Chinese menu glossary

Dim sum

The Cantonese tradition of small steamed, fried and baked plates (dumplings, buns, rice rolls, ribs) eaten with tea, usually from mid-morning to early afternoon. Dishes are priced by plate size (small, medium, large, special), so a table of four can try a dozen things for the cost of two entrées.

Also written as: dimsum, dim-sum

Har gow

Steamed shrimp dumplings with a translucent, chewy wheat-starch skin pleated around whole or chopped shrimp. The classic test of a dim sum kitchen: the wrapper should be thin enough to see the pink through it but strong enough to lift with chopsticks without tearing.

Also written as: har gau, ha gow, shrimp dumpling, shrimp dumplings, crystal shrimp dumpling, crystal shrimp dumplings

Siu mai

Open-topped steamed dumplings: a thin yellow wrapper cupped around a pork-and-shrimp filling, often finished with a dot of roe, crab or a single pea. Usually sold four to a steamer basket.

Also written as: shumai, shu mai, sui mai, siumai

Xiao long bao

Shanghai-style "soup dumplings": a thin pleated wrapper around seasoned pork and a cube of gelatinized stock that melts into hot broth as it steams. Eat them from a spoon: bite a corner, sip the soup, then finish the dumpling with a little black vinegar and ginger.

Also written as: xiaolongbao, soup dumpling, soup dumplings, xlb, juicy pork dumpling, juicy pork dumplings, shanghai dumpling, shanghai dumplings

Potstickers

Crescent-shaped dumplings (jiaozi) pan-fried on one side until crisp, then steamed in the same pan so the tops stay tender. Boiled versions of the same dumpling are usually listed as "boiled dumplings" or shui jiao; the fillings (pork and cabbage, pork and chive, shrimp, or vegetable) are the same.

Also written as: potsticker, pot sticker, pot stickers, guotie, guo tie, pan fried dumpling, pan fried dumplings, pan-fried dumplings, fried dumplings, fried dumpling, jiaozi

Wonton

Small dumplings in a thin square wrapper, loosely gathered rather than pleated. Served in clear broth (wonton soup, often with egg noodles), deep-fried as an appetizer, or tossed in chili oil as a Sichuan cold plate, "red oil wontons" or hong you chao shou.

Also written as: wontons, won ton, won tons, wantan, hun tun

Bao

Soft, slightly sweet steamed yeast buns. Filled versions (baozi) hold barbecued pork (char siu bao), vegetables, custard or red bean; baked char siu bao has a glossy golden crust instead. Unfilled folded buns (gua bao, "lotus leaf buns") come with braised pork belly or Peking duck to stuff at the table.

Also written as: baozi, bao zi, steamed bun, steamed buns, char siu bao, cha siu bao, bbq pork bun, bbq pork buns, pork bun, pork buns

Rice noodle rolls

Sheets of freshly steamed rice batter rolled around shrimp, beef, char siu or a fried cruller, then sliced and dressed with a sweetened soy sauce. Slippery, soft and mild, it is a dim sum staple that is also sold plain from street carts.

Also written as: cheung fun, cheong fun, chee cheong fun, rice noodle roll, rice roll, rice rolls, steamed rice roll, steamed rice rolls

Scallion pancake

A flaky, layered unleavened flatbread laminated with oil and chopped scallions, pan-fried until crisp and cut into wedges. Northern Chinese and Taiwanese in origin; some kitchens wrap one around sliced beef and hoisin as a "beef roll".

Also written as: scallion pancakes, green onion pancake, green onion pancakes, cong you bing, congyoubing

Turnip cake

A savory steamed cake of grated daikon radish and rice flour, studded with Chinese sausage and dried shrimp, cut into slabs and pan-fried until the outside browns. Despite the name there is no turnip in it; the Cantonese word for daikon translates that way.

Also written as: radish cake, daikon cake, lo bak go, law bak go, luo bo gao

Egg tart

A Hong Kong bakery classic: a small round of flaky or shortcrust pastry filled with a smooth, lightly sweet egg custard. The usual dim sum dessert, best eaten warm.

