10 Famous Chinese Foods to Cool You Down this Summer

During the hot summer, Chinese people like to eat some iced desserts and cold dishes to clear away inner heat and whet the appetite. Here are 10 famous Chinese foods which can help cool you down.
 

Cucumber with Garlic

Chinese Name: 拍黄瓜 pāi huáng guā
Cucumber with Mashed Garlic tastes sour, spicy, refreshing and is very popular in hot summer. Crush or smash the cucumbers with the side of a knife, then cut the cucumbers into chunks or simply slice the cucumber. Add mashed or sliced garlic, pepper oil, sesame oil, soy sauce, sugar, salt and vinegar to the cucumber chunks. Then pour on a spoonful of hot oil. Mix them well. Serve and enjoy this famous Chinese food. The proportions of the condiments in the sauce is up to you.

Read more: Recipe - How to Make Cucumber with Mashed Garlic
 

Chinese Name: 玫瑰冰粉 méi guī bīng fěn
Rose Ice Jelly is a famous dessert in southwestern China. People fall in love with it at the first glimpse of its crystalline and transparent appearance. It tastes smooth as ice and has a rose aroma, helping to clear away the heat inside the body. It is very suitable for hot summer. In addition to rose petal jam, sunflower kernels, sesame seeds, and preserved fruits can also be added at the table.
 

Chinese Name: 绿豆凉粉 lǜ dòu liáng fěn
Mung Bean Jelly is cooked with mung bean flour and can relieve summer heat. It can be fried or dressed with seasonings to make a cold dish. In summer, people prefer the chilled version. First, cut the mung bean jelly into strips. Then add a mixture of mashed garlic, chopped coriander and shallots, soy sauce, vinegar, salt, sugar, chili oil and fried peanuts. Then, the tasty and appetizing Mung Bean Jelly with its sour and spicy taste is ready for you to enjoy.
 

Mung Bean Jelly

Cold Noodles (Liang Pi)

Chinese Name: 陕西凉皮 shǎn xī liáng pí
Shaanxi Cold Noodles, a Shaanxi snack, is also a sour and spicy famous Chinese food to stimulate the appetite. When you are in Xi’an, the capital of Shaanxi Province, you can see many restaurants selling it. It is also the “star” of food streets and roadside stands. It would be highly pleasant to eat a bowl of cool Shaanxi Cold Noodles on hot days. It goes perfectly with a bottle of iced Ice Peak, the popular Xi’an cola.

Read More: Top 10 Restaurants to Eat Liang Pi in Xi'an
 

Chinese Name: 绿豆汤 lǜ dòu tāng
Mung Bean Soup is a famous Chinese dish, eaten especially in summer. Drinking it often can prevent sunstroke. It’s quite easy to make. Just boil the soaked mung beans with rock sugar until the mung beans are extremely soft and the soup becomes green. Store in the refrigerator for several hours so you can drink it chilled.

 

Chinese Name: 凉拌菠菜 liáng bàn bō cài
Cold Spinach is a famous summer food in China that tastes a little sour. The dish aids digestion and relaxes the bowels. It is extremely simple to cook. First, boil the spinach. Take it out and drain water off. Then, fry chopped chili, shredded ginger and diced garlic. Pour them over the spinach. Finally, add salt and vinegar and stir it well.
 

Cold Spinach

Stir-fried Lily Bulb and Celery

Chinese Name: 西芹百合 xī qín bǎi hé
Stir-fried Lily Bulb and Celery is a famous Chinese dish that is perfect for hot days. Green, fresh celery stimulates the appetite and lily bulbs help clear away heat from the body. This food can also help bring blood pressure down. Stir-fry chopped shallots and garlics. Then add fresh lily bulbs and stir-fry for 2 or 3 minutes. Add celery sections and continue stir-frying. Add salt 4 or 5 minutes later. Stir-fry them well and serve.
 

Stir-fried Cabbage Mustard

Chinese Name: 清炒芥蓝 qīng chǎo gài lán
Although mustard cabbage (sometimes known as kai choy or mustard greens) is a somewhat bitter, it is a recommended food to promote appetite, benefit digestion and cool people down. Stir-fry is the best way to cook it, and Stir-fried Mustard Cabbage is quite popular, especially in hot summer. Before stir-frying, soak the mustard cabbage for half an hour, then separate the leaves and stems. Dry-fry the stems of the mustard cabbage, then add the leaves to fry. Afterwards, add some cold, boiled water and braise. Three minutes later, take off the pot cover, pour in some fish sauce into and stir-fry well.

 

Chinese Name: 苦瓜炒蛋 kǔ guā chǎo dàn
Scrambled Egg with Bitter Melon is a famous Chinese food. In summer, eating bitter melon not only whets the appetite and cools down the internal heat, but also helps keep the skin moist.  Beat the eggs, then add salt and bitter melon dices. Separately, stir-fry chopped shallots, and then add the beaten eggs together with the bitter melon dices. Stir-fry them to make eggs curdle quickly. After that, sprinkle a little sesame oil and stir them well. You can also stir-fry the eggs first and then add them to the fried bitter melon.
 

Chinese Name: 冬瓜排骨汤 dōng guā pái gǔ tāng
Based on traditional Chinese dietary habits, soups are more suitable in winter. However, Winter Melon and Sparerib Soup is one of the few soups also popular in summer because winter melon plays a role in expelling toxins and clearing away heat and damp from the body. It works even better if pearl barley is added to the soup. First, quick-boil the spare ribs to get away the dirty blood. Then, stew the ribs and pearl barley with ginger slices until tender. After that, add the winter melon slices and salt into the pot and continue to stew for about twelve minutes.