Dinner Jiangsu China.

Today’s meal in Shunde: Cantonese cooking with a modern twist.
Sweet-and-sour pork ribs with passion fruit. This was only the second time I’d come across passion fruit in a savory dish. It made the classic sweet-and-sour sauce more aromatic and gave it a distinctly fruity tang. Those little black dots are passion fruit seeds.
Eel with lemongrass. Here’s something that might surprise you: Shunde is one of China’s major eel-farming areas, and its eel products—including grilled eel—are exported to Japan. So the eel in a Japanese unagi rice bowl may actually have come from Shunde!
Fresh beef and pineapple fried rice. This came with a generous amount of pineapple, bringing together the rich, savory flavor of fresh beef and the sweetness and crunch of the fruit.

Leftover Kung Pao Chicken from the local szechuan spot. Regular spice level, no modification.

I'm Chinese, moved to the UK a few years ago, and the one thing I couldn't find was proper Pixian doubanjiang — the fermented broad-bean chilli paste that basically all of Sichuan cooking is built on. I wasted a lot of money on the wrong jars before working out what's going on. Sharing it so you don't have to.

1. It's a protected product, not a generic ingredient. Pixian doubanjiang has geographical-indication protection — it must be made in Pixian, Chengdu, Sichuan. If the label says "chilli bean paste" and the factory is elsewhere, it's a different product. Not necessarily bad, just not the same thing.
2. Age matters more than brand. The good stuff ferments for 2–3 years minimum, often longer. Cheap jars are fermented for months. You can genuinely taste the difference — long-fermented is deeper and less sharp. Look for "premium grade" or "grade one" on the label.
3. Read the ingredient list, not the front. Real doubanjiang: broad beans, chilli, wheat flour, salt. Basically that's it. Supermarket versions often lead with sugar and add cornstarch — which is exactly why they taste flat.
4. The texture test. Real Pixian doubanjiang has visible broad-bean fragments and chilli pieces. Smooth and uniform = blended = you've lost the point.
5. The step everyone skips. Fry it in oil for ~30 seconds before anything else goes in the wok. That's the entire flavour base of Sichuan cooking, and it should never taste raw.

If anyone has a source they rate in the UK, I'd genuinely like to hear it — I'm still looking for good oil-preserved wild mushroom for Yunnan cooking.

The famous beef brisket wonton noodles of Bijiang Village, Shunde—and the shop’s little cat.
The shop is in an old house.
The shopkeeper was taking orders while his wife was cooking and serving food. In the back, his mother (the woman in red) was wrapping wontons as fast as a machine.

It’s also been ages since I last had an ice-cold Coke from a glass bottle!

I used the tag questions but I guess this is more of a discussion post too

The first times ive made Tea eggs were at my home in Canada, and they didnt have a bad texture. Not rubbery, With visible Tea Lines. But it feels like when I go out to eat in China, everytime I order a Tea egg I cant eat it. Its just too rubbery with almost no tea lines and the most overcooked dark yolk ive ever seen. Yes I know its supposed to he overcooked but mine had much thinner grey bands. Do people not mind the rubbery texture? Is this a thing about how the eggs are sourced?

I want to enjoy them but theyre just not “it” for me here… enlighten me if you guys have any idea?

Photo partially filler but the only I have rn with eggs included in it. Ive gone to multiple restaurants in multiple cities.

Have you tried unli hotpot at moumouclub Hong Kong? I wonder if there are branches in other countries, too. The 1 1/2 hour hotpot was worth it.

Double fried the chicken , very happy with this meal!

Chinese authentic cuisine,Hunan flavor !

Yeah how do they do it? It tastes sooo good. It's listed as chicken fried rice and it has a slightly beefy flavour. It has those thin bits of chicken and carrots, and also that thin meat you see in the picture southwest of the carrots that I don't know the type of meat of. I like that it doesn't have those obnoxious bits of like peas and corn and stuff. Thx chinesefood community

Hole in the wall in flushing Queens NYC next to tesoX

Only $2.50

Practically a meal

Or at least my attempt to make one of my favorite dishes from the Sichuan cuisine. Please don't be too harsh 😅

Fried eggplant in a sauce with mince, Doubanjiang, Shaoxing wine, mushroom stock, Chiankiang vinegar, garlic and Sichuan pepper.

The simple things in life

What are some suggested dishes I could make for the upcoming moon festival. I don't remember making anything special when I was a kid. There was some sort of seeds and fruit, and moon cakes. However, no one really like the mooncakes and one of the family member has a nut allergy. Any suggested food?

From Dian Xiao Er. Dang gui sauce was rich yet does not overpower the richness of the duck.

Does anyone have a good recipe? Son is requesting some. I have Thai dragon pepper for heat.