Also written as: egg tarts, dan tat, dan ta, egg custard tart, egg custard tarts

Chow mein

Stir-fried egg noodles. Cantonese-style versions crisp the noodles into a pancake and pour the stir-fry over them; the softer, tossed-together style is more common on American-Chinese menus. Either way the name means "fried noodles".

Also written as: chowmein, chow mien

Lo mein

Soft, thick egg noodles boiled and then tossed, not fried, with sauce, vegetables and a protein. Where chow mein is about crispness, lo mein is about slippery, sauce-coated noodles.

Also written as: lomein, lo mien

Chow fun

Wide, flat rice noodles stir-fried over very high heat with beef, bean sprouts and scallions. "Dry-fried" beef chow fun is the Cantonese benchmark of wok hei, the smoky, charred flavor only a screaming-hot wok produces.

Also written as: chow foon, ho fun, hor fun, beef chow fun, gon chow ngau ho

Dan dan noodles

A Sichuan street dish: wheat noodles under a sauce of chili oil, Sichuan peppercorn, sesame paste and preserved vegetable, topped with crumbled fried pork and stirred together at the table. Numbing, nutty and savory rather than simply hot.

Also written as: dan dan, dandan, dan dan noodle, dandan noodles, dan dan mian

Hand-pulled noodles

Noodles stretched by hand from a single rope of dough (la mian) or shaved straight into boiling water from a block (knife-cut, dao xiao mian). Chewy and irregular, they are the base of northwestern dishes like beef noodle soup, cumin lamb noodles and Xi'an's wide biang biang noodles.

Also written as: hand pulled, hand-pulled, handpulled, la mian, lamian, biang biang, biangbiang, knife cut, knife-cut, dao xiao mian

Singapore noodles

Thin rice vermicelli stir-fried with curry powder, egg, shrimp, char siu and peppers. A Hong Kong cha chaan teng invention rather than anything from Singapore, and now a fixture of Cantonese and American-Chinese menus alike.

Also written as: singapore, singapore mei fun, singapore rice noodles

Mei fun

Thin dried rice noodles (vermicelli), soaked and stir-fried or dropped into soup. Lighter and more delicate than wheat noodles; "Singapore mei fun" and "Xiamen mei fun" are the usual stir-fried versions.

Also written as: mai fun, mi fen, rice vermicelli, rice stick, rice sticks

Fried rice

Day-old rice stir-fried with egg, scallion and whatever the kitchen adds. Yangzhou (Yang Chow) style means shrimp, char siu and peas, and is the version most menus mean by "house special". Good fried rice is dry and separate-grained, never wet.

Also written as: yang chow fried rice, yangzhou fried rice, young chow fried rice

Congee

Rice simmered in a large volume of water or stock until it breaks down into a thick, savory porridge. Served plain with pickles and fried crullers, or with sliced fish, preserved egg and pork, or chicken stirred in. A breakfast, late-night and sick-day staple.

Also written as: jook, juk, rice porridge, zhou

Clay pot rice

Rice cooked to order in an individual earthenware pot with Chinese sausage, chicken, mushrooms or salted fish laid on top, finished with sweet soy. The prize is the crisp, toasted layer of rice that forms against the pot.

Also written as: clay pot, claypot, bo zai fan, casserole rice

Mapo tofu

Soft tofu in a glossy red sauce of fermented broad-bean paste (doubanjiang), chili and ground Sichuan peppercorn, traditionally with a little minced beef or pork. The name honors the pockmarked (ma) old woman (po) said to have invented it in Chengdu; a vegetarian version is common.

Also written as: mapo, ma po, ma po tofu, mapo doufu, ma po dou fu

Kung pao

Diced chicken (or shrimp, tofu) stir-fried with dried chilies, Sichuan peppercorns, scallion and peanuts in a sweet-sour-savory glaze. The Sichuan original is dark, tangy and numbing; the American-Chinese version tends to be sweeter, saucier and heavier on the vegetables.

