Winter Comfort Food

Fermented mung bean sour soup + deep-fried dough rings, soul of old Beijing

Tender pork belly and pork blood sausage simmered with sour cabbage and sweet potato noodles

Changbai Mountain forest frog oviduct stewed with rock sugar—a prized herbal delicacy

Whole young chicken stuffed with glutinous rice, slow-cooked with Jilin ginseng and jujubes

Fermented Napa cabbage stewed with pork ribs, aromatic and warming for winter

Beef tallow red broth, tripe, aorta, and goose intestine all in one pot

Beef tallow and tripe hot pot, mala aroma in a nine-grid cauldron

Hand-pulled noodles in rich seafood broth with shrimp, clams, and scallops

Delicate dumplings filled with fresh sea urchin roe and pork—a coastal luxury

Mountain delicacies and sea treasures simmered in one jar, king of Min cuisine

Rice batter poured along the wok's edge into a seafood broth

Translucent wrapper revealing fresh whole shrimp, king of the four great dim sum

Paper-thin rice noodle rolls drizzled with soy sauce

Raw rice cooked fresh in a clay pot, cured meats' oil seeps into the bottom

Li River fish braised with beer, tomatoes, and green peppers

Taro and pork belly slices steamed to melting perfection

Water chestnut starch jelly, translucent, refreshingly sweet and crisp

Guizhou red sour soup with whole river fish, tomato and wild pepper fermented to tangy perfection

Stewed beef shank over rice noodles in a rich broth—Huaxi's claim to noodle fame

Pig intestine and blood curd rice noodles in spicy chili oil—bold, funky, and beloved

Everything stewed in a giant iron pot—ribs, chicken, fish, with flatbread stuck to the side

Coconut milk dessert soup with red beans, taro balls, grass jelly, and seasonal fruits — Hainan's summer soul

Noodle soup with pickled greens, bamboo shoots, and shredded pork—the Hangzhou noodle

A legendary stew of sea cucumber, fish maw, chicken, and ham — named after the Qing dynasty statesman

Whole lamb roasted over charcoal, crisped skin and juicy meat — the grandest Mongolian feast

Hohhot-style shaomai with paper-thin wrappers, generously filled with mutton and scallion

Pork intestine braised with soy, sugar, and spices — nine twists of flavor in every bite

Millet and mung bean porridge with peanuts and dried yams, sweet and frothy

Pork belly tied with string, braised until melt-in-your-mouth tender with soy and star anise

Piping hot chicken broth + thinly sliced meat and vegetables, a ritual experience

Jianshui purple pottery steam pot chicken, pure original flavor

Thousand-layer flaky steamed buns with ham and sugar filling

Clear broth, white radish, red chili, green cilantro, yellow noodles—from extra-thin to thick

Lamb ribs boiled in plain water, dipped in spiced salt for the pure taste

Fermented oat sweet soup, refreshing and heat-relieving

Hand-pleated Tibetan dumplings filled with yak meat and onion, served with spicy chili chutney

Small clay pots of nourishing soup slow-steamed with pork, lotus root, and Chinese herbs

Fresh fish head from China's largest freshwater lake, braised with chili and tofu

Duck blood + glass noodles + duck offal, savory, warming comfort

River snails simmered for hours with lemongrass and ginger—sip from the shell, rich and briny

Plump mussels steamed open in Qingdao's own beer with ginger and scallion

Hand-chopped mackerel filling in thin-skinned dumplings, a Qingdao seaside tradition

Nanxiang-style soup dumplings, thin skin, rich broth, 18 pleats

Free-range chicken slow-braised with hazel mushrooms, rich and earthy

Century-old dumpling shop known for delicate wrappers and juicy fillings

Ribs, chicken, or fish stewed in a giant iron cauldron with flatbread on the sides

Home of oysters for a thousand years, Shajing fresh oysters, plump and succulent

Hand-pulled wheat noodles in rich bone broth with wood ear and dried tofu strips

Soup dumplings filled with crab roe and crab meat, an autumn-only delicacy

Braised beef + beef bone broth + hand-pulled noodles, Taipei's pride

Thumb-sized dough curls shaped like cat ears, stir-fried or in soup

A rich vegetable and noodle breakfast soup thickened with sorghum flour — Taiyuan's morning bowl

Jingwu Road duck neck, spicy, numbing, and chewy

Steamed Wuchang bream, you've drunk the waters of the Yangtze

Charcoal-grilled lamb skewers with cumin and chili powder

Braised rice with lamb, carrots, and raisins

Tandoor-baked lamb-filled buns, crispy skin, fragrant meat

Shacha paste and peanut sauce broth served with seafood and tofu

Muscovy duck braised with mature ginger and sesame oil, southern Fujian winter tonic

Peanuts stewed until they melt in your mouth, even better with a swirl of egg

Hand-torn flatbread soaked in lamb soup, served with sweet garlic and chili paste

Shrimp wontons + bamboo-pressed noodles + dried flounder broth

Boiled lamb on the bone, eaten with bare hands and a sprinkle of salt — pure plateau flavor

Rich, peppery broth simmered with lamb tripe, liver, and heart — a high-altitude warmer

Thick hand-pulled noodles tossed with lamb, peppers, and onions over blistering heat

Thin-sliced lamb flash-fried with cumin, onion, and green peppers

Steamed glutinous rice cake studded with Ningxia's famed goji berries, lightly sweet

Peppery beef bone broth with tofu skin, gluten, and wood ear mushrooms—Zhengzhou's morning essential

Caught from the Yellow River, braised in soy and sweet bean sauce—tender flesh, bold flavor

Layered sesame flatbread hot from the clay oven, crispy and flaky—perfect with soup or lamb