Beijing cuisine marries imperial kitchens with bustling hutong street food—Peking duck, copper-pot mutton hotpot, and hearty snacks tell the story of the old capital.
必吃招牌菜 — Signature Dishes
No.1 — Peking Duck（北京烤鸭）
口味 · ：
Beijing's undisputed culinary crown jewel with 600 years of imperial history. Whole ducks are inflated to separate skin from fat, glazed with maltose syrup, and roasted in a hung oven over fruitwood until the skin shatters like glass. Carved tableside by a master chef into exactly 108 thin slices — each piece a perfect ratio of crackling skin, melting fat, and succulent meat.
历史典故 · History：Dating back to the Yuan Dynasty (13th century), Peking Duck was perfected in the Ming Dynasty imperial kitchens. The dish became the centerpiece of imperial banquets. Quanjude (全聚德), founded in 1864, standardized the hung-oven technique still used today. Nixon's 1972 state dinner famously featured this dish.
食材与做法 · How it's made：1. Select 45-day-old Peking ducks, inflate skin from fat.
2. Blanch and glaze with maltose syrup, air-dry for 24 hours.
3. Roast in hung oven over jujube/pear wood at 270°C for 40-50 min.
4. Carve 108 slices at the table, starting with crispy skin.
5. Serve with thin pancakes, sweet bean sauce, cucumber, and scallion.
在哪吃 · Where to try：烤鸭趁热先吃皮、配薄饼蘸甜面酱；涮羊肉讲究铜锅清汤、麻酱小料。名店需等位，人均 120–300 元(参考)。
Roast duck is best eaten immediately, skin-first with pancakes, scallion, and sweet bean sauce. For locals, a bowl of jellied bean drink with fried rings is a true test of taste.
No.2 — Zhajiangmian（老北京炸酱面）
口味 · ：
Beijing's soul food — a humble bowl of hand-pulled wheat noodles crowned with dark, glistening fried sauce made from fermented soybean paste (黄酱) and diced pork belly. The sauce is the star, slowly fried for an hour until the oil separates and carries the deep umami of fermented beans. Served with a rainbow of fresh vegetable toppings called 'mianma' (面码) — julienned cucumber, radish, soybean sprouts, and celery.
历史典故 · History：Rooted in Shandong cuisine brought to Beijing by Qing Dynasty officials, zhajiangmian evolved into the capital's defining comfort food. Every Beijing family has their own recipe for the sauce — some insist on sweet bean paste (甜面酱), others on fermented soybean paste. The dish represents the city's working-class culinary soul.
食材与做法 · How it's made：1. Dice pork belly into small cubes.
2. Slowly fry pork in oil until golden and fat renders.
3. Add fermented soybean paste, sweet bean paste, stir constantly.
4. Add splash of water, simmer on low for 40-60 min until oil separates.
5. Boil thick wheat noodles until chewy (al dente).
6. Top with sauce, surround with fresh julienned vegetables.
在哪吃 · Where to try：烤鸭趁热先吃皮、配薄饼蘸甜面酱；涮羊肉讲究铜锅清汤、麻酱小料。名店需等位，人均 120–300 元(参考)。
Roast duck is best eaten immediately, skin-first with pancakes, scallion, and sweet bean sauce. For locals, a bowl of jellied bean drink with fried rings is a true test of taste.
No.3 — Instant-Boiled Mutton（老北京涮羊肉）
口味 · ：
Beijing's winter ritual since the Yuan Dynasty — paper-thin slices of Inner Mongolian lamb swished briefly in a copper hot pot of clear, bubbling broth. The pot has a distinctive tall chimney heated by charcoal at its core. The broth is intentionally plain (just water, scallion, ginger, and dried jujube) — it's not about the broth, it's about the quality of the lamb and the dipping sauce.
历史典故 · History：Introduced by Mongol horsemen during the Yuan Dynasty (13th century). The copper hot pot design, with its central chimney, was developed specifically for this dish. Donglaishun (东来顺), founded in 1903, perfected the mutton-slicing technique and remains Beijing's most famous institution for this dish.
食材与做法 · How it's made：1. Slice top-quality Inner Mongolian lamb paper-thin (1mm) against the grain.
2. Prepare the copper pot with charcoal, fill with water, scallion, ginger, dates.
3. Mix sesame dipping sauce: sesame paste, fermented tofu, chive flower paste, chili oil.
4. Swish lamb slices in boiling broth for 8-10 seconds — just until color changes.
5. Dip in sauce, eat immediately. Repeat.
在哪吃 · Where to try：烤鸭趁热先吃皮、配薄饼蘸甜面酱；涮羊肉讲究铜锅清汤、麻酱小料。名店需等位，人均 120–300 元(参考)。
Roast duck is best eaten immediately, skin-first with pancakes, scallion, and sweet bean sauce. For locals, a bowl of jellied bean drink with fried rings is a true test of taste.
No.4 — Luzhu Huoshao（卤煮火烧）
口味 · ：
Beijing's most hardcore street food and a test of culinary courage. Pork lungs, intestines, and tofu are braised for hours in a dark, aromatic master broth with over 20 spices, then served in a bowl with thick wheat flatbread (火烧) that soaks up every drop of the intensely savory liquid. Garnished with garlic paste, cilantro, fermented tofu, and chili oil.
