What to Eat in Zhangjiakou – 2017 Zhangjiakou Food Guide

Local specialty snacks in Zhangjiakou, including silk thread pastries, fried glutinous cakes, potato fish and hand-held lamb, will satisfy your taste buds to the fullest. Smoked meat is a signature product of Chaigoubu Town, an ancient frontier town in Huai’an County, with a history of over 200 years. Legend has it that during the Gengzi Incident, Empress Dowager Cixi and Emperor Guangxu stopped over in Chaigoubu while fleeing west. After tasting the smoked meat, they praised it as an exquisite delicacy.

These are iconic traditional dishes of Yu County. As the name suggests, the feast consists of eight core courses: mixed shredded stew, braised pork, layered steamed pork, tiger-skin meatballs, chunky mixed meat stew, pan-fried chicken, steamed meatballs and silver shredded tripe. The set includes both meat and vegetarian dishes, crafted with meticulous cooking techniques for a delicious, well-balanced flavor, and is a must-serve feast for local banquets and guests.

A time-honored specialty of Chaigoubu Town, Huai’an County with a history of more than 200 years. Smoked over cypress wood, it boasts a glossy appearance, a light non-greasy taste and a distinctive aroma. Varieties include smoked pork (streaky pork, pork head, pork ribs, pork offal), smoked lamb, smoked chicken, smoked rabbit and smoked dog meat. The famous Guo Xi brand smoked meat enjoys the highest reputation.

Naked oats can be prepared in a wide array of styles with unique flavors. They are made into steamed oat nests, oat fish rolls, grid-shaped oat cakes, soft oat cakes, oat dumplings, oat paste chunks, oat balls, oat wontons, hand-stretched oat noodles and flat potato-oat rolls. They can also be made into pancakes, stir-fried oat noodles, thick oat porridge, oatmeal and instant oat noodles. Naked oats are not only a staple food for local residents but also a renowned export product.

One of Huai’an County’s classic local specialties. Ultra-thin like paper, they feature an appealing color, rich aroma, affordable price and high nutritional value. The production process demands strict attention to every step: soybean grinding, curd boiling, filtering, coagulation, pressing out water, peeling sheets and boiling the finished tofu sheets. Only by following each procedure carefully can the tofu sheets turn out chewy and tender.

A specialty of Chuaiguting Village, Yangyuan County, once a tribute for the imperial court in the Qing Dynasty. Made with premium ingredients and elaborate craftsmanship, the finished product is a translucent round thin pastry with a golden hue, crispy texture and sweet fragrance, offering an unforgettable unique flavor.

Sipping mare’s milk wine and feasting on whole roasted lamb on the Bashang Grassland will make you feel as if you are wandering the vast Mongolian steppe. Also known as the Whole Lamb Feast, it is the oldest and most grand traditional Mongolian banquet, usually reserved only for distinguished high-ranking guests. The Mongolian custom of serving an entire lamb symbolizes wholeness and completeness, representing sincere wholehearted hospitality to visitors.