The Atlas · China's Largest Department

Chinese Meat Dishes

50 of China's 278 ranked dishes are meat, the cuisine's deepest single seam. By our raters the best is Peking duck (Beijing kao ya), the lacquered imperial roast of the capital, Nº 242 in the world.

50 dishes ranked·18.0% of the cuisine·1,134 diner ratings·Top rank Nº 242

Meat is where China's kitchen goes formal. 50 of its ranked dishes belong here, nearly a fifth of the whole cuisine, and the register runs from banquet centrepiece to roast-shop staple: duck air-dried over days, pork belly braised to collapse, whole geese and suckling pigs turned in charcoal furnaces until the skin cracks. Pork carries the weight of it, roasted, red-cooked, or fried sweet-and-sour, but poultry claims the summit.

The best by our raters is Peking duck, Nº 242 worldwide and the most-reviewed of the lot at 300 ratings, its skin the prize. Below it the Cantonese roast counter takes over: char siu at Nº 314, then crispy fried chicken and the twice-cooked Hangzhou classic dongpo pork. Fame and score mostly agree here, though Americanised orange chicken pulls a loud 167 ratings from far down the list. Read them below: the signature dishes, by region, or the complete list of all 50.

The Signature Meat Dishes

Twelve signature meat dishes in rank order, four told in full, then eight more from the roast counter.

Peking duck (Beijing kao ya), duck dish from China
Plate IDuck Dish · Beijing

1Nº 242 worldwide

Peking duck (Beijing kao ya)

Duck Dish · Beijing

Beijing's imperial dish, a duck air-dried and roasted until the skin turns lacquered and shatteringly crisp, carved tableside and tucked into thin pancakes with scallion, cucumber, and sweet bean sauce. Its restaurants trace back centuries, and the skin is the prize.

★ 4.3|300 ratings

Chinese BBQ pork (Char siu), barbecue from China

2Chinese BBQ pork (Char siu)Nº 314

Barbecue · Guangdong

Cantonese barbecue pork, strips of shoulder marinated in soy, hoisin, honey, and rice wine, then roasted until the edges char and turn glossy red. Hung in restaurant windows and sliced over rice or into buns, it is the sweet-savory heart of the siu mei roast-meat shop.

★ 4.2|104 ratings

Crispy fried chicken (Cuì pí zhá jī), fried chicken dish from China

3Crispy fried chicken (Cuì pí zhá jī)Nº 709

Fried Chicken Dish · Guangdong

A Cantonese classic that steams the bird with cinnamon, Sichuan pepper, ginger, and anise before deep-frying, so the skin stays shatteringly crunchy while the meat below turns tender. A drizzle of sugar and vinegar sets the crackle. It ranks Nº 709 in the world.

★ 4.1|30 ratings

Dongpo pork (Dōngpō ròu), pork dish from China

4Dongpo pork (Dōngpō ròu)Nº 783

Pork Dish · Hangzhou

Hangzhou's trademark red-cooked pork belly, named for the poet-official Su Dongpo. Skin-on cubes are browned, then simmered, braised, and steamed in Shaoxing wine, soy, ginger, and scallion until the fat melts and chopsticks pull the meat apart. Rich, glossy, and profoundly savoury.

★ 4.1|23 ratings

  1. Braised pork belly (Hong shao rou), pork dish from China5

    Braised pork belly (Hong shao rou)

    Nº 875

    Pork Dish · Hunan★ 4.0

  2. Sweet and sour spare ribs (Tang cu pai gu), pork dish from China6

    Sweet and sour spare ribs (Tang cu pai gu)

    Nº 1,232

    Pork Dish · Guangdong★ 4.0

  3. Roast goose (Siu ngoh), goose dish from China7

    Roast goose (Siu ngoh)

    Nº 1,370

    Goose Dish · Guangdong★ 3.9

  4. Roast suckling pig (Siu yuk), pork dish from China8

    Roast suckling pig (Siu yuk)

    Nº 1,574

    Pork Dish · Guangdong★ 3.9

  5. Lion's head (Shīzitóu), meatballs from China9

    Lion's head (Shīzitóu)

