14 Oct Fun In Flavors: The Pleasure Of Eating Chinese Food In San Francisco

Han Lijun

Looking for the best Chinese food in San Francisco can be an exhausting experience, what with the huge number of choices available. Moreover, the various regional cuisines of China won’t limit you to one or two dishes alone. For example, NDTV recently had an article about Chinese food and it highlighted several of these cuisine types. One of those described was the spicy Szechuan, which is described in glowing terms:

The combination of everything hot and spicy stands out for Sichuan cuisine. Here, food is mind-numbingly fiery and frequent use of chillis and Sichuan peppers shines through in every dish. Those from the Sichuanese province cure their own meats, make their own pickles and cook in large pots with a lot of fragrant stock.

Szechuan is just one of the six prominent regional cuisines, the others being Cantonese, Hunan, Hakka, Mandarin, and Zhejiang. Oftentimes, leading restaurants like Chili House SF that specializes on Chinese food in San Francisco serve dishes from most, if not all, of these popular cuisines. Here are four dishes that you should try to get a taste of:

First, gong bao or kung pao chicken is an excellent example of Szechuan style cooking. Consisting of diced chicken, peanuts, vegetables, and peppers, this particular Szechuan dish has several variations. The original version uses the especially potent Szechuan peppercorns that made the dish a fiery pleasure on the tongue. For those who aren’t inclined toward spicy foods, milder versions can be cooked up.

Second, Peking duck is quite a popular duck dish worldwide. Roasted duck is easy to understand, but Peking duck takes a bit more preparation than just sticking a duck on a stick and cooking it over an open fire. For one, the duck is hung and left to stand for 24 hours after it has been glazed with a layer of sweet syrup. Afterwards, the duck is roasted in a closed oven until it has a shiny brown color. The thin skin and the tender meat are a tasty treat and make for a fine meal.

Third, chow mein is a noodle dish that everyone, most likely, already knows about. Stir-fried noodles mixed with a variety of vegetables and meat, this tasty noodle dish is filling and easy to prepare. Depending on where it is served, you can have a choice of crispy or soft noodles.

Finally, sweet and sour pork is a favorite among people trying out Chinese cuisine for the first time or are still getting used to its flavors. Made with deep-fried pork slices covered in the traditional sweet and sour sauce, it has a tangy taste that excites the tongue and leaves one wanting more.

(Source: 10 Best Chinese Chicken Recipes , NDTV, September 30, 2014)