9781422271360

Zha Jiang Mian is a Chinese dish of ground pork over wheat noodles.

What’s Cooking? The primary ingredients of Shandong dishes are seafood (no surprise given its coastal location), pork, vinegar, vegetables, rice, and grains. The seafood in Shandong cuisine is mainly fish and shellfish, including prawns, squid, and octopus. They are marinated or cooked with vegetables. Pork is an essential meat in Northern China since it can be preserved longer than beef or lamb because of the colder climate. The types of pork used are legs, necks, and ribs; they are boiled to make soups with fresh vegetables. Vegetables common to Shandong cuisine include spinach, Chinese cabbage ( bok choy ), napa cabbage, bamboo shoots, and corn on the cob. Grains like wheat (used to make flour for noodles) and rice are also popular staples in the region. They also use sweet potato noodles, a specialty food item that some consider unique to this area alone. Other ingredients that come into play in some dishes are blood, cow tongue, and pig ear.

Chinese

16