Peking Cuisine or Beijing Cuisine has developed from the Beijing local dishes, Shandong dishes and the royal dishes of the palace. The imperial palace dishes of the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties and the household dishes of princes and marquises have over the centuries evolved into the unique Peking Cuisine which reached its climax in the Qing Dynasty and was typically represented by Manhan Quanxi ( the Royal state feast of the Qing Dynasty with desserts of Man ethnic group and dishes of Han ethnic group, 满汉全席 ). Its major cooking techniques are baking, quick-frying, deep-frying, sautéing and stir-frying, supplemented by braising and stewing. Its dishes features with crispiness, softness, freshness and tenderness in taste, a wide range of ingredients, refined cutting skills, aesthetic shape and fine cookery. The majority of the dishes are salty and the remaining have other tastes. Peking Cuisine’s most well-known dishes are Roasted Duck ( Kao Ya, 烤鸭) and Instant-boiled Mutton ( Shuan Yanrou, 涮羊肉 ), which are dubbed with the title of the “State Dish”.
The main characteristics of Peking Cuisine have various cooking techniques, such as quick-frying with oil, salt, soy sauce, soup, water, pan-frying, pickling in wine, baking, simmering and instant –boiling are widely used. Its selection of ingredients is very broad, the dish colours are diverse, the flavouring is delicate and the tastes are primarily salty, sweet, acidic and spicy with overtones of pickled fragrant wine producing a subtle aroma.. Mutton-based dishes like instant-boiled mutton are very popular. Meat-based dishes are very unique and commonly cooked by boiling in water, braising and baking.
Main Dishes
Beijing Roasted Duck ( Beijing Kaoya, 北京烤鸭 )
Beijing Roasted Duck ( Beijing Kaoya, 北京烤鸭 ), as one of the rare royal dishes from the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties has been embraced by the general public for more than 200 years ranking as the top option among Beijing local dishes.
The ducks used for Beijing Roasted Duck must be Beijing local ducks which will consecutively go through various refining processes of killing, pumping, intestine flushing, skin-boiling, sugar coating, skin-cooling, baking and slicing before it reaches the customer. The techniques applied are very delicate and the taste is very unique. The roasted ducks look fiery-red and rich in colour and the skin tastes crispy, tender, pure and aromatic. Green onions, sweet sauce and thin flour cake in the shape of a lotus leaf are normally used as the side ingredients. The roasted ducks are baked in a suspended furnace over a flaming fire at temperatures ranging from 230 to 250 degrees. A duck will first be internally filled with boiled water and then placed into the front end of the furnace. By doing so, the duck becomes tender and the water evaporates from the body of the duck making the duck taste tender and delicious. The right back side of the duck will be baked first. When the duck skin turns golden, it is turned so that the left back side can be cooked. It is then followed by the left front side and then the right front side of the duck. These steps shall be repeated until the entire duck becomes ripe and fiery-red. After the baking is finished and the water inside the duck is pumped out, the chef will slice the duck. The slicing sequence will be the duck breast, the two sides of the wings, the legs and finally the rear. A duck weighted at 2 kilograms should produce about 90 slices and once sliced the skin and flesh bonds together. The soup made with the remaining carcass is stewed with Chinese cabbage or white gourd and could be served along with the main course. Such unique soups taste very light and not at all greasy.
Instant-boiled Mutton ( Shuan Yangrou, 涮羊肉 )
Instant-boiled Mutton ( Shuan Yangrou, 涮羊肉 ), or Mutton Hot Pot ( Yangrou Huoguo, 羊肉火锅 ) is a traditional Beijing local dish with a long history. Donglaishun Restaurant ( Donglaishun Yangrou Guan, 东来顺羊肉馆) is the most prestigious at cooking instant-boiled mutton and well-known for its delicate selection of ingredients, slim and even mutton slices and has a large variety of flavourings.
The raw materials supplied come from the flesh of five parts of the Inner-Mongolian small-tailed sheep including Shangnao, Xiaosancha, Motang, Huangguatiao (nicknames for sheep anatomy in Beijing dialect). The bones and tendons are stripped away and the left over flesh is frozen and compressed. Each 250 gram of flesh will be cut into 40 to 50 slices of about 20cm× 5cm in size and placed into separate trays. It is then flavoured with Furu (fermented bean curd), leek flower, soy sauce, chilli oil, preserved shrimp oil, caraway and chopped onion. The side dish ingredients are Chinese cabbage, thin bean vermicelli or frozen bean curd and pickles which could be eaten together with flash boiled mutton. The left over soup could also be used for boiling noodles and Chinese dumplings ( Jiaozi,饺子 ) and the taste would be marvellous.
Pork Joint Stewed with Rock Sugar ( Bintang Zhouzi, 冰糖肘子 )
Pork Joint Stewed with Rock Sugar ( Bintang Zhouzi, 冰糖肘子 ) is a famous dish in Beijing’s Tanjiacai Restaurant ( Beijing Tanjia Cai, 北京谭家菜). The main ingredient is steamed and boiled pork joint. The cooked dish looks red and rich in colour, the skin is crispy and the meat is soft. The texture of the marinated sauce feels like thick honey, the aroma smells strong and fragrant, the saltiness and sweetness is moderate and the nutrition is rich. This dish is helpful for increasing the skin’s elasticity and is also good for facial care.
Braised Chinese Cabbage ( Lanhu Baicai, 烂糊白菜 )
Braised Chinese Cabbage ( Lanhu Baicai, 烂糊白菜 ) as a household dish is very popular in Northern China. In winter, Chinese cabbage is the major vegetable and it contains multiple nutritional ingredients required by the human body and is dubbed with the title of “The King of Vegetables”. This dish also applies to fresh meat or dried shrimp which enables the taste to be more delicious.
