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Top Chinese Pork Dishes

Top Chinese Pork Dishes

Written by Candice SongUpdated Oct. 12, 2021
Fish-flavored Shreded PorkFish-flavored shredded pork

Pork is the staple Chinese meat and is available all over China, except for Muslim areas. If the menu just says “肉” (rou /roh/ "meat"), then it will be a pork dish.

Cooking Methods

There are various ways to cook pork, including stir-frying, deep-frying, braising, baking, and stewing.

Pork from different parts of a pig tastes different. Choosing a suitable cooking technique for each part of a pig is very important. For example, the foreleg muscle is tender so it can be fried, while a hind leg muscle has a very hard texture and is not suitable to be cooked by stir-frying.

Popular Chinese Pork Dishes

Sweet and Sour Pork Sweet and sour pork

Pork is considered to be the most versatile meat in China, with a flavor that can be combined successfully with the greatest range of other food types. Two regional favorites are:

Sweet and Sour Pork

Sweet and sour pork is one of the most classic Han dishes and is well-known in the world. It is thought to have originated in Guangdong but now it can also be found in other cuisines, including Zhejiang cuisine, Shandong cuisine, and Sichuan cuisine.

This dish is cooked with tenderloin pork (the tenderest cut of pork), wheat flour, starch, vinegar, ketchup, and sugar. Its sweet and sour flavor has captured the appetites of many people both in and out of China.

Learn more about How to Cook Sweet and Sour Pork.

Red-Fried Pork'Red-fried' pork

'Red-Fried' Pork

'Red-fried' pork is a classic and famous dish in China. This dish makes use of pork belly as its main ingredient. It is not difficult to make and is very delicious. It tastes sweet as well as quite strongly of soy, due to the sugar and soy sauce used in it. Other seasonings include star anise, Sichuan peppercorn, and fresh ginger.

This dish is served regularly at home as a daily meal and can also be served at celebratory occasions.

Pork Dishes Menu

English Chinese Pronunciation Characters
roast pork chāshāo cha-shaoww 叉烧
'red-fried' pork hóngshāoròu hong-shaoww-roh 红烧肉
sweet and sour fillet of pork tángcù lǐjí tung-tsoo lee-jee 糖醋里脊
steamed pork kòuròu koh-roh 扣肉
Wanshan trotters Wànshān tí wann-shan tee 万山蹄
braised Dongpo pork Dōngpō ròu dong-por roh 东坡肉
braised pork with vermicelli zhūròu dùn fěntiáo joo-roh dwnn fnn-tyoww 猪肉炖粉条
shredded pork with garlic sauce yúxiāng ròu sī yoo-sshyang roh-srr 鱼香肉丝
pepper salted spare ribs jiāoyán páigǔ jyaoww-yen peye-goo 椒盐排骨
Shaanxi Chinese hamburger Shǎnxī ròujiāmó shan-sshee roh-jyaa-mor 陕西肉夹馍
Chinese ham Jīnhuá huǒtuǐ jin-hwaa hwor-tway 金华火腿
roast suckling pig kǎo rǔ zhū kaoww roo joo 烤乳猪

Travel with China Highlights and Taste Delicious Chinese Food

Enjoying Chinese food in a local restaurantEnjoying Chinese food in a local restaurant

If you want to plan a trip in China to taste authentic Chinese food, China Highlights can help you! See our most popular Chinese food tour below, for inspiration:

Or you can contact us and we can tailor-make a Chinese food tour for you based on your needs and wants.

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