{"id":14713,"date":"2019-04-22T14:51:18","date_gmt":"2019-04-22T18:51:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/?p=14713"},"modified":"2019-04-22T14:51:18","modified_gmt":"2019-04-22T18:51:18","slug":"northern-chinese-food","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/northern-chinese-food\/","title":{"rendered":"Northern Chinese Food"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the most common questions I get asked about living in China is “What’s real Chinese food like?” Well, it’s really hard to generalize Chinese food. One thing’s for sure, though – real Chinese food is a stark contrast from the sweet & sour chicken, egg rolls, and fortune cookies that are served up in most American Chinese restaurants. We’ve already taken a closer look at Cantonese food<\/a> as well as Western Chinese cuisine (Sichuan and Hunan<\/a>), so today we’re heading in a different direction as we learn about Northern Chinese food<\/strong>\u00a0(\u5317\u65b9\u83dc \u2013 b\u011bi f\u0101ng c\u00e0i).<\/p>\n

An Intro to Northern Chinese Cuisine<\/h2>\n

Northern cuisine includes food from Beijing<\/a>, as well as the provinces of Shandong<\/a>, Shanxi<\/a>, Inner Mongolia<\/a>, Northwest China, and the Northeast region, which is collectively known as Dongbei<\/strong>\u00a0(\u4e1c\u5317 \u2013 d\u014dng b\u011bi). The North experiences harsh, cold and dry winters, as well as incredibly hot summers, and the bold and salty flavors of the cuisine pair nicely with these rough weather conditions. It\u2019s a long way from Xinjiang province to Heilongjiang, though, so let\u2019s examine some of these different regions of the North individually.<\/p>\n

Beijing<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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The Imperial Bird – roast duck.<\/p><\/div>\n

Of course, Beijing cuisine<\/strong> (\u5317\u4eac\u83dc – b\u011bi j\u012bng c\u00e0i) is most famous for its Peking roast duck<\/strong> (\u5317\u4eac\u70e4\u9e2d \u2013 b\u011bi j\u012bng k\u01ceo y\u0101). A longtime favorite of Chinese Emperors, this delicious duck is now considered one of the national dishes in China, and a restaurant specializing in it is a guaranteed stop on any tour of Beijing. For more on the royal bird, check out my\u00a0post on the imperial bird<\/a>.<\/p>\n