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Nanjinger Kitchen

Cooking Chinese; 干煸四季豆 Sichuan Style Fried Beans

A staple in any Chinese kitchen, garlic has been used for over 5,000 years and is known to have medicinal purposes. Mainly used within stir fries, it is normally chopped or sliced finely to ensure taste is throughout the dish. A favour from which there is no escape, it...

Cooking Chinese; 孜然牛肉 Cumin Beef

I may be being naïve, but cumin is a spice that I never thought I would taste within Chinese cookery. I always associate it with Indian food. I could never make any form of Indian curry without the use of cumin seeds! Grinding your own seeds with a mortar...

Cooking Chinese; 葱椒椒炒牛肉 Stir Fried Beef with Spring Onions, Peppers & Chilli

In the colder months I crave food that will warm me up. Naturally, I want lots and lots of chilli, so it is lucky I live in a country that will provide me with such dishes whenever I  want.  Chillies come in all different shapes and sizes but I want...

Cooking Chinese; 扬州炒饭 Yangzhou Fried Rice

Whenever I think of Italy, I think of pasta; England, I think of potatoes, and China, guess what, rice! I can’t believe I haven’t thought about doing a rice dish until now; it seemed so simple and yet so obvious. No matter what restaurant you go into, you always...

Cooking Chinese; 面汤 Noodle Soup

Time  to focus on an ingredient that even the most well-mannered diners struggle to eat without looking ridiculous; noodles. My first experience of the street staple is something I will always remember. To start, I was taken aback by all the choices of noodles; rice, wonton, egg, glass, vermicelli and...

Cooking Chinese; 宫保鸡丁 Kungpao Chicken

Sichuan food is an extremely popular cuisine in China. Once you have tasted it, you understand why; the full whack of intense spices making your eyes and nose run leaves you craving more each time.  One particular spice that leaves your tongue feeling numb and tingly cannot be escaped. That,...

Cooking Chinese; 脆皮辣椒牛肉 Crispy Chilli Beef

Synonymous with Chinese cookery and a prevalent flavour in most savoury dishes, ginger has an unmistakable taste, which for me provides dishes with a slightly sour flavour, whilst giving subtle heat. I wanted to find a dish here where ginger is the main ingredient that brings my taste buds so...

Cooking Chinese; 香浓茄子蘑菇炖 Stewed Aubergines & Mushrooms

I love how vegetables can take a leading role at mealtimes in China. Instead of being the supporting side dish, veggies can (and do) take centre stage. Accustomed to a “meat and two veg” style of meal, I recently stumbled upon a dish which contained a vegetable that managed...

Cooking Chinese; 西红柿炒鸡蛋 Stir Fried Egg & Tomato

So far, I have focused on traditional Chinese herbs and spices, but now I am going to cook using a key ingredient that features in nearly all Chinese cookery; the humble egg. Find it in noodles, rice, dumplings, soups, stir fries, curries, stews; the list could just go on...

Cooking Chinese; 拍黄瓜 Smashed Cucumber Salad

The first herb that springs to mind when I think about Asian cooking is coriander. You can roast the seeds to create an aromatic curry, or chop up some of the leaves and sprinkle them over the top of a stir fry to give your dish some vibrancy. Whatever...
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Chompin' thru China

The Great Debate: Noodles or Pasta; Which Came First?

Xi’an, meaning “Western Peace”; the first of China’s four great capitals and what remains the country’s noodle mecca. Known...

Drunken Dishes Highlight Shanghai Decadence

Before venturing north, south or west, after I first arrived in China, east was my first port of call;...

Table Manners; Dining Etiquette in China

For this column’s last outing, we look at something not often associated with the everyday Chinese dining experience; etiquette...

Spring Bamboo Shoots (Stay away from the Cyanide!)

If you were anything like me, when you first arrived in China, you would never have known that one...

Imperial Cuisine for China's Upper Classes

Since this column is dedicated to the discovery and discussion of quirky and unusual Chinese food, it makes it...
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