Chinapedia | Eat like a Beijing local

As the capital city of China, Beijing is one of the top choices among tourists who visit China. It balances China's well-preserved historical and cultural heritage with every conceivable modern twist in building, design, food and flavors. Speaking of food, it is always the most anticipated part when traveling. What are some local Beijing foods that tourists can't miss out? Where to find the original taste of Beijing?

Peking Duck

When thinking about Beijing food, the first dish that comes to most people's mind might be Peking duck. It is a signature dish that represents Beijing cuisine. Its crispy skin, tender meat, and the ritualistic manner of serving make it more than just a meal, it's an experience.

Peking duck is often served with wheat-based pancakes, fermented bean sauce, cucumber, pickles, scallions, mashed garlic and white sugar. Customers will be asked whether they want duck soup or salt and pepper duck bones when ordering Peking duck. Chefs will prepare and slice out duck meat in front of the customers. The remaining duck bones will be either prepared into duck soup or salt and pepper duck bones and will be served later during the meal.

How to eat:

• Duck meat + fermented bean sauce + pancake (most traditional way)
• Duck meat + fermented bean sauce + pickles + mashed garlic + pancake
• Duck skin + sugar

Copper hotpot/Mutton hotpot

In the hearts of Beijing people, copper hotpot has long since transcended its own definition as a delicacy, it is more of a happy sentiment for family gatherings. Copper has good thermal conductivity and heats up quickly, so the temperature will be higher than that of an iron pot.

People normally have mutton with copper hotpot. Customers can also order other vegetables or meat to enjoy, but mutton is the soul of the copper hotpot.

How to eat:

Soak a piece of mutton in boiling water. It is good to eat as soon as the meat turns great. Remember not to cook the meat for too long as it will not taste fresh enough.

Beijing fried sauce noodles

There are many types of fried sauce noodles in China. Among all, the Beijing fried sauce noodles are the most well-known one. The Beijing fried sauce noodles originated during the Qing Dynasty. The fried sauce is made of yellow soybean paste, tianmianjiang and minced meat.

How to eat:

Mix everything well together and enjoy!

Zhizi BBQ

Zhizi BBQ  first originated from the nomadic people of Manchu and Mongolia who favored meat. The dish was brought to Beijing with the Manchu's entry into Beijing. It then becomes one of the popular and signature Beijing dishes.

Douzhi (Mung bean milk)

Douzhi, or mung bean milk is a fermented mung bean dish in Beijing. The taste of Douzhi is largely debated like that of stinky tofu. Some people think it has a smell like rotten egg, while some people love the taste of it. But either way, it is a signature Beijing dish to try out.

Lüdagun (Fried chop rice cake)

Lüdagun is a traditional Manchu snack in China. It originated in Manchuria and later became famous in Beijing. The name "Lüdagun" in Chinese means "rolling donkey". The yellow soybean flour sprinkled over the pastry makes it look like a donkey rolling on the loess, which gave rise to its Chinese name. It is made of glutinous rice and red bean paste, with yellow soybean flour sprinkled over.

（English Editor: Ella Qu)