排骨炖豆角 Beef and Green Bean Stew

Pinyin: Pái Gǔ Dùn Dòu Jiāo

A nice and hearty dish for dinner. Like so many of the hearty Chinese
dishes this one also comes from the north.

Extremely basic really, a bit of beef or pork and a few bones are okay
too and then add some salt and boil the hell our of it. IRS aboutike
one could expect, a. It salty

With hints of meat, a nice strong string bean flavor and that's it. I
wasn't enamored with the dish, it was nothing special, but it's
something I could definitely make at home.

烟笋腊肉 Spicy Smoked Pork

Pinyin: yān sǔn là ròu

This spicy smoked pork is to die for. It reminds me a lot of dried beef (it is in fact basically dried pork), it's salty and has a nice cured meat flavor to it. I'm sure it's incredibly unhealthy for you, but hey you only live once right?

The dish is composed of slices of this smoked pork, a rather strange kind of dried mushroom and of course peppers that give it that added kick. The pieces of pork are really half meat and half fat, the fat is what adds the most excellent flavors to the dish and if you want to be healthy it's easy enough to avoid eating.

This style dish/meat is quite often served at Hunan style restaurants. There are many dishes available that use the 腊肉 and you really should try it. Again probably isn't the healthiest, but if you like smoked fish, or beef jerky and can stomach spicy things this is the dish for you.

蟹粉蒸饺 Crab and Pork Steamed Dim Sum

Pinyin: xiè fěn zhēng jiǎo

Something a bit different today. A little Dim Sum. Dim Sum as Americans know it, is more of a Cantonese style food. Dim Sum is essentially the Chinese equivalent to finger food and it's usually eaten while drinking tea. Lots of time the dishes are sweet and dessert like in nature, although that's obviously not always the case.

These steamed dumplings are filled with a mixture of pork and crab meat (which means they are salty/savory rather than sweet). I'm not usually one for liking crab, but I do like Dim Sum. Since I don't much care for crab I couldn't say I loved the taste of these little dumplings. The crab flavor was quite strong, the outer noodle shell was nice, not too chewy, yet it didn't just fall apart. And the little orange red things on top were just for looks essentially.

I'd definitely recommend trying some Dim Sum while your in China, there are tons of options available. For me I won't be getting these crab dumplings again, but hey if you enjoy crab, more power to you.

东北酱脊骨 Braised Pork Spine

Pinyin: dōng běi jiàng jǐ gǔ

A dish fit for a man. Meat and bones greasy and fried, not much in the way of spices or strange flavors, just meat and grease.

I've never had braised pork spine before, it seems as though it's a lot like pork ribs, but more difficult to eat. Trying to dig in to the corners and crevices while keeping the cheeks clean was basically impossible. After the fact I'm not really sure that you could give the bones to a dog but I'm sure they'd appreciate it.

The only real complaint I had was that it was a bit greasy, overall the dish was just OK, nothing to rave about.

京酱肉丝 Pork in Beijing Sweet Sauce

Pinyin: Jīng Jiàng Ròu Sī

This dish is practically made for fresh-off-the-boat Westerners. It's sweet and has a nice juicy sauce, the meat is just meat and isn't from strange parts of the pig's body, and the meat is sitting atop some pretty benign shallots.

However, on a regular basis, or even irregular basis I can't be eating this dish too often. It really is too sweet for my Chinese adjusted palate. I ended up eating most of the shallots and just a little of the meat.

To get an idea of what this dish tastes like, think Beijing Duck, just the poor man's version, pork no duck. That's basically what this amounts to, the taste is almost identical to Beijing Duck, without the duck, and without the funny little tortilla shells to wrap everything in.

蒜泥百肉 Steamed Pork with Garlic

Pinyin: Suàn Ní Bái Ròu

Meat, my oh my what a tasty site. I have to be thankful for the little pleasures a dish like this brings to me in Shanghai. For you see, this meat is exquisitely flavored, it only has a small bit of fat attached, the garlic, peanuts and cilantro are balanced nicely, and the clincher for me is that this dish is completely bone free.

After so many meals spent chewing around, through and over bones it is refreshing to just simply eat a piece of meat with total disregard.

I highly recommend this dish, not just for the lack of bones, but because of the taste. Served as an appetizer it seemed to set the tone for the entire meal, which turned out to be tasty.

蒜香骨 Garlic Fried Pork Ribs

Pinyin: Suàn Xiāng Gǔ

Who doesn't love ribs! Granted they aren't barbecued baby back ribs, but beggars can't be choosers. The way I see it, actually getting a full rib is a small miracle.

This is a tantalizing dish. Normally only chicken is deep fried. Deep fried ribs are a bit out of the ordinary, but what really makes these shine, and makes the grease dripping from them worthwhile is the fact that they must have been coated/marinated in garlic before being fried, and my oh my what a wonderfully garlicky delight.

苦瓜肉片 Stir Fried Bitter Melon and Pork

Pinyin: Kǔ Guā Ròu Piàn

Oh my this one is a real doozy. People either love it or hate it. I'm more of a hater, but coming around to the tolerating side of things. It's the damn bitter melon (the green stuff) that makes this dish just so.

Bitter melon looks like a cucumber gone wrinkled, but tastes like sucking on an aspirin. It is one of the most bitter things I've tasted and for the most part I can't stand it. According to Chinese traditional medicine the bitterness has a cooling effect on the body which is especially good during the summer, ironically that's precisely when this vegetable is in season.

While I may have a hate relationship with this vegetable, your Chinese friends will probably feel the same way, but entice you to eat it at least once. Like everything in life I recommend you try it at least once and choose to hate it all on your own.