Jia Chang Cai/Homestyle 家常菜 Print E-mail

jia chang favoritesOne of the paradoxes about eating Chinese food is that, for a normal westerner’s palate, the fancier the occasion, the worse the food.  When Chinese people are trying to show off, they rely on elaborate, complicated preparations of rare and high-cost ingredients.  So a very fancy meal will include permutations on a theme centered around shark fin, sea slugs, abalone, pressed roe from rare fish, and various huge mushrooms.  It is not what most of us adore about Chinese food.  To get that, we find ourselves returning, time and again, to what Chinese people call (sometimes affectionately, sometimes derisively) “Jia Chang Cai.”  This translates into “food frequently eaten at home,” and it is based on relatively common, inexpensive, in-season vegetables and cuts of meat, cooked simply. Jia Chang Cai includes well known dishes from popular regional cuisines, as well as whatever is commonly available and made locally, wherever that may be.

It is delicious. 


Representative dishes

Homestyle dou fu

 
家常豆腐 - jia chang dou fu: home style tofu  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
di san xian
 
 
地三鲜 - di san xian: favorite Dong Bei style dish of eggplant, potatoes and peppers

 

 

 

 

 

Qing chao dou miao - sauteed pea shoots

清炒 or 蒜炒清菜 - qing chao or suan chao qing cai: sauteed greens with or without garlic

 

 

 

 

 

  

Cu liu bai cai

 

醋油白菜， 辣白菜 - cu yiu bai cai, la bai cai:  spicy sour cabbage

 

 

 

 

 

 
烧茄子- shao qie zi: braised eggplant
白菜香菇 - bai cai xiang gu: bok choi with shitake mushrooms
松鼠鱼 - song shu yu: sweet and sour 'squirrel' fish, actually deep fried mandarin fish blossom
老醋花生 - lao cu hua sheng:  peanuts in aged vinegar
土豆丝 - tu dou si:  shredded potatoes
many Sichuan and Dong Bei favorites are also considered jia chang cai


Where to find it (and other recommended dishes)?

香满楼  Xiang Man Lou
烧茄子 - shao qie zi: claypot eggplant
炒龙豆 - chao long dou: sautéed leng dou
wonderful Peking duck
try as much as you can--it is hard to go wrong at Xiang Man Lou 

花家怡园  Hua jia yi yuan dishes  

Jiu jiu jiu xiang jian

酒舅久韭煎鸭 - jiu jiu jiu xiang jian ya: crispy fried layered duck meat and sticky rice cake

 

 

  

 

 

Man zhi shao nan qie

 

鳗鱼烧南茄 - man zhi shao nan qie: (best eggplant dish—eggplant with abalone sauce)

 

 

 

 

 

Ye cai - wild fern salad

 

野菜 - ye cai : interesting tart fern salad unless you get the one with the clod of raw garlic
 
 
 
 
 

 

 
八爷鸭方 - ba ye ya fang : another great duck dish--fried tofu skin rolls with duck meat and chives suffing
酱香菊花笋 - jiang xiang ju hua sun: awesome savory bamboo shoots that look like squid

小王府  Xiao Wang Fu
清朝豆苗 - qing chao dou miao: sauteed baby pea shoots
many Sichuan favorites are very good here
both the dumplings and the Peking duck are good standards

竹林小餐  Zhu Lin Xiao Can
niu li xian can dou - beef with fava beans

烧汁牛粒鲜蚕豆 - shao zhi niu li xian can dou: beef with fava beans

 

 

 

 

 

 
hang cha ya - camphor smoked duck

樟茶鸭 - hang cha ya:  camphor smoked tea duck

 

 

 

 

 

 

tieban qie zi - sizzling eggplant

 

铁板肉酱茄子 - tie ban rou jiang qie zi:  sizzling eggplant

 

 

 

 

 

 

羲和雅居  Xi He Ya Ju

Xi He Ya Ju's zi ma cui niu rou

 

芝麻脆牛肉 - zi ma cui niu rou: crispy beef with sesame

 

 

 

 

 

 

sheng chao cai xin

 

生炒蔡心 - sheng chao cai xing:  hearts of greens sautéed with garlic