Crispy beef ribs, roast duck and tiramisu were on the menu Thursday at the state dinner where president Xi Jinping hosted president Donald Trump in Beijing, as Chinese chefs sought to appeal to Trump’s culinary preferences while using traditional ingredients and cooking techniques.
The Chinese capital’s specialities include the precisely roasted Peking duck and the richly flavoured zha jiang mian, a dish of wheat noodles topped with soybean paste. But Trump prefers to eat American comfort foods such as burgers, well-done steaks, fries and Caesar salads.
The menu Thursday included a mix of Chinese and international dishes: lobster in tomato soup, stewed seasonal vegetables, slow-cooked salmon in mustard sauce, pan-fried pork bun and what was described as a “trumpet shell-shaped pastry.” There was tiramisu, fruits and ice cream for dessert.
[ Xi Jinping warns Donald Trump that ‘mishandling’ Taiwan issue could lead to conflictOpens in new window ]
Chefs in Beijing took few risks during Trump’s first presidential visit to China in 2017. Their offerings included seafood chowder, kung pao chicken and stewed beef steak with tomato sauce – an elevated take on his favoured meal of steak and ketchup.
