 叉燒)

Char siu is Cantonese roasted pork meat that melts in your mouth. This red-coloured and sticky pork is for finger-licking foodies. Char sui translates to ‘fork roasting’ as the pork is skewered with forks before roasting it and cutting into strips.

It’s marinated in sugar, dark soy sauce, hoison sauce and spices for 24 to 48 hours to give incredible flavour, and given a reddy colour from fermented red bean curd. One of most jaw-droppingly delicious treats all of China, char siu is also enjoyed in steamed buns and some special fried rice.

Bao (包子),or Bāo zǐ

Originating from Northern China as a variation of Chinese ‘Mantou,’ (a plain steamed dumpling often compared to bread), baozi or bao are fluffy buns that fill you with happiness. They often come steamed and contain a variety of fillings like pork and vegetables.

In contrast to jiaozi dumplings (made from water and flour), bao buns use leavened dough which calls for the use of yeast. The end result is a soft melt-in-your-mouth moment that you take with you to your grave.

Tip: If you’d like to learn more about the history of Chinese food we recommend The Emperor’s Feast:A History of China in Twelve Meals by Jonathan Clements.

Embark on your own food adventures this year! Whether you’re plotting a trip or even on living and working in China – take these foods as your guide!

Cooking classes usually treat people as a total beginner unless said otherwise and at a good London cookery school, if you do want to keep improving on those skills you’ve learned then you absolutely can! We’ve tried some of the best Asian cooking classes in London and have learnt to make sushi, udon, tempura, and fantastic curry as a result.

Many of those skills are transferable too, once you’ve got the basics of a particular cuisine you can get a good cookery book and go from there. From intimate kitchens to bigger groups, there’s something to suit everyone here. Here are some of the best cooking classes in London.

Chinese Dim Sum and Bao Cooking Class

What else to start with on Books and Bao than a bao making class? Borough Kitchen is a fantastic London cookery school which offer a wide range of interesting cooking classes (their fermentation and pickling cooking class looks wonderful too).

The Dim Sum and Bao cooking class is one of the very best cooking classes in London for people looking to emulate real, authentic East Asian cooking. Bao and dim sum are traditional Chinese dumplings. Bao are steamed, large, soft dumplings filled with various hot meats and vegetables, while dim sum are smaller, bite-sized, and far thinner. At this London cooking class you’ll learn how to make both using traditional methods.

Beyond that, you’ll also learn how to use authentic Chinese condiments and seasonings to make sure you learn perfectly how to recreate that exact flavour you’re going for. Learning at this London cookery school isn’t just about the technique of making the bao and dumplings, but also about developing your general knife skills and cooking prowess, as well as knowing the right ingredients. Familiarity with Chinese ingredients, spices, seasonings, cooking styles, and more only helps to broaden your mind and open up new, exciting culinary avenues.

Read More: Best Asian Cookbooks for Great Home Cooking

Try a Sushi Making Class in London at Sozai Cooking School

This sushi class at the Sozai Cooking School is effectively set up into three sections, one for each type of sushi: hosomaki, futomaki, and uramaki. You’ll gather around Izumi as she shows you and explains how to roll the sushi, as well as what ingredients and tools you’ll need.

She also discusses where to buy the tools (such as a bamboo mat) and how to properly prepare and clean the sushi rice beforehand. Once Izumi has explained the process and prepared an example in front of you, she then gives you time to make your own at your own station of the sushi workshop.

Read More: Best Japanese Cookbooks for Inspiring Home Cooking

What makes this Japanese cooking class, in particular, such an enjoyable experience is mostly down to Izumi herself. She’s a fantastic teacher – helpful, clear, supportive, instructive, everything a teacher should be.

She will also email you after the class with a detailed PDF of the recipes you’ve just learned, in case there’s anything you forget after the sushi workshop is over. This is easily the most enjoyable sushi making class in London and if you want to learn more than she has advanced sushi making classes too!  Of course, this isn’t all she offers and you can learn everything from knife sharpening to ramen making.

Read More: Sushi Etiquette: How to Eat Sushi the Right Way.

Read More: Read all about our experience at Sozai Cooking School

Make Udon, Tempura and More at Yuki’s Kitchen

Are you ready to learn the fundamentals at this Japanese cooking class in London? Originally from a little outside Tokyo, and having spent some time working in Chicago, Yuki offers tempura and udon making classes. At Yuki’s London cookery school you can learn to be a master of both tempura and udon, two of the staples of Japanese home cooking.

They’re also two styles of cooking that are easy to grasp but are still very much an art form. Tempura, put simply, is fried vegetables, fish, and tofu (battered deliciousness), but there’s a true craft to it which Yuki can help you hone. Udon is a style of rustic, thick noodle from Japan that are wholesome a versatile.

You take away a recipe booklet so that you can easily make your tasty recipe at home with your fresh hand-made dough. This also helps in case you forget any of the steps that Yuki teaches you during one of the most thorough Asian cooking classes in London.

Read More: Read all about cooking at Yuki’s Kitchen.

Take an Indian Cooking Course at Cooking with Monisha

Monisha Bharadwaj is one of the most celebrated chefs and food experts in all of the UK. She’s an award-winning food writer and historian, and a professional chef with accolades to spare. And you can take a cooking class with her!

Appropriate for both complete beginners and experienced cooks, the cooking courses offered at Cooking with Monisha aim to teach students of the courses how to prepare and cook healthy, varied, and delicious traditional Indian meals.

There’s a huge variety of cooking course to choose from, including all-day courses which aim to provide one-day students with all the information, equipment, ingredients, and skills to produce a specific style of Indian cooking. These include seafood dishes, vegetarian dishes, home-style curries, and more.

