Beijing Famous Snacks

Beijing has a time-honored history of producing various kinds of snacks. With strong local flavors, Beijing's snacks attract almost all visitors. Beijing snacks include the snacks of many Chinese ethnic groups, such as the Han, Hui, Mongol and Manchurian, as well as imperial snacks from the Ming and Qing dynasties, which are generally prepared by steaming, deep frying, frying in shallow oil, and instant boiling. Some people regard snacks of Beijing as "living fossils." They taste good and are inexpensive, which makes them very popular among average Chinese. Now snack restaurants can be found all over Beijing, such as Longfusi and Huguosi snack counters.

The most famous Beijing snacks:
The first one is the mung bean milk, which is a by-product of cellophane noodle production and is similar to soy milk, exceot it is made from mung beans. It is a gray-green color and tastes slightly sour and sweet, with an egg-like smell. The second one is Wheaten cake boiled in meat broth, which is is served with mashed garlic, chili oil, vinegar, fermented tofu, chives and coriander. Called “lu zhu huo shao” in Chinese, the snack gained popularity among commoners in the olden days because meat was too expensive while the offal was a cheaper option. The third one is Stewed pork liver. The cleaned chitterlings are cut into pieces after being boiled in water. They are then stewed in mushroom soup with garlic sauce, chopped spring onion, chopped ginger and pork liver. Chicken soup and mashed garlic should be added before ready to serve. The soup is a glossy dark red and the pork liver and chitterlings are tender.

The forth one is Fried beef tripe. After being cleaned and cut into slices, fresh beef tripe or lamb tripe is cooked in boiling water. It is often served with oil, sesame sauce, vinegar, chili oil, soy sauce, fermented tofu juice, coriander, spring onion and other seasonings. It is tender and crispy, and people often eat it with beer or other alcohol. The last one is Steamed rice cakes with sweet stuffing. It is a kind of cake, which has a sticky texture and is white as snow, tastes sweet and comes with a variety of stuffings, such as ground rock sugar, hawthorn, sesame, green plum fruit or mashed Chinese jujube. Traditionally, it is eaten from the Lunar New Year to the end of summer, but it is now sold throughout the year.