3-hour Cooking Class Tour in Beijing Hutong

Food is an important part of a country’s culture and also an essential part of one’s travel. You can understand a country’s customs and its people through food. Speaking of Chinese food, you may think of Kung Pao Chicken, dumpling, Ma Po Bean Curd, Peking Duck, etc. Actually, Chinese food can be divided into eight major cuisines based on climate, geography, local product and eating habit, Shandong cuisine, Sichuan cuisine, Cantonese cuisine, Jiangsu cuisine, Fujian cuisine, Zhejiang cuisine, Hunan cuisine, and Anhui cuisine respectively. Yes, it sounds a little complicated. Don’t worry. This amazing hands-on cooking experience will bring you closer to Chinese cuisine. You will have a great time in a wonderful hutong house, learn some local customs and how to make Chinese dishes with a friendly local family. You even can try to learn the Chinese name of the dishes so that you can directly order in a restaurant. BTW, if you haven’t mastered the skill of using chopsticks, this is the right opportunity for you to learn from Chinese people as you are most likely to sit in a Chinese restaurant with a pair of chopsticks in your hand wondering “what do I do with these?”

There will be two options for you to choose. Are you a fan of Chinese dumpling? The first option will be dumpling, a popular traditional dish in China which even has a place in the family reunion dinner on Chinese New Year’s Eve. The whole family sits around a table making dumplings and looking forward to a new year. Let’s make dumplings from scratch together! Your host will explain how to prepare dough properly, mix delicious dumpling filling, make dumpling wrapper with a rolling pin, wrap adorable dumplings in different ways, and make a flavorful dipping sauce.

Considering you are in Beijing, another option will be typical Beijing dishes including noodles with soybean paste. You will start with chopping the ingredients, marinating meat and preparing sauce. You also can practise Chinese cooking techniques like stir-frying, steaming and stewing.

All ingredients and tools will be well prepared for you in advance. You will find it’s very easy to follow the lesson, and the whole process is very interactive and full of fun. You can ask any questions you have. When the dishes are ready, you will sit down to enjoy the hearty meal you’ve made by yourself and chat with each other. You can take some pictures to remember this special experience. You will be very confident to make them on your own after you get back home.