    Nº 2,099

    Meatballs · Jiangsu★ 3.8

  6. Wenchang Chicken, chicken dish from China10

    Wenchang Chicken

    Nº 2,163

    Chicken Dish · Wenchang★ 3.8

  7. L11

    Lemon Chicken (Ling moong gai)

    Nº 2,294

    Chicken Dish · China★ 3.8

  8. Orange chicken (Chen pi ji), fried chicken dish from China12

    Orange chicken (Chen pi ji)

    Nº 2,534

    Fried Chicken Dish · Hunan★ 3.8

The Gazetteer

Where China's meat is cooked

The regions of China with the deepest roasting and braising traditions. Choose one to filter the complete ledger below.

Placed dishes only · top 6 regions

  7. Another 6 ranked dishes are logged simply as pan-Chinese, with no single regional home.

The Complete Ledger

All 50 Chinese meat dishes in the world ranking, every entry.

50 entries
  1. 242 Peking duck (Beijing kao ya) Duck Dish Beijing ★ 4.3
  2. 314 Chinese BBQ pork (Char siu) Barbecue Guangdong ★ 4.2
  3. 709 Crispy fried chicken (Cuì pí zhá jī) Fried Chicken Dish Guangdong ★ 4.1
  4. 783 Dongpo pork (Dōngpō ròu) Pork Dish Hangzhou ★ 4.1
  5. 875 Braised pork belly (Hong shao rou) Pork Dish Hunan ★ 4.0
  6. 1,232 Sweet and sour spare ribs (Tang cu pai gu) Pork Dish Guangdong ★ 4.0
  7. 1,370 Roast goose (Siu ngoh) Goose Dish Guangdong ★ 3.9
  8. 1,574 Roast suckling pig (Siu yuk) Pork Dish Guangdong ★ 3.9
  9. 2,099 Lion's head (Shīzitóu) Meatballs Jiangsu ★ 3.8
  10. 2,163 Wenchang Chicken Chicken Dish Wenchang ★ 3.8
  11. 2,294 L Lemon Chicken (Ling moong gai) Chicken Dish China ★ 3.8
  12. 2,534 Orange chicken (Chen pi ji) Fried Chicken Dish Hunan ★ 3.8
  13. 2,566 Galinha à Portuguesa Chicken Dish Macau ★ 3.8
  14. 3,257 Lychee Pork (Lizhi rou) Pork Dish Fujian ★ 3.8
  15. 3,980 Stir-Fried Spring Chicken with Chestnuts Chicken Dish Zhejiang ★ 3.7
  16. 3,988 Tea-Smoked Chicken Chicken Dish North China ★ 3.7
  17. 4,168 Pork Ball Meatballs China ★ 3.7
  18. 4,377 Peking shredded pork (Jing jiang rou si) Pork Dish Beijing ★ 3.7
  19. 4,561 Fuqi feipian Offal Dish Chengdu ★ 3.7
  20. 4,752 White Cut Chicken Chicken Dish Guangdong ★ 3.7
  21. 5,317 Roast Squab Poultry Dish Guangdong ★ 3.6
  22. 5,332 Soy sauce chicken (See yao gai) Chicken Dish Guangdong ★ 3.6
  23. 5,532 R Red Glutinous Rice Wine Chicken Chicken Dish Fuzhou ★ 3.6
  24. 5,585 Honey-soy braised chicken wings (Mut jup mun gai yik) Chicken Dish Guangzhou ★ 3.6
  25. 5,684 Fried Pigeon with Spiced Salt Poultry Dish Zhejiang ★ 3.6
  26. 5,833 Zhangcha Duck Duck Dish Sichuan ★ 3.6
  27. 5,860 Hangzhou-Style Duck Pickled in Soy Sauce Duck Dish Hangzhou ★ 3.6
  28. 6,710 Wuxi Meaty Pork Ribs (Wu xi rou gu tou) Pork Dish Wuxi ★ 3.5
  29. 6,868 Beggar's Chicken Chicken Dish Hangzhou ★ 3.5
  30. 7,038 Sweet and sour pork (Gu lao rou) Pork Dish Guangzhou ★ 3.5
  31. 7,062 Swiss Wings Chicken Dish Hong Kong ★ 3.5
  32. 7,269 Cold Chicken Cooked in Wine Chicken Dish Zhejiang ★ 3.4
  33. 7,488 Galinha à Africana Chicken Dish Macau ★ 3.4
  34. 7,580 Pepper steak (Qīngjiāo ròusī) Beef Dish Fujian ★ 3.3
  35. 8,096 Beef ball (Niúwán) Meatballs Guangdong ★ 3.2
  36. 8,098 Steamed Chicken Feet Dim Sum (Feng zhao) Chicken Dish China ★ 3.2
  37. 8,786 L Lap cheong Sausage China ★ 0.0
  38. 10,168 C Chasha zemma Chicken Dish Tibet ★ 0.0
  39. 10,260 O Oven-Roasted Spiced Chicken (Shiu ng heung gai) Chicken Dish China ★ 0.0
  40. 10,396 T Teochew braised goose Goose Dish Chaozhou ★ 0.0
  41. 10,411 O Oil-Soaked Chicken Fried Chicken Dish Fujian ★ 0.0
  42. 10,412 Braised Chicken with Chestnuts (Ban li shao ji) Chicken Dish China ★ 0.0
  43. 10,413 C Cold Garlic Chicken (Shandong shaoji) Chicken Dish Shandong ★ 0.0
  44. 10,477 S Stir-Fried Celery with Minced Pork (Lanrou xiqin) Pork Dish Sichuan ★ 0.0
  45. 10,511 Wind Sand Chicken Chicken Dish Hong Kong ★ 0.0
  46. 10,657 T Tāsìmì Lamb Dish Beijing ★ 0.0
  47. 10,658 C Cassia Lamb Lamb Dish North China ★ 0.0
  48. 10,775 D Dragon in the Flame of Desire Offal Dish Beijing ★ 0.0
  49. 10,780 S Siu mei Meat Dish Guangdong ★ 0.0
  50. 10,804 S Sapie Meat Dish Yunnan ★ 0.0

