These Dishes Will Totally Change The Way You Order Chinese Food

You are tired of dumplings, done with lo-mein, and you can't look another piece of sweet and sour chicken in the eye. But you still want to make it work with Chinese food.

Fear not. There is hope.

While American Chinese food generally tends to revolve around four or five generic dish preparations — sweet and sour, sesame, stir-fried, etc. — there is, in fact, a robust and delicious variety of foods from the Middle Kingdom.

Watch below to learn about a couple of menu items you've probably overlooked but should be ordering. And remember, this is just the beginning: The real trick is to keep trying new stuff.

Since some of these items are a little off the beaten path and might not be on every menu, we provided the Chinese name and characters as well as the English name, so you can show your favorite local spot that you are in the know.

[And don't forget to share your favorites in the comments]

Produced by Daniel Goodman