Chinese Takeaway Translator

Looking to try switching up your standard takeaway order? Take a look at our Chinese takeaway translator to find out what is included in each dish!

Starters and Sides

Spring Rolls

In China, spring rolls are enjoyed as a dim sum dish alongside a nice cup of tea, while in the UK they are typically eaten as a side or starter with a Chinese takeaway.

A light wrapper stuffed full of meat or vegetables and deep-fried until golden and crisp. Common meat types include pork or prawns, while vegetable variations may contain cabbage, bean sprouts and carrot, all cooked in soy sauce.

Wonton

There are two forms of wonton available. The most popular from Chinese takeaways are the bite-sized crispy wonton, a roughly ball-shaped wrapper filled with pork and vegetables, and deep-fried. This is best enjoyed dipped into a sauce like sweet and sour or sweet chilli.

The other kind of wonton is boiled rather than deep-fried and served in a clear noodle soup.

Prawn Crackers

It’s unlikely you won’t know what a prawn cracker is, but if it has somehow escaped you, they are popular light and crunchy crackers made from starch and prawn flavouring and are usually white in colour.

Satay Chicken

While the dish originated in Malaysia, it is now a popular addition to both Chinese and Thai-inspired takeaways.

Pieces of chicken breast are marinated in a satay sauce made from peanuts. They are then grilled, usually on skewers, and are sometimes served with another satay sauce for dipping the chicken pieces into.

Hot and Sour Soup

A speciality dish from the Sichuan Province, although regional variations can be found throughout China.

With a base of chicken stock, the soup usually contains bean curd, pork and black mushrooms. Many other ingredients can be added in, with these extras depending on which region the recipe comes from. Popular extras include eggs, carrots and tofu, especially for vegetarian adaptations.

Sauces for Main Dishes

Many Chinese takeaway dishes will offer simple dishes involving a meat type in a sauce, such as ‘beef in black bean sauce’, or ‘chicken in sweet and sour sauce’. Here are some of the most common sauces used, and what they will taste like:

Black Bean Sauce

A rich, almost black sauce made from fermented black soya bean paste, known as douchi, mixed with soy sauce, garlic and chilli. It is typically used in stir-fried meat dishes to add a strong salt and spice flavouring.

Hoisin Sauce

Made from soybeans, starch, vinegar, garlic, sesame seeds and red chilli peppers, this sauce tends to be rather thick and strong smelling. It is used as a glaze for meat, and as a sauce in duck pancakes.

Oyster Sauce

A commonly used sauce in Chinese cuisine, oyster sauce was originally made by cooking oysters until their juices caramelised. Now it is more readily available, instead made from cornstarch and sugar, flavoured with oyster and coloured with caramel.

Plum Sauce

Quite simply a sauce made from plums! It is mostly enjoyed with duck dishes, or as a dip for starters such as spring rolls.

Satay

A peanut-based sauce made from crushed peanuts, coconut milk, dark soy sauce, brown sugar, coriander and garlic. While most satay is quite mild, some have added red chillies for a bit of heat.

Sweet and Sour

Made from sugar, soy sauce, ketchup and vinegar, this sauce tends to be enjoyed as a dip or pourable sauce with crispy chicken balls in Chinese takeaways.

Main Dishes

Chow Mein

Noodles and vegetables are stir-fried separately before being combined to form this classic takeaway staple.

The dish will vary a little between each takeaway and restaurant, as the noodles can be either thin or thick, and crispy or soft depending on how long they have been fried.

Popular meats include chicken, pork and shrimp. The staple chow mein vegetable ingredients are bean sprouts, water chestnuts and bok choi.

Bang Bang Ji

Often a house special, this hot and spicy dish sees tenderised chicken or pork strips steamed and coated in sesame and chilli oils. It is served with a sheet of green bean paste and a salad that tends to include cucumber.

Cheng Du Chicken

Cubes of chicken are marinated in a hot bean sauce before being deep-fried. It may also be known as ‘Chilli Chicken Cubes’.

Chop Suey

Meaning ‘bits and pieces’, this dish did not originate in China but has certainly made its home on the Chinese takeaway menu in Britain.

There are many varieties of Chop Suey, but at its simplest, it is a stir-fry mix of meat and vegetables, with a thick gravy-like sauce. Usually, it is served with white rice.

Crispy Shredded Beef

Shredded beef coated in sweet chilli sauce is deep-fried to make crispy strips. It is sometimes served with carrots.

Fried Rice

Fried rice is made from chilled, previously cooked rice, that is then fried with chunks of scrambled egg. More ingredients such as peas, mushrooms, beef and shrimp can then be added to the rice.

Kung Pao Chicken

Diced chicken pieces are deep-fried and served with roasted peanuts. Made with chilli peppers, the dish is usually very spicy. While chicken is the most popular meat choice, a variety known as Kung Pao Ming Har uses shrimp instead.

Lo Mein

While the noodles from a Chow Mein dish are cooked separately from the other ingredients, the noodles used to make Lo Mein are tossed in with the stir-fried meat and veg. Lo Mein is also served with more sauce than a Chow Mein.

Moo Goo Gai Pan

A chicken dish that is stir-fried with mushrooms.

Mu Shu Pork

Also known as Moo Shu Pork, this dish tends to be served with thin pancakes and hoisin sauce. Marinated pork is mixed with scrambled egg and a number of vegetables, including carrot, cabbage, wood ear mushrooms, peas and bean sprouts.

Xiang Su Ya

A recipe from the Sichuan region, this dish sees a whole duck marinated, steamed and then deep-fried, hence its other name ‘Crispy Skin Duck’.

While the other renowned duck dish, Peking Duck, sees the bird roasted, Xiang Su Ya’s deep-frying method means that the skin is extra crispy, while the steaming makes the meat deliciously tender!

If you’d rather make any of these dishes yourself at home, then check out the wide range of Chinese ingredients and foods available, including dried Chinese soup ingredients.