Yantai’s fresh fish dumplings are known for being tender, large, generously filled, and thin-skinned. Spanish mackerel and olive flounder are excellent choices for the filling. The term “tender” means the fish has been freshly caught, and sometimes the fish pieces are still moving when sliced. Chopping the fish and mixing it with seasonings such as soy sauce, chopped scallions, and minced ginger is called “infusing the flavor.” When making the filling, it is important to add...
One-Way Monkey Large Peanuts were introduced from the United States in 1862. When first introduced, they were a vining variety of large peanuts, with long internodes, lateral branches that sprawled along the ground, scattered fruiting, and difficult harvesting. Later, through practical production experience, farmers selectively bred a new type of large peanut with concentrated fruiting and upright vines. Because the fruits, resembling a group of long-tailed monkeys of various shapes, gathered around the stems, resembling a monkey troop...
The Wulong Goose, also known as the "Hollow-eyed Goose" or "Scar-eyed Goose," originates from the Laiyang area in Yantai, Shandong Province. It is one of the highest egg-laying goose breeds in the world and a renowned small-sized premium goose breed globally. This small white goose has a high egg production rate and fast early growth. Its place of origin is the Wulong River basin in Laiyang, Yantai region. This area...
Yangjun Prawns are a famous product of Laiyang, produced in the bay of Yangjun Town at the southern tip of Laiyang City. Thanks to the Wulong River flowing into the Yellow Sea here, the seawater contains abundant natural food sources, resulting in high-quality meat in live Yangjun Prawns. In recent years, a modern shrimp farm has been built on Li Island. Currently, the shrimp farming area covers over 6,000 acres, with an annual production of 400,000 jin...
Laiyang Chestnuts Laiyang chestnuts are mainly produced in the mountainous or hilly areas of towns such as Heluo, Muyudian, Yukeding, and Zhaowangzhuang. Locally, they are often referred to as North Mountain chestnuts. The mountainous region has a long-standing tradition of cultivating chestnuts. Laiyang has a custom of making chestnut cakes using chestnut flour. These cakes are brown in color but taste fragrant and sweet. In recent years, North Mountain chestnuts have…
Laiyang Cherries – “Lofty Pearls of Blossom.” A local saying goes, “If you love cherries, head to Daoyahou near Liangzikou.” Laiyang’s Luguzhuang Town is abundant in cherry production and is renowned as the “Hometown of Cherries,” historically referred to as “lofty pearls of blossom.” With nearly 20,000 acres of planting bases featuring both domestic and international premium varieties, it stands as a local highlight. …
Wandi Huoshao is a snack that has been popular for many years and enjoys a good reputation in the Jiaodong region. There are two types of Wandi Huoshao: dry huoshao and oil huoshao. Traditional local-style Wandi Huoshao uses millet as a “starter” to ferment the dough, which is then combined with cold-water dough. The mixture is hand-kneaded and baked over “three rounds of fire,” giving it...
Dried Sweet Potato from Dongcun Village The once ordinary mountain village of Dongcun Village in Wandi Town, Laizhou City has now seen its hardworking villagers achieve prosperity through processing cooked dried sweet potatoes. What was once an unremarkable product has become a sought-after item in major cities such as Yantai, Qingdao, and Weihai. Thanks to this, the villagers earn over 3 million yuan annually...
Laiyang River Clams Laiyang City Fisheries Technology Extension Station River clams: Also known as yellow clams or golden clams, they have high medicinal and edible value. As a traditional Chinese medicine ingredient, river clams can stimulate appetite, promote lactation, improve eyesight, increase urination, remove dampness and toxins, treat liver diseases, cure measles, relieve cough and reduce phlegm, and help sober up. They also serve as natural feed for poultry, livestock, and fish…
Laiyang Pear Juice is made from Laiyang pears, which are grown on the sunny side of Lai Mountain. The terrain of Laiyang features low mountainous hills with gently undulating slopes and crisscrossing ravines—this unique environment gives rise to Laiyang Pear Juice. The Wulong River weaves through the hills and valleys, creating the optimal growing conditions for Laiyang pears, resulting in fruit with flesh that is...
