Sheng Suan (Eating Raw Garlic Cloves)
A bite of dumplings, a bite of garlic! Absolute Rules for Northern Chinese
Description
More of a 'dining habit' than a dish. In Northern China, when eating dumplings or noodles, diners hold a peeled raw garlic clove in one hand, taking direct bites of it alternately with their food.
Restaurants serving Sheng Suan (Eating Raw Garlic Cloves)
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On this site you can check dictionary details and, later, places to buy or eat related items.
The Recipe section below is a general reference, not a recipe from the listed shops.
Recipe
Ingredients
- Unpeeled raw garlic cloves
Instructions
- [Authentic Eating Ritual]
- Every table in a diner has a free basket of 'whole, unpeeled raw garlic'.
- While waiting for food, diners peel the cloves themselves and snap off the hard root with their fingernails (a sacred pre-meal ritual).
- Take a bite of a hot boiled dumpling (or noodles).
- Immediately take a small, raw crunch of the garlic clove held in your left hand.
- The pork fat of the dumpling and the violent, spicy sting of the raw garlic mix explosively in your mouth.
- This embodies the absolute Chinese proverb: 'Eating meat without garlic halves the flavor'.
Learn more Spice, substitutes, tips
Key spices
Direct sting of raw garlic
Substitutes at Japanese supermarkets
Japanese raw garlic (can sometimes be too spicy)
Pairing
Boiled Dumplings / Lanzhou Beef Noodles / Lamb Skewers
Trivia
[Trivia] This sight is overwhelmingly common in Northern diners. The post-meal breath is catastrophic, but locally it's resolved with the generous mindset of 'everyone eats it, so it's fine'.
Eating tips & etiquette
[Unique Eating] Never pop the whole clove in your mouth at once. Take tiny, millimeter-sized nibbles to control the intense heat and perfectly match the flavor of your food.
Allergen
None