The one-day courses offered by Cooking with Monisha also include a shopping trip, showing London residents how they can find and purchase everything needed to make these same traditional Indian meals at their local London supermarkets.

Read More: How to Make Katsudon

Learn Traditional East Asian Cooking at School of Wok

School of Wok is the best London cookery school if you love Asian food since there’s such an overwhelming amount of choice here. You can learn something from essentially every country in Asia and thus fulfil all your culinary dreams.

They’ve also won multiple awards which cement them as one of the very best cookery schools in Europe, which is a huge badge of honour. Their classes are a perfect size, always guarantee students from all walks of life have a ton of fun while they learn, and that they are taught by people who are incredibly passionate about the skills they’re teaching.

The courses range in length, price range, and what they actually cover. If you have the time and the commitment, for example, you can enjoy a full five-day course that covers a range of East Asian cuisine for £750. If you’d prefer to simply dip your toe in the water, they offer such things as an hour-long bao making class for an affordable £30.

There really is such an astonishing range of food to learn to cook with School of Wok, from sushi to Japanese curry, from traditional Thai cuisine to a wealth of Indonesian dishes. If you’re a fan of East Asian and Southeast Asian cuisine in general, this is the ultimate London cookery school for you.

If you’re wondering where to buy foodie gifts and anything you might need for any of these cooking classes then consider Sous Chef, a UK based shop which offers sets, food items and will even teach you techniques. We bought the bibimbap making kit and included it on our great gifts for travellers. Get £10 off with Sous Chef.

Read More: Best Japanese Restaurants in London

Xi’an people are passionate about their food and it shines through in the multitude of delicious dishes you can try. Most of these dishes can be found on the street or at local hole-in-the-wall places making Xi’an a budget-friendly adventure for a foodie.

Explore a Unique Chinese Cuisine

Due to Shaanxi’s geographical location in the centre of China, Xi’an cuisine uses different types of ingredients which derive from both northern and southern China. For example, salt, vinegar, capsicum, and garlic are frequently used, creating sour, spicy, and fragrant flavours.

If you’re travelling through the city during Chinese New Year then check out this great guide to special Chinese New Year food you’ll be able to find during this time.

Yangrou Paomo (yáng ròu pào mó 羊肉泡馍)

Yangrou Paomo is a delicious Xi’an speciality that comprises of mutton (sometimes substituted with beef) soup served alongside wheat flour flatbread. The hard bread is broken up into small pieces; the smaller, the better and are then added to the soup. The mixture is enjoyed with sweet crisp pickled garlic, coriander, and lashings of hot pepper sauce.

Photo credit and more information about this delicious dish at: Impressions of China.

Jiaozi (jiǎo zǐ 饺子)

Jiaozi (one style of dumpling) consists of a range of ingredients wrapped in a thin dough covering. It’s a real art form and almost too beautiful to eat.

Try not to miss Xi’an’s featured jiaozi Banquet (xī ān jiǎo zǐ yàn 西安饺子宴) if you visit. The jiaozi served in a jiaozi banquet are always made of the finest ingredients and come in unbelievable shapes like butterflies, penguins, leaves, goldfish, flowers, clouds and so on. Very much a treat for the eyes as well as the mouth.

Photo credit and more information about the Jiaozi banquet can be found at: China Culture Tour

Guan Tang Baozi (guàn tāng bāo zǐ 灌汤包子)

One of Xi’an’s most famous specialities is the guan tang baozi. They are delicate and delicious steamed buns hiding piping-hot soup within. You can usually choose from beef, lamb or the famous ‘three flavours’ – normally lamb, mushroom, and prawns.

With over ten types of seasoning, they are real delicacy. The easiest way to eat them is to poke a small hole in them with your chopsticks and suck out the soup. Sprinkle them with a little vinegar to really bring out the flavour. The best place to try them is at Jia Brothers’ Restaurant (jiǎ sān guàn tāng bāo zǐ guǎn 贾三灌汤包子馆) on Muslim Snack Street (huí mín xiǎo chī jiē 回民小吃街).

Rou Jia Mo (ròu jiá mó 肉夹馍)

Incredibly satisfying food, rou jia mo is finely chopped pork stuffed in toasted wheat flour flatbread. A piece of good-quality bread and a bowl of mung bean flour soup will cost you less than 10 Yuan ($1.47). You can find it easily in Xi’an and the best rou jia mo can be enjoyed in the Muslim Quarter where the filling is normally either lamb or beef. A cheap and delicious street snack.

Photo credit and more information about this amazing dish at: Top China Travel

Liangpi Noodles (liángpí 凉皮)

This wonderful noodle dish is a real staple in Xi’an. Filling and delicious, the dough is left to soak overnight and then cut by hand into thin ribbons. Other ingredients are added such as cucumber shreds, bean sprouts and then finished with spices, sesame paste and roast chilli oil. Wonderfully cheap and easy to find.

Photo credit: Find out more information and how to make Liangpi noodles (and a multitude of other fabulous dishes) at China Sichuan Food.

Don’t forget to try:

Hand stretched noodles —  Part of the fun is watching them be stretched to amazing lengths and tossed around with incredible talent. There’s also no comparison with taste, they’re just outstanding. Restaurants can be recognised easily as they’ll usually have steel tables out front with buckets of greased dough balls ready to be stretched in front of you.

An obscene amount of street food — From fried Xi’anese potatoes in a cup to everything you can possibly imagine barbecued on a skewer (plenty of options for vegetarians here) this is a culture known for its particularly rich street food so eat as much as you can!

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