HARBIN FOOD
HARBIN DUMPLINGS Dumplings play an important role for Harbin Cuisine. To some extent, a daughter-in-law must be able to make dumplings to be considered part of the family. During Chinese New Year, some also insert a coin inside one of the dumplings, and it is believed that whoever gets this lucky dumpling will be rich in the coming New Year. On the menu of dumpling restaurants, you could find various types of dumplings, but two that are always ordered are the Pork and Chive Dumplings and Pork and cabbage dumplings.
HARBIN SAUSAGE In Harbin, sausage with irresistible European flavor is sure not to be missed. This widely available specialty is called Red Sausage because of its purplish red skin. It is made of flour, lean pork, a layer of casing, starch, salt, garlic and spices and can be found at almost every market and restaurant in Harbin.
GUOBAOROU Guobaorou, or known as Crispy Sweet and Sour Pork, is another famous member of northeastern style food (known as Dong Bei). This dish uses a special sauce called tangcuzhi, which literally means “sugar and vinegar sauce” and is mostly just a combination of sugar and vinegar.
DONGBEI-STYLE LARGE HOT POT Typically only one kind of meat or seafood would be served, and an entire party of four up to eight would sit round the large metal pot waiting for the food to be cooked (traditionally under a wooden or bamboo lid). This requires patience, as it takes around 40 to 80 minutes to finish. The flesh absorbs all of the soup’s goodness and are super satisfying, especially in wintertime. Corn dough are sometimes stuck on the sides of the large pot for some seriously fluffy corn buns.
CHARCOAL-GRILLED SKEWERS (CHUAN-SHAO) Chargrilled skewers are one of the most iconic foods of northeast China. While Russian restaurants serve them in larger sizes and more kebap-like, local Chinese restaurants tend to prefer mini- sized skewers and a minimum order of 10 for each variety. Most popular are beef and lamb skewers, often seasoned with cumin and chilli, but you can also find grilled bone marrow, grilled oysters, seafood as well as quail and bird eggs.
DALIEBA (BIG BREAD) DaLieba is a kind of sourdough bread that is larger than your face. Its name Lieba (khleb) in Russian means bread. “Da” in Chinese means big. So, Dalieba literally means “Big Bread”. Malt in the recipe of Big Bread gives it the peculiar sour sweet taste and delicate flavor. With more than one hundred years of history, Dalieba (Big Bread) is considered to be a Russian heritage in Harbin now.
Harbin, China
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