Ingredients: 1 cleaned small chicken, 10g maltose syrup, 25g five-spice powder, 5g star anise, 50g scallions, 25g ginger, 15ml soy sauce, 1 piece of sorghum stalk (about 13cm long), 15g salt, 1000ml peanut oil. How to make Fushan Roast Chicken (1) Clean the chicken, chop off the lower legs,...
Hometown flavors: Snacks of Yantai If we were to speak of a snack culture, then the most distinctive feature of Yantai’s snack culture is its strong sense of hometown nostalgia. Its most famous representative is undoubtedly “Mengzi.” The main ingredient of “Mengzi” is a type of jelly made from starch. The preparation method is simple: cut the jelly into small pieces, pan-fry them slowly in a small flat-bottomed pan until they are slightly…
A traditional delicacy with a history of over a hundred years. Made from high-quality sweet potato starch dough, the Menzi is cooled, cut into small cubes, then pan-fried until golden on both sides. It is scooped onto a plate and topped with sesame paste, mashed garlic, and other seasonings. Crispy on the outside, spicy and flavorful, it has a unique taste. On the streets and alleys of Yantai, you’ll come across such street stalls: a small stove,…
The preparation technique is intricate, involving kneading, shaping, and stretching the dough into fine strands as thin as dragon beard. Boiled in hot water and served with various savory broths such as seafood trio, sliced fish, prawn, shredded chicken, or clam. The noodles are smooth, chewy, and refreshing, offering a uniquely delicious flavor. …
Scallop with Egg White is a traditional and well-known dish from Fushan with a long history, commonly served in restaurants across the region. This dish features scallops as the main ingredient, steamed with scallions, ginger, and clear broth. Separately, egg whites are steamed until they form a delicate, chrysanthemum-like texture. The steamed scallops are then placed on top of the egg white, enriched with broth and drizzled with sesame oil. The resulting dish has steamed egg whites that resemble...
The cultivation of Fushan Big Cherries began in the 1870s and has a history of 130 years to date. Among deciduous fruit trees in northern China, Fushan Big Cherries are the earliest to ripen, earning them the reputation as the “First Spring Fruit of the North” and “Treasure Among Fruits.” Currently, Fushan has 100,000 mu (approximately 6,667 hectares) of cherry orchards, accounting for 20% of the national planting area; the yield is 2…
Yantai cuisine, primarily Fushan cuisine, has a long and storied history. Along with Jinan’s Lixia cuisine, it forms two major flavors of Shandong cuisine and once had a significant influence on imperial court dining. Yantai cuisine mainly uses seafood as its primary ingredient, known for its freshness, crispness, tenderness, and original flavor. Fushan cuisine excels in steaming, pan-frying, sautéing, deep-frying, roasting, and braising. Not only has it had a major impact on cooking techniques in North China, Northeast China, and the Beijing-Tianjin area domestically,…
Fushan Big Noodles have a history of some two to three hundred years and are a unique specialty among Yantai’s noodle dishes. A lump of dough weighing three to five pounds is kneaded, repeatedly slapped and stretched until what was once a thick noodle rod the size of a teacup transforms in moments into a bundle of noodles as fine as silver threads and as delicate as weeping willow branches. The shapes of the noodles and the sauces are paired according to specific standards that complement and enhance each other. …
Fushan apples have a long cultivation history, dating back over 120 years. Renowned both domestically and internationally for their vibrant color, thin skin, crisp flesh, rich aroma, and excellent quality, they have strong competitiveness in both domestic and global markets. During the 1960s and 1970s, they were once an important fruit served at state banquets hosted by Chinese party and state leaders to entertain foreign guests. The annual...
Origin and Distribution: Originally from the Laiyang area of Shandong Province, it is also known as the Wulong Goose because its main production areas are located in the Wulong River basin. Historically, a large number of Shandong immigrants migrated to the Northeast, bringing this breed of goose with them. The Broad-eyed Goose is most commonly raised in Changtu, Liaoning, where it is commonly called the Changtu Goose. In the Tonghua area of Jilin Province and parts of Heilongjiang, it is commonly referred to as the Scarred-eye Goose. Currently, it is most prevalent in the three northeastern provinces and Shandong, and is also distributed in Inner Mongolia, Hubei, Guangxi, Anhui, and other regions.