Many diners in China wouldn't recognize General Tso's chicken (pictured), an American-Chinese favorite. But click on for a gallery of dishes Chinese people miss most when traveling abroad.
What is "real" Chinese food, anyway? —
Many diners in China wouldn't recognize General Tso's chicken (pictured), an American-Chinese favorite. But click on for a gallery of dishes Chinese people miss most when traveling abroad.
EzumeImages/iStockphoto/Getty Images/iStockphoto
Hailing from northwest China, formidable Islamic noodle masters beat, fold, pull and turn flour-based dough into hair-thin noodles faster than you can decide what to order with them.
Lanzhou hand-pulled noodles —
Hailing from northwest China, formidable Islamic noodle masters beat, fold, pull and turn flour-based dough into hair-thin noodles faster than you can decide what to order with them.
Fiona Reilly/CNN
In China, meat attached to the bones is considered the best. The spring chicken is boiled until tender, then chopped up and served with dipping sauce.
White cut chicken —
In China, meat attached to the bones is considered the best. The spring chicken is boiled until tender, then chopped up and served with dipping sauce.
CNN
These mini-lobsters are simmered in broth with chilies and spices. From spring to early autumn, it's a ritual to have a night out cracking and eating crayfish with friends or family.
Spicy crayfish —
These mini-lobsters are simmered in broth with chilies and spices. From spring to early autumn, it's a ritual to have a night out cracking and eating crayfish with friends or family.
China Photos/Getty Images
From lamb kebabs with cumin and teppanyaki squid to swords of spicy chicken wings and grilled oyster, China's street kebabs present a combination of good food and a street buzz unique to the country.
Proper street kebabs —
From lamb kebabs with cumin and teppanyaki squid to swords of spicy chicken wings and grilled oyster, China's street kebabs present a combination of good food and a street buzz unique to the country.
MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images
A reminder of Mongolian nomads, heavy and hearty lamb hot pot is hugely popular, especially in the north during the bitterly cold winter.
Lamb hot pot —
A reminder of Mongolian nomads, heavy and hearty lamb hot pot is hugely popular, especially in the north during the bitterly cold winter.
Courtesy Andra Firley
A Yangtze River Delta dish, the comforting soup is usually served at home in early spring. Seasonal delicacies such as young bamboo shoot, pork belly, tofu sheets and yellow rice wine are cooked in a clay pot for hours.
Yan du zian soup —
A Yangtze River Delta dish, the comforting soup is usually served at home in early spring. Seasonal delicacies such as young bamboo shoot, pork belly, tofu sheets and yellow rice wine are cooked in a clay pot for hours.
Courtesy Gary Soup
This iconic snack is similar to toffee apples (candy apples), but with a refreshing sour taste.
Candy-coated haws on a stick —
This iconic snack is similar to toffee apples (candy apples), but with a refreshing sour taste.
FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Image
Recipes vary from region to region, but the basic method is to let bean curd ferment in a special brine then deep-fry it. Stinky tofu can be eaten with chili sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil or kimchi.
Stinky tofu —
Recipes vary from region to region, but the basic method is to let bean curd ferment in a special brine then deep-fry it. Stinky tofu can be eaten with chili sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil or kimchi.
Courtesy Li Jin
For this ever-popular autumn snack, chefs fry chestnuts in an enormous wok. When properly done, they're soft, sweet and extremely fragrant.
Sugar-fried chestnuts —
For this ever-popular autumn snack, chefs fry chestnuts in an enormous wok. When properly done, they're soft, sweet and extremely fragrant.
RICHARD A. BROOKS/AFP/Getty Images
Duck-bone stock, duck blood, bits of duck organ -- doesn't sound like the most glorious dish ever but a good bowl comes with the comforting taste of home for many Chinese.
Duck blood soup with vermicelli —
Duck-bone stock, duck blood, bits of duck organ -- doesn't sound like the most glorious dish ever but a good bowl comes with the comforting taste of home for many Chinese.
Courtesy Hiufu Wong/CNN
"Shui zhu" is a cooking technique from Sichuan, both loved and feared for its intense spicy flavor. Pre-fried frogs are poached in oil with strong spices such as chili peppers and flower peppers. The oil is often still bubbling when served, creating a dramatic visual effect.
Sichuan shui zhu bullfrog —
"Shui zhu" is a cooking technique from Sichuan, both loved and feared for its intense spicy flavor. Pre-fried frogs are poached in oil with strong spices such as chili peppers and flower peppers. The oil is often still bubbling when served, creating a dramatic visual effect.
CNN
Smoked Harbin red sausage evolved from Lithuanian sausages. Its texture is more tender than salami, firmer than an American hotdog and drier than cooked British sausages.
Harbin red sausage —
Smoked Harbin red sausage evolved from Lithuanian sausages. Its texture is more tender than salami, firmer than an American hotdog and drier than cooked British sausages.
Raemin Zhang/CNN
Guilin isn't only famous for its heavenly landscape, but also bowls of rice noodles topped with preserved long beans, peanuts, bamboos shoots and spring onions.
Guilin rice noodles —
Guilin isn't only famous for its heavenly landscape, but also bowls of rice noodles topped with preserved long beans, peanuts, bamboos shoots and spring onions.
Bruce Foreman/CNN
For the Shanghainese, autumn isn't complete without a steamed roe-laden hairy crab. Specialty restaurants put on expansive crab banquets -- fried crab roe, crab roe tofu, steamed crab meatballs and crab meat dumplings might all be featured.
Shanghai hairy crab —
For the Shanghainese, autumn isn't complete without a steamed roe-laden hairy crab. Specialty restaurants put on expansive crab banquets -- fried crab roe, crab roe tofu, steamed crab meatballs and crab meat dumplings might all be featured.
Wang Bao He