Beijing Cuisine

Beijing cuisine (京菜  jīngcài; literally "capital cuisine") is also formally known as Mandarin cuisine. Since Beijing has been the Chinese capital city for centuries, its cuisine has been influenced by culinary traditions from all over China. However, some generalization of Beijing cuisine can be characterized as follows: Foods that originated in Beijing are often snacks rather than full courses, and they are typically sold by little shops or street vendors.

There is emphasis on dark soy paste, sesame paste, sesame oil, and scallions, and fermented tofu is often served as a condiment. In terms of cooking method, methods relating to the different way of frying is often used. There is a lesser emphasis on rice as an accompaniment than in many other areas of China, as local rice production is limited by the relatively dry climate.