Also written as: kungpao, gong bao, gongbao, kung po, kung bao

Twice-cooked pork

Pork belly simmered whole, sliced thin, then stir-fried until the edges curl and crisp with leeks or cabbage, fermented bean paste and sweet bean sauce. A Sichuan home-cooking classic: rich, salty and only moderately spicy.

Also written as: twice cooked, twice-cooked, double cooked, double-cooked, hui guo rou, huiguorou

Dry-fried green beans

Green beans (or shredded beef) flash-fried in oil until blistered and wrinkled, then tossed with minced pork, preserved vegetable, garlic and chili. "Dry-fried" (gan bian) is the technique: no sauce, just a hot wok and seasoning that clings.

Also written as: dry fried, dry-fried, gan bian, ganbian, dry sauteed, dry sautéed

Water-boiled fish

Despite the innocent name, one of the fieriest Sichuan dishes: sliced fish or beef poached in a broth loaded with chili, doubanjiang and Sichuan peppercorn, then finished with a pour of smoking-hot oil over more chilies. Served in a wide bowl over bean sprouts or cabbage.

Also written as: water boiled, water-boiled, shui zhu, shuizhu, boiled fish in chili oil, fish in chili oil, beef in chili oil, sichuan boiled fish

Chongqing chicken

Bite-sized fried chicken buried in a mound of dried red chilies and Sichuan peppercorn. The chilies are for aroma, not eating, so pick through them for the crisp, numbing-hot chicken.

Also written as: chongqing, chong qing, la zi ji, laziji, chicken with dried chili, chicken with dried chilies, chicken with chili peppers

Cumin lamb

Sliced lamb stir-fried (or skewered and grilled) with whole cumin seed, dried chili and onion, the signature seasoning of China's northwest, especially Xinjiang and Xi'an. Also common in Hunan kitchens, where it gets fresh chilies too.

Also written as: cumin beef, cumin chicken, cumin, xinjiang lamb, lamb skewer, lamb skewers

Fish-fragrant (yu xiang)

A Sichuan seasoning of pickled chili, garlic, ginger, scallion, sugar and vinegar, originally used for fish and now most famous on eggplant and shredded pork. There is no fish in it; "in garlic sauce" on American-Chinese menus is usually this flavor profile.

Also written as: yu xiang, yuxiang, fish fragrant, fish-fragrant, fish flavored, fish-flavored, fish flavor, garlic sauce

Hot pot

A simmering pot of broth at the table (Sichuan-style red with chili and peppercorn, or mild bone, tomato or mushroom) into which diners cook thin-sliced meats, seafood, tofu, greens and noodles, then dip them in sauces they mix themselves. Priced per person or per plate of ingredients.

Also written as: hotpot, huo guo, huoguo, shabu, steamboat

Mala

Literally "numbing-hot": the Sichuan pairing of dried or fresh chili (la) with Sichuan peppercorn (ma), a citrusy husk that leaves a tingling buzz on the lips. Any dish or dry pot labeled mala will have both.

Also written as: ma la, numbing spicy, numbing and spicy, sichuan peppercorn, szechuan peppercorn

Hunan-style

Hunan (Xiang) cooking is as hot as Sichuan's but leans on fresh and pickled chilies, smoked meats and sour notes instead of numbing peppercorn. Steamed fish head with chopped chili and Chairman Mao's red-braised pork are the signature dishes; "Hunan beef" on American menus is a chili-and-vegetable stir-fry inspired by the style.

Also written as: hunan, hunan style, xiang, chairman mao pork, mao shi hong shao rou

Char siu

Cantonese barbecued pork: strips of shoulder or belly marinated in hoisin, honey, soy and five-spice, roasted until the edges char and lacquer red. Sliced over rice, folded into buns, or hung in the window with roast duck and soy chicken.

Also written as: cha siu, charsiu, chashu, bbq pork, roast pork, barbecued pork, barbecue pork

Peking duck

Beijing's showpiece: a whole duck air-dried and roasted until the skin is glass-crisp, carved at the table and wrapped in thin pancakes with scallion, cucumber and sweet bean sauce. Usually ordered ahead and priced whole or half. Cantonese roast duck is a different, marinated bird served chopped over rice.

