辣子鸡 làzǐjī spicy chicken

Laziji is a dish of deep-fried small pieces of chicken. The chicken pieces typically have some bone or gristle in them. Chinese people enjoy eating gristle. The chicken is surrounded by a large amount of dried chilies.

回锅肉 huíguō ròu twice-cooked pork

Huiguorou is originally from Sichuan, but it's so popular you can order at almost any type of restaurant. It literally means "return-to-the-pot pork." It's pieces of pork belly, aka bacon, stir fried with chilies and spring onions.

水煮牛肉 shuǐzhǔ niúròu boiled beef

Shuizhu niurou is just like the fish dish below except with beef.

水煮鱼 shuǐzhǔyú boiled fish

Shuizhuyu is a huge bowl of pieces of fish sitting in boiling oil and dried chilies. It sounds gross, but it's actually really good. It makes me think that consuming oily things doesn't lead directly to getting fat, as Chinese people are some of the skinniest in the world. The fish will typically have bones in it unless you ask for a very un-bony fish. Chinese people have no problem eating around bones in fish or whatever meat. I've come to like meat with bones in it much more since I've been in China. I can no longer see what is appealing about a boneless, skinless chicken breast. Blech. Anyway, I'm not sure whether this dish is from Hunan or Sichuan. I've had it from both types of restaurants. The waiter will give you a slotted spoon so you can just eat the fish and not the oil.

口水鸡 kǒushuǐ jī mouth-watering chicken

Koushui ji is a cold dish, so it is served at the beginning of the meal. It hails from Sichuan, I believe. It is one of my favorite Chinese dishes. Cold, yellow-skinned chicken is submerged in a spicy, oily sauce and garnished with peanuts and cilantro. Amazing!

麻辣豆腐 málà dòufu numb and spicy tofu

Mala tofu or mapo tofu you can find in almost any Chinese restaurant. It's homestyle cooking, and you can even buy seasoning packets at regular grocery stores in the U.S. that just ask you to add tofu and ground pork. 麻 má means numb. It also means the sensation you get when your feet are asleep, or in British English - pins and needles. This spice I have never eaten outside of China, but I definitely craved it when I was in the states. The flavor comes from 花椒 huājiāo or flower pepper that comes from Sichuan. It is pictured below. It will make your whole mouth numb. This dish is fairly spicy. Mala tofu is also sometimes called 麻婆 mápó tofu. I cannot tell the difference between the two if there is one. Mapo means pock-marked, and supposedly comes from a pock-mark faced woman who used to serve the dish in Chengdu.

鱼香肉丝 yúxiāng ròusī fish-fragrant pork

Same sauce as the eggplant dish, yuxiang qiezi.

鱼香茄子 yúxiāng qiézi fish-fragrant eggplant

This dish gets its name because it is cooked in a sauce in which fish is usually cooked. It has a sweet and sour flavor. It has pieces of pork in it, so it's not vegetarian.

宫保鸡丁 gōngbǎo jīdīng kung pao chicken

Just like the American-Chinese dish, kung pao chicken.