Chinese Family Dishes (Top 10 Dishes)

Chinese family dishes are prepared and eaten daily. Different from complex restaurant dishes, Chinese family dishes are always easy to cook and are delicious to eat.
The ingredients and flavors of Chinese family dishes vary by region and according to the tastes of different family members. The same dish may even have different flavors between two neighboring families.
For many Chinese people, the best dishes are not prepared by a Michelin-starred chef but by his or her mother!
Differences Between European/American and Chinese Family Dishes
Chinese people have their own ways of preparing family dishes, which can be very different from your family's way.
Look at the flames and listen to the sizzling wok — some find it looks like a fierce battle when the Chinese are preparing a meal!
Cooking Methods
Delicious Chinese Family Dishes
Europe/America: Typical meals involve roast meat topped with a sauce with boiled/roast vegetables.
China: Wok-frying is the most commonly used cooking method. In addition to frying, the Chinese also cook dishes by steaming, stewing, pickling, or roasting them.
Cooking Utensils
Europe/America: People use flat-bottomed frying pans and ovens. As there is less oil used and less cooking fumes, Western kitchens are much cleaner.
China: The standard cooking equipment in a Chinese family kitchen is a gas hob and a large black round-bottomed frying pan (a wok).
A high-powered extractor fan is also required to remove the cooking fumes, otherwise the kitchen will soon become smoky and greasy.
Recipes
A typical Chinese family kitchen (actually this page's author's family kitchen)
Europe/America: Dishes are generally cooked strictly according to recipes. People add seasonings, set a cooking time, and set the oven temperature carefully to make sure each dish tastes exactly how the recipe says it should.
China: There are no set recipes. Chinese people prepare their family dishes using intuition and experience.
You will not find "5 grams of salt, 1/2 tbsp. of oil, 5 grams of sugar" written on a Chinese recipe, just "some salt, an appropriate amount of oil, and a little sugar". Chinese people like to customize the flavors of their dishes for their family members.
10 Top Chinese Family Dishes
No one can count how many kinds of family dishes exist in China. However, the following are the most classic Chinese family dishes, which are prepared and enjoyed by millions of Chinese families.
1. Braised Pork Belly (红烧肉)
Braised Pork Belly
In other countries, pork belly is cut into thin pieces to make bacon but, in China, it is cut into cubes to make braised pork.
The earliest record of the dish can be dated back to the 5th century. The main ingredient for this dish is called wu hua rou (五花肉).
What is wu hua rou? It is pork belly meat with five layers: skin, fat meat, lean meat, fat meat, lean meat. The Chinese consider it the best ingredient to cook braised pork with.
The well-cooked braised pork has alternate fat and lean meat, with an appetizing brown color and a sweet, soft taste.
2. Mapo Tofu (Sautéed Tofu in Hot and Spicy Sauce 麻婆豆腐)
Mapo Tofu
In Sichuan Province, people cook the spiciest food in the world. Originating in Sichuan in 1862, mapo tofu was considered to be pungent and spicy.
Nowadays, mapo tofu is not only a family dish for Chinese people but is also a popular dish in the rest of the world.
The ingredients used to make mapo tofu are simple: tofu cubes, ground beef (or pork), chili, and Chinese red peppers, with the latter two being the most important. A dish of prepared mapo tofu must be red and hot.
If you are not enthusiastic about spicy dishes, you can ask the chef to put less chili in your dish. Mapo tofu with less spice but a fresher flavor will also be delicious.
Read more about the hottest Sichuan cuisine.
3. Shredded Pork with Garlic Sauce (鱼香肉丝)
Shredded Pork with Garlic Sauce
The dish is also called fish-flavored pork slices. Even though fish is in the dish's name and it's fish-flavored, no fish is used or any other related ingredients.
The main ingredient is lean pork (tenderloin is preferred), with black fungus, bamboo shoots, and carrots. Cut the ingredients into shreds and cook them with salt, chili, vinegar, and other seasonings.
The prepared dish contains silky soft pork shreds with a rosy color and an appetizing flavor.
4. Stirred Egg with Tomato (西红柿炒鸡蛋)
Stirred Egg with Tomato
This might be the most common Chinese family dish. The dish is easy to cook: fry the stirred egg and sliced tomato, and then add salt, sugar, and onion for flavoring. The prepared dish looks good, is tasty, and is nutritious.
5. Braised Pork with Vermicelli (猪肉炖粉条)
This is a representative dish of Northeast China. The preparation of the dish includes frying the pork slices and other ingredients, then adding seasonings and braising them with water-soaked vermicelli.
The traditional recipe only uses pork belly (wu hua rou) and sweet potato vermicelli. However, locals have customized their own versions of this recipe by adding sour cabbage, tofu, or carrot.
More choices of ingredients enriches the flavor and nutritional value of the dish.
6. Kung Pao Chicken (Spicy Diced Chicken with Peanuts/宫保鸡丁)
Kung Pao Chicken
This dish originated in China and its popularity has spread abroad, being elevated from a family dish to a main course in a state banquet, being loved by political leaders.
Using chicken as the main ingredient, the dish is cooked with peanut kernels, cucumber, and chili. This dish looks red and hot but only tastes mildly spicy with the fragrant combination of tender chicken and crispy peanut.
Nowadays, the dish is served in Chinese restaurants all over the world. If you want a taste of Chinese cuisine, a dish of kung pao chicken will be an excellent choice.
7. Double-Cooked Pork Slices (回锅肉)
Double-Cooked Pork Slices
This cooking method can be dated back to about 1,000 years ago. The method of "double-cooking" is to boil the pork in water and then fry it with seasonings.
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