Also written as: beijing duck, roasted duck, roast duck, crispy duck

Salt-and-pepper

A Cantonese fry technique: squid, shrimp, pork chops or tofu dusted in starch, deep-fried, then tossed in a hot wok with salt, white pepper, garlic, scallion and sliced fresh chili. Light, crisp and only mildly hot.

Also written as: salt and pepper, salt & pepper, salt pepper, jiao yan

Lion's head meatballs

Oversized, tender pork meatballs (the "lion's head") braised in stock with napa cabbage that stands in for the mane. A Huaiyang and Shanghai comfort dish, gently seasoned rather than spicy.

Also written as: lion's head, lions head, lion head, shi zi tou

Red-braised pork

Pork belly simmered slowly with soy, rock sugar, rice wine and spices until the fat turns silky and the sauce reduces to a red-brown glaze. Shanghai's version is sweeter; Hunan's (Chairman Mao pork) adds chili; Dongpo pork is the Hangzhou cut-into-a-single-cube version.

Also written as: red braised, red-braised, hong shao, hongshao, braised pork belly, dongpo pork, dong po pork

Drunken chicken

Poached chicken chilled in a brine of Shaoxing rice wine and served cold in slices: a Shanghai cold appetizer with a pronounced sweet-wine aroma.

Also written as: drunken, zui ji

Jellyfish salad

Shredded, brined jellyfish rinsed and dressed with sesame oil, vinegar and a little chili. It has almost no flavor of its own; the appeal is the cool, crunchy-snappy texture. A standard cold plate at Cantonese banquets and Shanghai appetizer tables.

Also written as: jellyfish, jelly fish

Beef noodle soup

Two great versions: Lanzhou-style, a clear beef broth over hand-pulled noodles with radish, chili oil and cilantro; and Taiwanese-style, a dark, soy-and-spice-braised broth with chunks of tendon-rich shank and pickled mustard greens.

Also written as: niu rou mian, niurou mian, lanzhou beef noodle, lanzhou, taiwanese beef noodle

Chinese broccoli (gai lan)

A leafy, slightly bitter brassica with thick stems, usually blanched and dressed with oyster sauce or stir-fried with garlic. On dim sum carts it arrives as whole stalks; elsewhere it is the green in beef chow fun and many "with Chinese broccoli" stir-fries.

Also written as: gai lan, gailan, kai lan, chinese broccoli, jie lan

Bok choy

A mild, crunchy-stemmed Chinese cabbage. Baby and Shanghai bok choy are cooked whole or halved: stir-fried with garlic, blanched under mushrooms, or tucked into noodle soups.

Also written as: bokchoy, pak choi, baby bok choy, shanghai bok choy, bai cai

General Tso's chicken

Battered, deep-fried chicken chunks glazed in a sweet, tangy, mildly hot sauce with dried chilies and broccoli on the side. Created by Hunanese chefs in Taiwan and New York in the 1970s; the general it is named for never tasted it.

Also written as: general tso, general tso's, general tsos, general tao, general tsao, general gao, general chicken, general's chicken

Orange chicken

Fried chicken (or crispy beef) in a sticky citrus glaze. Sichuan "orange-peel" (chen pi) beef uses dried tangerine peel for a bitter-aromatic edge; the American fast-casual version is sweeter and uses orange juice and zest.

Also written as: orange beef, orange peel chicken, orange peel beef, tangerine beef, tangerine chicken

Sesame chicken

Crispy fried chicken in a sweet soy-and-honey glaze, showered with toasted sesame seeds. A close cousin of General Tso's without the chili heat, and the reliable choice for a table with kids.

Also written as: sesame beef, sesame shrimp

Mongolian beef

Thin-sliced beef flash-fried and tossed with scallions and sometimes onion in a glossy soy-and-brown-sugar sauce, often over crispy rice noodles. Taiwanese-American in origin; nothing to do with Mongolian cooking.

Also written as: mongolian, mongolian chicken, mongolian lamb

Egg roll

A fried cylinder of cabbage, pork or shrimp in a thick, blistered wheat wrapper: the American egg roll. Spring rolls are the slimmer Cantonese original with a thin, smooth, shatteringly crisp skin; fresh (unfried) spring rolls are Vietnamese, not Chinese.

