Introduction to Rizhao Special Dishes

Shredded pickled turnips from the Ju County Pickling Factory are stir-fried with shredded pork, chili peppers and coriander. The dish tastes salty, spicy and aromatic, suitable for people of all ages.

These steamed buns are filled with streaky pork and seasonal vegetables, seasoned with sweet soybean paste, five-spice powder, broth, peanut oil, salt and monosodium glutamate. They feature thin wrappers, abundant fillings and delicious flavour.

Sea cucumbers are braised with oyster sauce and fresh soup, then served with baby bok choy over steamed rice. It is an upscale dish with rich nutrition and pleasing colour combination.

Taoluo Mutton Noodles have enjoyed a long-standing reputation and rank among Rizhao’s traditional noodle dishes. The most famous noodle shops are the Gao’s and Huang’s. In the late Qing Dynasty, Taoluo was a bustling business hub with thriving trade. The Gao and Huang families opened restaurants and created the renowned mutton noodles. Every merchant visiting Taoluo would feast on this delicacy and sing its praises. Led by Gao Changxiang and his three sons, the Gao family ran the "West Branch". The Huang brothers Huang Yongzhen and Huang Laoqi operated the "Tong Guild Hall". Both families had their unique strengths. Comparatively, the Gao’s noodle house earned greater fame and maintained prosperous business for more than a hundred years up to now.

Taoluo Mutton Noodles boast a distinctive local flavour. Wheat is ground manually on a stone mill into standard 75% extraction flour. For every 100 jin of flour, add 0.5 jin of alkali powder, 0.5 jin of salt and 30 jin of water, then knead thoroughly by hand. The more the dough is kneaded, the whiter and more elastic it becomes. The dough is rolled out by hand until the wrappers become paper-thin, translucent and shiny, then cut into diamond-shaped strips.

The two restaurants selected fine breed sheep from Wulian Mountain, Qiaozi Mountain and Deng Mountain, each weighing roughly 100 jin. The sheep were penned for a period before being slaughtered fresh as needed. Slaughtering followed strict procedures: the live sheep were washed and combed, then bled, skinned and eviscerated before being rinsed clean. The mutton was simmered slowly in a narrow-mouthed iron pot until eight-tenths cooked. The meat was then deboned and sliced thinly for later use.

To make mutton soup, the original broth and sliced mutton were put into a large pot together with seasonings: 1% soy sauce, 1% garlic, 0.3% ginger slices and 5% green onions. When serving, add a little sesame oil and vinegar, garnished with coriander or chives. A perfect mutton soup is clear with broth separated from meat, emitting a fresh inviting aroma, which is deeply popular among diners. As a local saying goes: "After eating Taoluo mutton noodles, you need not travel far to seek good food."

Cuttlefish roe is a unique local product of Rizhao. Made with fresh cuttlefish slices, specially brewed vinegar and clear broth, the soup tastes sour, spicy and tasty, and helps invigorate the stomach.

Premium white jellyfish heads tossed with special vinegar, crisp and refreshing.

Wild-caught crab meat simmered in specially prepared stock. The crab meat is tender, white and silky smooth.

This sweet dessert is made with ginkgo nuts harvested from the over 3,000-year-old ginkgo tree on Fulai Mountain, together with tremella and rock sugar.