We’ve been sending teachers to China for more than 20 years, and in that time we’ve learned two things. First, almost everyone arrives convinced they already know what Chinese food is. Second, almost everyone is wrong.
Between the years we spent teaching there ourselves and all the stories our teachers have brought back, we understand exactly how important eating is to the China experience.
This list of the top five dishes to eat in China is built from all of those conversations, plus our own experience of eating our way around the country. And spoiler alert: you’re very unlikely to find any of them at your local takeaway.
I hope you’re not reading this hungry. Enjoy.
- Jianbing (煎饼)
If you only eat one thing for breakfast in China, make it this.
Jianbing is a thin, savoury crepe, and we’ll happily argue it’s the best breakfast in the world.
Half the joy is watching it being made. A ladle of batter hits a scorching round griddle and gets spread into a perfect circle in about two seconds. An egg is cracked on top and smeared out to the edges, then comes a scatter of spring onion and coriander, a brush of sweet bean and chilli sauce, and a crispy cracker laid in the middle. One flick, a fold, a slice, and it’s handed over in a paper bag, steaming.
Standing there in the cold, watching the whole performance with the focus of someone defusing a bomb, never gets old. We’ve seen it hundreds of times and still get excited.
Then you bite into it. Crunchy from the cracker, soft from the crepe, savoury, a little spicy, and properly filling. It has every texture and flavour you could want from a meal, all wrapped up in one hand. And you can build it your way: extra egg, sausage, ham or chicken, lettuce, more chilli, less chilli. Tell the vendor how you like it and they’ll sort it without breaking stride.
And it’s every bit as good as a late night snack after a few too many beers at karaoke, too. Allegedly.
- Egg and tomato (番茄炒蛋)
Here’s a dish that’s in nearly every Chinese home and almost nowhere outside of one. Scrambled egg and tomato. That’s it. That’s the dish. You won’t find it at a takeaway back home, and frankly, it’s a scandal.
It sounds too simple to be good, and then you taste it. Soft, silky egg, tomatoes cooked down into a sweet and tangy sauce, the whole thing rich, savoury and comforting from the first mouthful. The egg brings the richness, the tomato brings the umami and a little sourness, and together they hit every right note. Spoon it over rice or pile it on noodles and you’ve got a perfect meal in about ten minutes.
No two versions are quite the same, either. Some cooks add a pinch of sugar, others a splash of ketchup. Some fry the tomato first, some the egg. Some like it runny, some like it fluffy. Ask a Chinese friend and they’ll tell you their family’s version is the best, and the thing is, they’re right. For them, it is.
That’s what makes it special. This is the dish that lives in your heart. Years from now, in a kitchen thousands of miles away, you’ll taste it and be transported straight back to China.
- Shredded potato (酸辣土豆丝)
Better than chips. Better than mash. Possibly the best potato dish you’ve never heard of.
Potato is sliced into fine, thread thin strands and flash fried over a ferocious heat with dried chilli, garlic and a hit of vinegar, often with a little Sichuan pepper too. What comes out is crunchy and soft at the same time, tangy, spicy and slightly tingly on the lips. It’s the kind of dish that arrives at the table looking like a modest side and is gone before anyone has said a word.
Eating it with rice might seem strange. Carbs on carbs, a crime by any Western diet logic. But that only makes it better: crunchy potato, fluffy rice, a bit of sour heat. Trust us. Like the best food in China, it’s an everyday home cooked dish rather than a showpiece, and it’s adored by pretty much everyone who tries it. Order it once and you’ll order it every time.
- Stir fried aubergine (红烧茄子)
The Chinese really know how to cook aubergine. If you’ve only ever met the fat, bitter, slightly sad ones from a British supermarket, prepare to be converted. Chinese aubergines are long, slender, and purple with thin skin and a creamy flesh that practically melts.
Cooked down until silky, they’re coated in a sweet, sticky, garlicky sauce that soaks into every last fibre. Piled onto a spoon with a bit of steamed rice, it’s a hug for your stomach. On a cold day in China, or anywhere really, nothing comes close.
By now you’ve probably spotted a theme. Yes, it’s another simple home dish, and there’s a reason they all end up on this list. These are the meals that stay with you long after you’ve forgotten the fancy restaurants.
The real magic is putting the egg and tomato, the shredded potato, and the aubergine on the same table together all at once, shared with friends or family. At home or in a little local restaurant, cooked by a Chinese auntie and served by a Chinese uncle, with a bowl of rice and a cold beer. That’s the China we miss.
- Hotpot (火锅)
And now, the one that breaks the pattern. In China, hotpot isn’t a meal. It’s an event.
Clear the whole evening. A pot of broth bubbles away in the middle of the table, and around it arrive plates of everything you can imagine: thinly sliced meats, mushrooms, leafy greens, tofu in about six different forms, seafood, noodles, dumplings, and a few things you’ll need to ask about.
You cook it all yourselves, bit by bit, while the beer and the laughter flow. You eat until you’re full, rest, drink, and then eat some more. It lasts for hours, and the food is only half the point. It’s all about the company and the conversation.
The dipping sauces are where it gets fun. Every restaurant has a sauce counter, and you build your own bowl from scratch: sesame paste, garlic, chilli oil, vinegar, soy sauce, crushed peanuts, spring onion, coriander, fermented tofu, a spoonful of sugar, maybe an egg yolk if you’re feeling bold. There’s no wrong answer, and you can mix a fresh bowl for every round, so one hotpot ends up feeling like several meals in one.
Then there’s the broth. It can be mild and mushroomy, tomato based, or the famous Sichuan kind, which is spicy, VERY spicy. If your group can’t agree, most places will bring a split pot, where the brave and the sensible sit side by side. Whatever you pick, it’s always full of flavour.
But what we love most is the atmosphere. Look around any hotpot restaurant and everyone is in a brilliant mood. One table is celebrating a promotion, another is toasting exam results, and a group of old friends are catching up over their third plate of beef. It’s a happy place. You get the same vibes cooking it at home, although the clean-up is never fun. Always be the guest.
So, what now?
Street food, family food, and a proper celebration. These five dishes capture the best of eating in China, and they barely scratch the surface. China is vast, and so is its food. Every region has its own style, from the numbing heat of Sichuan to the dumplings of the north, and we’d argue, without much fear, that it has the best food of any country on earth.
And it’s NOTHING like the takeaways back home.
The best way to find out for yourself is to go and live there. Have a look at our China program page for salaries, locations and start dates, or email us at info@impact-teaching.com. We’ll help you work out what’s realistic, and we’ll even point you towards the best jianbing stall too.