Also written as: egg rolls, eggroll, eggrolls, spring roll, spring rolls, springroll

Crab rangoon

Fried wonton purses filled with cream cheese and imitation crab, served with sweet-and-sour or duck sauce. A mid-century American tiki-restaurant invention that became a takeout fixture; there is no Rangoon connection.

Also written as: rangoon, rangoons, cheese wonton, cheese wontons, cream cheese wonton, cream cheese wontons, crab puff, crab puffs

Egg foo young

A deep-fried or pan-fried omelet packed with bean sprouts, onion and shrimp, pork or chicken, served under a brown gravy. Adapted from a Cantonese egg dish (fu rong dan) into an American-Chinese standard.

Also written as: egg foo yung, egg fu yung, foo young, fu rong dan

Sweet and sour

Battered pork, chicken or shrimp in a bright glaze of vinegar, sugar and ketchup or hawthorn, with pineapple, onion and bell pepper. The Cantonese original (gu lao rou) is tangier and less neon than the takeout version.

Also written as: sweet & sour, sweet sour, sweet-and-sour, gu lao rou, gu lu rou

Moo shu

A northern Chinese stir-fry of shredded pork (or chicken, vegetables), scrambled egg, wood-ear mushroom and cabbage, brought to the table with thin wheat pancakes and hoisin to roll it up yourself.

Also written as: mu shu, moo shoo, mushu, mu xu

Chop suey

The original American-Chinese dish: meat and mixed vegetables (bean sprouts, celery, onion) in a light starch-thickened sauce, over rice or crispy noodles. Its name means "assorted bits", and its 19th-century origins are argued about to this day.

Also written as: chopsuey, chop suy

Wonton soup

Pork-and-shrimp wontons in clear broth. The Hong Kong version (wonton noodle soup) adds springy thin egg noodles and garnishes with yellow chives; takeout versions keep it to wontons, a little bok choy and scallion.

Also written as: won ton soup, wonton noodle soup, wonton noodle, wonton noodles, wonton mein

Hot and sour soup

A thick soup sharpened with black vinegar and white pepper, with shredded tofu, wood-ear mushroom, bamboo shoot, egg ribbons and pork. The "hot" is pepper heat, not chili; the "sour" is vinegar. Sichuan in origin, universal on American menus.

Also written as: hot and sour, hot & sour, hot sour, suan la tang, suanla

Egg drop soup

Chicken broth thickened lightly with starch and finished with beaten egg drizzled in to form silky ribbons ("egg flowers"). The mildest soup on the menu.

Also written as: egg drop, egg-drop, egg flower soup, egg flower, dan hua tang

Szechuan-style (American menus)

The older Wade-Giles spelling of Sichuan. On American-Chinese menus "Szechuan beef" or "Szechuan chicken" signals a spicy garlic-chili sauce with vegetables; on a Sichuan restaurant's menu the same word means the real thing, so expect Sichuan peppercorn and real heat.

Also written as: szechuan, szechwan, schezwan, szechuan style, szechuan-style, sichuan style, sichuan-style, sichuan

Wok hei

The "breath of the wok": the smoky, faintly charred aroma a dish picks up when it is tossed in a carbon-steel wok over a roaring flame. It is why a restaurant's chow fun and stir-fries taste different from home versions, and why they are best eaten immediately.

Also written as: wok hay, wok fried, wok-fried, wok tossed, wok-tossed

Black bean sauce

Salted, fermented soybeans (douchi), mashed with garlic and ginger into a pungent, savory sauce. Classic with clams, spare ribs, bitter melon and beef with peppers.

Also written as: black bean, black beans, douchi, dou chi, fermented black bean, fermented black beans

Oyster sauce

A thick, glossy Cantonese condiment made from reduced oyster extract, sugar and soy. Savory-sweet rather than fishy, it is the sauce on blanched gai lan and the base of many brown stir-fry sauces.

