What Is Peking Style Food?

By Staff WriterLast Updated December 08, 2023

Peking style food is the style of cuisine from Beijing, China. It traditionally uses only the finest ingredients available and the flavors come from the use of strongly flavored roots and vegetables, such as garlic, ginger and cilantro.

Because the city of Beijing, which is also written as Peking, is a colder city, rice was replaced with more substantial foods such as noodles, dumplings and breads. The most famous Peking style dish is the Peking duck, which is air-dried and then covered in soy sauce and syrup before roasting. Peking duck dates back to the 14th century, and the first restaurant specialized in the dish opened in 1416 in the Quianmen area of Beijing.