历史典故 · History：Born in the Qing Dynasty from the Suzao (苏造肉) tradition of braised pork offal. Originally a cheap, filling meal for laborers and rickshaw pullers in old Beijing's hutongs. The dish survived decades of urban transformation and is now protected as a Beijing intangible cultural heritage food.
食材与做法 · How it's made：1. Clean pork intestines and lungs thoroughly with flour and vinegar.
2. Prepare master broth with star anise, cinnamon, fennel, ginger, and 20+ spices.
3. Braise offal for 2-3 hours until tender but still toothsome.
4. Cut flatbread into thick strips, add to broth to soak.
5. Assemble in bowl: flatbread base, sliced offal on top, ladle broth over.
6. Finish with garlic paste, cilantro, fermented tofu, and chili oil.
在哪吃 · Where to try：烤鸭趁热先吃皮、配薄饼蘸甜面酱；涮羊肉讲究铜锅清汤、麻酱小料。名店需等位，人均 120–300 元(参考)。
Roast duck is best eaten immediately, skin-first with pancakes, scallion, and sweet bean sauce. For locals, a bowl of jellied bean drink with fried rings is a true test of taste.
No.5 — Jingjiang Rousi（京酱肉丝）
口味 · ：
A refined Beijing classic that shows the capital's delicate side. Slim pork tenderloin strips are velveted in egg white and cornstarch, flash-fried, then coated in a glossy dark sauce of fermented sweet bean paste (甜面酱). Served on a bed of raw scallion strips with thin tofu skin wrappers — you assemble your own mini wraps at the table.
历史典故 · History：A product of Beijing's imperial kitchens, this dish embodies the 'Jing' (京) school of Shandong-influenced Beijing cuisine. Unlike the bold, spicy, oily dishes common elsewhere in China, Jingjiang Rousi requires surgical knife work and precise sauce control. It's often the test dish for aspiring Beijing chefs.
食材与做法 · How it's made：1. Slice pork tenderloin into matchstick-thin strips, marinate with egg white and cornstarch.
2. Flash-fry in warm oil (70°C) until just white — 30 seconds.
3. In a clean wok, gently heat sweet bean paste with sugar and a touch of water.
4. Toss pork strips in the sauce until evenly glazed.
5. Serve on a bed of fresh scallion strips with tofu skin wrappers on the side.
在哪吃 · Where to try：烤鸭趁热先吃皮、配薄饼蘸甜面酱；涮羊肉讲究铜锅清汤、麻酱小料。名店需等位，人均 120–300 元(参考)。
Roast duck is best eaten immediately, skin-first with pancakes, scallion, and sweet bean sauce. For locals, a bowl of jellied bean drink with fried rings is a true test of taste.
No.6 — Douzhi & Jiaoquan（豆汁儿配焦圈）
口味 · ：
Beijing's most divisive breakfast and the ultimate authenticity test. Douzhi is a fermented mung bean drink — gray-green, slightly sour, with an aroma that hits you before the taste does. It's served piping hot alongside Jiaoquan (焦圈), deep-fried rings of dough that are impossibly crispy. A side of pickled vegetables cuts the funk. Together, they are Beijing's morning ritual for the brave.
历史典故 · History：Originating in the Liao Dynasty (10th century), douzhi was first a byproduct of making mung bean starch for noodles. Poor hutong residents discovered that the fermented leftover liquid was surprisingly drinkable when heated. Over centuries, it evolved from survival food to nostalgic breakfast. Lao Cixi (慈禧) was said to enjoy it, elevating its status from paupers' drink to imperial breakfast.
食材与做法 · How it's made：1. Soak mung beans overnight, grind into a slurry.
2. Let the slurry naturally ferment at room temperature for 24 hours.
3. Separate the liquid (douzhi) from the starch.
4. Heat douzhi gently — never bring to a full boil.
5. Serve in a bowl with jiaoquan (crispy fried dough rings) and pickled mustard root.
在哪吃 · Where to try：烤鸭趁热先吃皮、配薄饼蘸甜面酱；涮羊肉讲究铜锅清汤、麻酱小料。名店需等位，人均 120–300 元(参考)。
Roast duck is best eaten immediately, skin-first with pancakes, scallion, and sweet bean sauce. For locals, a bowl of jellied bean drink with fried rings is a true test of taste.
推荐菜馆 — Where Local Foodies Go
全聚德(前门店) — Quanjude
挂炉烤鸭百年名店。
Famed for roast duck.
东来顺(王府井店) — Donglaishun
铜锅涮羊肉的老字号。
Classic copper-pot lamb hotpot.
饮食贴士 — Dining Tips
烤鸭趁热先吃皮、配薄饼蘸甜面酱；涮羊肉讲究铜锅清汤、麻酱小料。名店需等位，人均 120–300 元(参考)。
Roast duck is best eaten immediately, skin-first with pancakes, scallion, and sweet bean sauce. For locals, a bowl of jellied bean drink with fried rings is a true test of taste.
一方水土养一方味。
北京 这几道代表性美食,藏着最地道的人间烟火。
来 Beijing,从这一碗一盘开始,吃懂这片土地。