Questions, Answered

Chinese meat dishes, frequently asked, answered from 1,134 ratings.

What is the best Chinese meat dish?
By our diners' ratings it's Peking duck, Nº 242 worldwide, the air-dried Beijing roast carved into pancakes with scallion and sweet bean sauce. Behind it come the Cantonese barbecue pork char siu at Nº 314, crispy fried chicken, and the braised Hangzhou classic dongpo pork.
What are Chinese meat dishes known for?
Roasting and slow braising, above all. China's 50 ranked meat dishes lean on pork and poultry: char siu and roast goose from the Cantonese siu mei counter, red-cooked pork belly like hong shao rou, and ducks and suckling pigs crisped in charcoal furnaces. Beef barely features.
What is the most famous Chinese meat dish?
By number of ratings it's Peking duck again, the most-reviewed with 300 ratings, so here fame and rank line up. Orange chicken is the outlier: an American-Chinese invention, it draws 167 ratings yet sits far down the ranking at Nº 2,534.
What is Peking duck?
It's Beijing's imperial roast duck, air-dried then cooked until the skin turns glassy and crisp. The bird is carved tableside and the skin, the real prize, is tucked into thin pancakes with scallion, cucumber, and sweet bean sauce. Our raters make it the best Chinese meat dish, Nº 242 worldwide.
Which region of China makes the most meat dishes?
Guangdong, by a wide margin: 10 ranked meat dishes, the Cantonese roast tradition of char siu, roast goose, and suckling pig. Beijing follows with 4 and Hangzhou with 3. Six more are logged simply as pan-Chinese, with no single home region.
Where else should I look for great meat dishes?
Almost everywhere: worldwide the department runs to 1,423 dishes from 155 countries, topped by Greece's grilled lamb chops, païdakia, at Nº 2. Nearer China, Japan fields 41 ranked meat dishes, South Korea 23, and Vietnam 22. See Meat Dishes worldwide.

This Department, Elsewhere

Meat dishes from China's neighbours, ranked the same way.

JapaneseMeat Dishes41South KoreanMeat Dishes23TaiwaneseMeat Dishes8MongolianMeat Dishes4North KoreanMeat Dishes1
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