Beijing Spring-cake Scrolls ( Beijing Chunbing Juancai, 北京春饼卷菜 )
Beijing Spring-cake Scrolls ( Beijing Chunbing Juancai, 北京春饼卷菜 ) is the main food eaten in the summer by Beijing families. Some household stir fried dishes can be wrapped into the pancake and eaten instantly. The features of this dish are simple-to-cook, quick-to-eat, possessing a unique taste. The combination of different raw materials and cooking techniques could give birth to widely different flavours.
Braised Fish Soup with Vinegar and Pepper ( Cujiao Yu, 醋椒鱼 )
Cujiao Yu Braised Fish Soup with Vinegar and Pepper ( Cujiao Yu, 醋椒鱼 ) is made up of fresh cyprinoids (similar to carp) from the Chinese Yellow River, vinegar, pepper, and chicken soup. The dish was very popular in Jinan, the capital of Shandong province in the early Qing Dynasty. During the middle period a large number of Shandong chefs and restaurants moved into Beijing and this brought forth this classic dish. However, the raw materials have been changed slightly for cyprinoids were used in Shandong and mandarin fishes in Beijing. In the past century, this dish has become the most famous local dish in both Shandong and Beijing.
Boiled Pork Joint with Soy Sauce and Crushed Garlic ( Huzhou, 煳肘 )
Boiled Pork Joint with Soy Sauce and Crushed Garlic ( Huzhou, 煳肘 ) is one of Beijing Shaguoju Restaurant’s ( Beijing Shaguoju Fanzhuang, 北京沙锅居饭庄 ) typical dishes and has a history of more than 200 years.
To make this dish the chef first bakes the pig’s joint over an open fire until the skin is burnt and crisp. The joint is dipped in warm water for 30 minutes before removing the outer surface so that the remaining part looks golden yellow. Its put into a pan with water, brought to the boil and simmered until cooked. Once cooked, it is sliced into thick strips, placed on a tray and served with soy sauce and crushed garlic. This dish has a light smoky flavour with a fragrant smell offering a truly magnificent taste.
Traditional Beijing Roasted Meat ( Laobeijing Kaorou, 老北京烤肉 )
Traditional Beijing Roasted Meat ( Laobeijing Kaorou, 老北京烤肉 ) is primarily beef or mutton-based. The process of cooking this dish utilises an iron roasting frame made from wrought iron with a pan diameter of 2 Chi (Chinese unit of length, 1 Chi=1/3 meter), under which firewood is burned. The frame is brushed with mutton fat before the marinated meat slices are put on. Pine wood cones or lacebark pine is placed underneath the frame and onion slices are put on top. The marinated mutton slices are placed on top of the onion and tossed with a pair of specially-made chop sticks of about one and a half Chi in length. When the beef becomes deep brown or the mutton turns white, the dish is ready to be served. Eating while cooking at the same time is an excellent option.
Food Street
Guije Street
This street in Beijing became popular in the middle and late 1990s. It has almost 200 restaurants along a street of no more then 1.5km and is Beijing’s most popular food street, most famous for its crayfish.
Most places along this street are open 24 hours a day and here you can find Sichuan, Shandong, Hunan and Cantonese food among others, as well as barbeque and hot-pot.
Its popularity is mainly due to its advantageous location around Dongzhi Gate, an underground junction for coaches and buses, so there are many people milling around who are attracted to the food street. Another advantage is the number of foreign embassies in the area.
The first food street in Beijing, Guije Street was first to take advantage of the city’s nightlife to boost the catering trade.
Fucheng Road
For a wide choice of tens of catering companies, Fucheng Road is a good place to go; it offers Huaiyang, Hangzhou, Hunan, Cantonese and Sichuan food, among others. Some restaurants serve traditional Chinese food while others serve Western food. This is a well-known place in Beijing for good quality food.
Qianmen (Front Gate)
Less popular than some of the other food streets in Beijing, Front Gate Street is nonetheless home to several old and very famous restaurants, whose long histories can be seen by their signposts. They offer typical Beijing catering culture and the tastes you will find here are truly orthodox.
Shichahai-Houhai Food Street
Strong cultural scents emanate from this food street, making its appearance more attractive – it is old and even a little run-down.
The area around Yinding Bridge has become the centre of this area; it is noisy, bustling and lively. On the western shore of Shichahai, the old style restaurants surround a new group of restaurants, making this an area of both food stalls and bars.
Snacks
Drinks
Fermented Bean Drink (豆汁)
One of Beijing’s favourite refreshments. The dark green coloured drink has a light sweet and sour taste in its thick liquids. Fermented Bean Drink can be found on the streets of Beijing during spring and winter and is always popular among locals and foreign travellers.
Erguotou (二锅头)
Arguably the best-selling alcoholic drink in China, Erguotou also has other nicknames such as “Xiao Er”, “Niu Er” and “Hong Xing”. The percentage of alcohol in Erguotou varies; however, it is normally higher than 50 per cent. When eating dumplings in winter, Erguotou is a popular choice by many Chinese families.
Stall Tea (大碗茶)
A type of traditional Chinese tea that can be found in every teahouse in Beijing. Yang Xinyu, General Manager of the legendary Laoshe Teahouse, said: “Tourists often go to the Forbidden City or the Great Wall, to witness a sense of peaceful scenery. By going to a teahouse, we hope they can feel the vitality of the Chinese culture and interact with us.”
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