Top 15 Chinese Snacks You Must Try(Two)
Beijing Specialty Snack – Rolling Donkey (Lü da gun)
Beijing snacks boast a long history, a wide variety, careful selection of ingredients, and exquisite craftsmanship, earning them a reputation that is widely acclaimed. Beijing snacks are commonly sold at temple fairs or along street markets, where people stumble upon them, leading the old Beijing residents to affectionately call them “unexpected eats” or “vegetable tea.”
These snacks have integrated the flavors of Han, Hui, Mongolian, Manchu, and other ethnic groups, as well as the snacks from the Ming and Qing dynasties, resulting in a diverse range of unique flavors.
There are about two to three hundred types of Beijing snacks, including appetizers for meals or to accompany drinks (such as boiled lamb’s head, stir-fried tripe, Bai Kui roasted lamb’s head, mustard cylinders, etc.), pastries used in banquets (such as steamed bunlets, minced meat Shaobing, lamb’s eye buns, Five Happiness Peach Buns, sesame buns, etc.), and a variety of snacks for teatime, breakfast, or late-night snacks (such as Ai Wowo, Rolling Donkey, etc.). Among them, the most characteristic Beijing flavors are soy milk, intestines, stir-fried liver, sesame tofu, and Zhajiang noodles.
Shanghai is a melting pot of famous snacks, known for their light, fresh, sweet, and delicious flavors that differ from the pure sweetness of Cantonese cuisine in Guangdong and Hong Kong, as well as the spicy and numbing flavors of Sichuan and Chongqing.
Shanghai’s snacks include a variety of cooking methods such as steaming, boiling, frying, and baking, with numerous options available. Among the most beloved by consumers are xiaolongbao, baoye, and youmianjin, which are the most favored “three main components.”
Shanghai is a melting pot of famous snacks
Tianjin is home to countless local snacks, not to mention the renowned “Three Unique Delicacies of Tianjin” – Goubuli baozi (Goubuli steamed buns).
Tianjin Goubuli Baozi
Gui Faxiang mahua (twisted fried dough), Erduoyan zhaogao (fried rice cakes), and many other folk snacks number more than a thousand varieties, including various steamed cakes, dried cakes, and Lama cakes.
Xiamen snacks are an important branch of Fujian Han cuisine culture. Xiamen’s local flavors and special products are well-known, with Minnan cuisine being one of the representatives of the eight major Chinese culinary traditions. Xiamen’s dishes incorporate elements from various Chinese culinary styles, creating a unique flavor that is light, fresh, mild, crispy, with a hint of spiciness and sweet and sour. Xiamen is particularly famous for its fresh seafood, ancient herbal cuisine, Putuo vegetarian dishes, and local snacks.
Xiamen snacks are diverse and unique, making them unforgettable. In Xiamen, snacks can be a snack, a meal, or even served at a banquet. The most famous Xiamen snacks include Shima five-spice, Longyan taro buns, Minnan chive boxes, Minnan taro balls, Xiamen octopus, oil leek cakes, braised tofu, Xiamen salted duck, dried oyster porridge, Tong’an braised pork, oyster omelette, bamboo shoot jelly, rice noodle soup, Dingbian cuo, satay noodles, spring rolls, salted rice, and more than 200 other varieties.
Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup
Nanjing has many snacks, and quite a few are distinctive. Perhaps due to its location between the north and south, it has a knack for integrating and accepting all kinds of snacks. During school days, it was common to gather a few friends and head to the snack stalls near the school gate. After trying many, here are a few that left a deep impression: wontons, boiled noodles, duck blood soup, and活珠子 (a type of chicken embryo dish).
Harbin Sugar Hawthorns
Harbin is famous for its large and sweet candied hawthorns, which look like strings of red coral from a distance.
Harbin Sausage
Cold dishes include pine nut sausages, sour and spicy pickles, wild vegetables, cucumbers, tofu rolls, tofu drumsticks, fried potato slices, sweet and sour radish strips, stir-fried potato strips, sweet and sour black fungus, and salmon roe, all rich in vitamins and carotene.
15.Kaifeng Snacks
Kaifeng snacks are a collection of Han Chinese snacks from the Kaifeng area, including soup dumplings, peanut cakes, and many others. Kaifeng snacks have a history of thousands of years, are widely renowned, and have remained popular. Originating from the Xia and Shang dynasties, Kaifeng snacks flourished during the Northern Song dynasty. Kaifeng snacks hold a prestigious place in the history of Han Chinese culinary culture.