FOOD

All in One Pot: A Healthy Alternative to the Stir Fry is Gaining Steam

Steamed dishes, or “zhengcai,” are convenient, affordable, and healthy—and growing in popularity in China’s competitive restaurant scene, which has long been dominated by stir-fry

FOOD

Spice It Up: Why Hunan Cuisine Is Conquering China

Known for its spicy, stir-fried dishes, Hunan cuisine has enjoyed a surge in popularity in recent years, but not everyone is happy about it

FOOD

Hot and Spicy: How Malatang Conquered China

As a Gansu variety of “malatang” goes viral online, we delve into the history and appeal of one of China’s most ubiquitous dishes

FOOD

Stripped Down: The Story Behind China’s Favorite Snack

How simple, greasy, cheap “latiao” (literally ”spicy strips“) became the people’s snack

FOOD

You Slaw It Everywhere: How Chinese Cabbage Connects Generations

Discover how spicy cabbage connects people across space and time in old and new ways

FOOD

Shandong Cuisine's Best Dishes

Underrated Shandong cuisine, or Lu cuisine, has history, originality, and methodology to go with its taste

FOOD

Red Recipe

A Chongqing soup that gets the blood boiling

FOOD

Pot Tuck

Everyone’s favorite communal meal is now an instant convenience for one

FOOD

Hot and Saucy

From ‘poor man’s salt’ to kitchen perennial, China’s spicy sauce has always blazed its own trail

TRAVEL

Endless Summer

From the spicy food to its sizzling streets and violent history, David Dawson finds the heat has always been on in Chongqing