lostplate.com

China has more people than all of North and South America, Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, combined. If you think about how varied the cuisines of those continents are, Chinese cuisine is just as varied (if not more) by population, geography, and history. Not just in taste, but in textures, colors, eating customs, restaurant-vibes, and the legends that come with each dish. If food is an expression of landscape and culture, then come and see what 1.5 billion people can do with the world around them.

As the Chinese word’s appetizing connotation is lost in translation, this dish is usually translated figuratively to “mouth-watering chicken” or  “steamed chicken with chili sauce” in English. Classified as a cold dish in Sichuan cuisine, this cold chicken dish is enriched with multiple seasoning condiments, tasting spicy, freshness, fragrance and tenderness all at the same time. Till this day, I still can’t stop drooling for the dish every time it crosses my mind, the dish that I always ate when I was a child at my hometown in Sichuan, the boiled soft chicken meat infused with the fragrance of homemade red chili oil. As time went by, this Sichuan dish was referred “formally” by many restaurants as “Saliva chicken”, and was known today to be a common home cooking dish in Sichuan.

There are a growing number of excellent products made in China that are catered specifically toward Western flavors. What we love about these products is that they aren’t mass-produced, preservative-filled items like you often find in the Western world. Instead, they are made by passionate foodies focusing on quality ingredients in small-batch shops which means they are extra fresh and super tasty. Take a look at our favorite locally made food items in China and add them to your holiday shopping list for the foodies in your life!

The most important thing to remember about Chinese cooking is that we rarely use recipes. We believe in the art of feeling – knowing what’s right based on what we’ve seen our families do, or even based on the mood that we’re in. Look for gluten-free soy sauce, use a plant-based meat substitute or very firm tofu, and make adjustments where necessary. 1.7lb or 780g ground pork 4 medium boneless chicken breast, about 12oz or 340g Fresh Produce: 10 inches of ginger 24 cloves of garlic 1 bunch scallions or green onions, for garnish Handful or cilantro, for garnish Enough leafy greens for 4 servings of noodles; spinach, bok choy, or choy sum For Dry Pot: recommended amounts/ meats/veggies but choose your favorites or mix/match with your heart: 400g or 14oz mix of your favorite meats 1 bell pepper 1 potatoes 1 lotus root 1 small head of broccoli 1 small head cauliflower 8 shitake mushrooms