Hoisin

A sweet, dark, fermented soybean sauce with garlic and spices: the dip for Peking duck and moo shu pancakes and a key ingredient in char siu marinade.

Also written as: hoi sin

Doubanjiang

Sichuan's fermented chili-and-broad-bean paste, aged for months to years in Pixian, outside Chengdu. Salty, deeply savory and brick-red, it is the backbone of mapo tofu, twice-cooked pork and red hot pot broth.

Also written as: dou ban jiang, toban djan, broad bean paste, chili bean paste, chili bean sauce, pixian

Chili oil / chili crisp

Oil infused with toasted chili flakes and often star anise, cinnamon and Sichuan peppercorn. Chili crisp keeps the crunchy fried flakes and garlic in the jar. It dresses cold noodles, wontons and dumplings, and sits on most Sichuan tables.

Also written as: chili oil, chilli oil, chile oil, chili crisp, red oil, hong you, la jiao you

Five-spice

A ground blend, typically star anise, cloves, cinnamon, Sichuan peppercorn and fennel, that seasons braises, roast meats and salt-and-pepper dredges. Sweet-warm and licorice-tinged.

Also written as: five spice, wu xiang, wuxiang

Shaoxing wine

Amber rice wine from Shaoxing in Zhejiang, used the way Western kitchens use dry sherry: to deglaze, marinate and round out braises. Drunken chicken and red-braised pork depend on it.

Also written as: shaoxing, shao xing, rice wine, huangjiu

Tofu (bean curd)

Pressed soybean curd, from custard-soft (for mapo tofu and soups) to firm (for stir-fries and braises). Fried tofu puffs soak up sauce; tofu skin (yuba) is the sheet lifted off simmering soy milk, rolled and braised or fried as a "vegetarian duck".

Also written as: tofu, bean curd, beancurd, doufu, dou fu, tofu skin, bean curd skin, yuba

Century egg

A duck egg cured for weeks in an alkaline clay-and-ash paste until the white turns to amber jelly and the yolk to creamy dark green. Strong, sulfurous and savory; served with cold tofu, chopped into congee, or with pickled ginger.

Also written as: century eggs, thousand year egg, thousand-year egg, preserved egg, preserved eggs, pi dan, pidan

Chinese sausage (lap cheong)

A sweet, dense, air-dried pork sausage flavored with rice wine and sugar. Steamed over rice, folded into fried rice and turnip cake, or baked into buns.

Also written as: lap cheong, lap cheung, lop cheong, chinese sausage, la chang

Bubble tea

Taiwanese sweetened tea (black, green, or milk-based) shaken with ice and poured over chewy tapioca pearls ("boba"), sipped through a wide straw. Sugar and ice levels are usually adjustable.

Also written as: boba, boba tea, milk tea, pearl milk tea, tapioca

Sesame balls

Hollow glutinous-rice-flour spheres rolled in sesame seeds and deep-fried until crisp and puffed, with a pocket of sweet red bean or lotus paste inside. A dim sum and bakery sweet.

Also written as: sesame ball, jian dui, jin deui, zhi ma qiu

Mango pudding

A chilled Hong Kong dessert of puréed mango set with gelatin or agar and served with evaporated milk; mango sago swaps the set pudding for a soup of mango, coconut milk and tiny tapioca pearls (sago).

Also written as: mango sago, sago

Tang yuan

Chewy glutinous-rice dumplings filled with black sesame or peanut paste, served warm in a light ginger syrup or sweet fermented-rice soup. Traditional for Lantern Festival and winter solstice.

Also written as: tangyuan, glutinous rice ball, glutinous rice balls, sweet rice ball, sweet rice balls, black sesame ball, black sesame balls

Chrysanthemum & jasmine tea

What comes to the table by the pot: jasmine (green tea scented with blossoms), floral chrysanthemum, roasted oolong or earthy aged pu-erh, which many diners favor with dim sum for cutting through rich food. Tap the table with two fingers to say thanks when someone refills your cup.

Also written as: jasmine tea, chrysanthemum tea, oolong, oolong tea, pu erh, pu-erh, puer, tieguanyin, tie guan yin