How to Order Chinese Food Like a Pro: A blog about ordering Chinese food.

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Chinese food is fun to order because there are so many options. However, if you don’t know what the options are, you may end up with something you don’t like. Here is a list of the most common menu items and how you should order them.

General Tso’s Chicken- The most delicious Chinese food known to man. This is not just my opinion, it is a scientific fact. I don’t remember exactly what General Tso did to earn this honor, but his chicken was certainly among his greatest achievements. You should get this every time you go to a Chinese restaurant.

Tangerine Beef- This dish can be made in two ways: orange beef or tangerine beef. If it’s the latter, you’ll notice that your plate has been smothered in a sticky sauce that looks and tastes like tangerines (it isn’t). This is an excellent choice for those nights when you have little self control (guilty as charged).

Chow Mein- Chow mein is one of the most confusing items on any Chinese menu, because there are so many different kinds of chow mein, also called noodles. However, there really isn’t much variety between them all; they’re either lo mein (handmade

So what should you get? And how can you be sure to get it?

First of all, you will want to pick a dish that actually exists. We all have that friend who orders kung pao chicken and gets a plate of fried rice with some red pepper on top, but anyone who does that to you is setting himself up for a lifetime of disappointment. There’s nothing wrong with being adventurous, or even ordering something that doesn’t exist (as long as you know what you’re doing), but if your goal is to get good Chinese food, here’s my advice: pick something that already exists.

The second rule is don’t ask for a substitution. (With the exception of noodles in place of rice, which is common enough.) If you’re not sure whether or not an ingredient is vegan, just ask your server, but if you want beef broccoli instead of chicken broccoli because you don’t like chicken, or sautéed chow mein instead of lo mein because your friend is allergic to soy sauce… well, that’s just not going to happen. Your server will give you a blank look and go off to check with the chef. He will then come back looking unimpressed, tell you “no,” and walk away.

Go to a Chinese restaurant with a group of friends, and you’ll find yourself arguing about who has to order for the group. Almost everyone hates ordering for the group—it’s not something you want to do when you’re a little hungry—and no one wants to be The Person Who Orders Everything.

Tensions can rise.

“I’m not going to say anything, because I know you’re all going to make fun of me,” someone will say. And then someone else will order four things that are sort of OK but also kind of not OK, and everyone will secretly hate them for it.

If you’ve lived in China, this kind of behavior may seem familiar. I’ve spent time in places where people don’t just share dishes; they also share the responsibility for deciding what kind of dish everyone is going to eat. It’s not always an ideal solution (there was one particularly memorable incident involving duck intestines and a lot of shouting), but it is one way around the problem of having seven other people in your group who all think they know what’s best.

But if you aren’t Chinese (or even if you are), ordering Chinese food is intimidating. Take your favorite dish from home, say fried chicken, and imagine trying to order it

Sichuan Pepper, a restaurant in New York City’s Chinatown, is one of the most authentic Chinese restaurants you can find this side of the Pacific. The staff is friendly and efficient, and the food is fresh.

The ordering process can be confusing at first, as there are no menus. Sichuan Pepper offers a daily special and a la carte dishes. Additionally they have a few “pre-cooked” items that you select from the glass display case when you walk in the door.

Truly authentic Chinese food is custom-made to order–with many courses coming out at different times throughout your meal. That’s why there are several different waitresses who cover different regions of the restaurant. If you’re not sure what to order or how to order it, don’t worry: just go up to a waitress and ask her for help.

The process can be quite lengthy; it’s not uncommon for parties of 2 or more to sit down and eat an hour later than planned. But it’s worth it: the food is delicious and very entertaining, with each dish prepared in front of you by a skilled chef. If you stay for dinner, expect to spend about $15-$20 per person for food alone (most people also order drinks).

Sichuan peppercorns have a lot of flavor, but they are also known for their medicinal properties; they are used to relieve pain and fight colds. If you want to order Sichuan pepper, you can say “Sichuan Peppercorn” or “Szechuan Pepper”. Sichuan peppercorn is also sometimes transliterated as Szechwan pepper.

Tasting spicy food is only one way to enjoy a meal. After you’ve eaten all the food on your plate, take some time to savor the flavors in your mouth. Even if the food was heavily spiced, there should be a subtle undertone of flavor remaining after the initial spice blast. The next time you’re at a Chinese restaurant, see if you can find that lingering hint of flavor.

First, identify the Sichuan peppercorns. They will have a kind of rust-colored husk and will look slightly like cinnamon. If you can’t tell, ask for help. If you are in a place that does not have these spices, it is not worth ordering the dish.

The other key ingredient is the chile paste. It is pasty and bright red with a little bit of oil floating to the top. The oil will be darker than sesame oil but lighter than chili oil. You might even see some little dried chiles in there too. Again, if you can’t identify it or don’t see it at all, ask for help.

Tofu skin (the white stuff) needs to be cooked longer than regular tofu, which is why I mentioned it in step one above. The skin should be chewy like squid but with a tiny bit of give like rubber bands — that’s how you know it’s done right.

Noodles should be cooked al dente — not so soft that they fall apart when you bite into them, but not so hard that they are crunchy either. To keep them from getting overcooked later on in the meal, stir fry them separately in a little peanut or vegetable oil (

Sichuan pepper is one of the most popular seasonings for Chinese food. The spicy and numbing taste comes from the Capsicum Annuum plant and it was first cultivated in China. Dried Sichuan peppercorns are used in cooking to add a unique flavor to dishes. The two most popular dishes that use this spice are Mapo tofu and Kung Pao chicken.

The name Szechuan comes from the province in China where this pepper originates. Szechuan pepper is also known as anise pepper, fagara, fragrant pepper, Chinese prickly ash, mountain pepper, chihli, and black caraway.

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