Shāokǎo, 烧烤, is usually translated into English as Chinese barbecue but more accurately refers to quickly grilled skewers of meat, seafood and vegetables. Characterized by being cooked over charcoal and seasoned with a bold mix of spices, shaokao varies from region to region and even within regions, and grill masters closely guard their signature spice blends, basting oils and sauces.
Here at The Mala Market we are partial to the shaokao of Western China. In the far west region of Xinjiang, Uyghurs have perfected cumin-dusted lamb skewers, and street grillers with meat-laden carts serve their skewers with crusty rounds of nang bread. In the Southwest, Sichuan, Chongqing and Yunnan cooks add more chilies and Sichuan pepper to the shao kao seasoning and also widen the variety of candidates for the grill to other meats, offal, seafood, tofu and vegetables—basically anything that can be threaded by small bits onto a bamboo skewer.
While shaokao is often called Chinese BBQ, don’t confuse it with Cantonese BBQ, or siu mei, 烧味, which is a completely different animal. The barbecue of Southern China—Guangdong, Hong Kong—siu mei is usually made by roasting whole or large cuts of meat in a charcoal furnace, usually lacquered with a sweet glaze.
Deep Dive: Making Chinese BBQ
Grilling the Sichuan Way This post was updated in August 2025 to include more photos and helpful info. Shaokao (烧烤, shāokǎo), or Chinese barbeque, comes in many forms. The most famous is from the far west region of Xinjiang, where Uyghur Muslims have perfected cumin-dusted lamb skewers, but other areas of the country have taken Xinjiang BBQ and made it…
Deep Dive: Making Chinese BBQ
Chinese Barbecue Vegetables That Steal the Show In the sweltering summers of Sichuan, one of my favorite activities is heading out for yèxiāo (夜宵), a late-night feast—almost a second dinner—that defines the region’s nightlife. Known locally as lěngdàn bēi (冷淡杯; “cold cup”) or yè píjiǔ (夜啤酒, “night beer”), these meals take place in backstreets and riverside food stalls that come alive…
Not to be confused with shao kao grilling spice, Sichuan Dipping Chilies is a condiment that is sometimes served with skao kao at the table. Called gan die, or chili dry dip, also translated as dipping chilies, it includes not only chilies, Sichuan pepper and sometimes cumin, but also crushed peanuts, sesame and roasted soybeans for nutty richness and crunch. A good gan die is one that tastes great licked straight off your fingers. If your skewers don’t have quite enough oomph, you can drag them through a pile of dipping chilies for the ultimate Sichuan flavor rush.
Deep Dive: Making Chinese BBQ
Bao & Dumplings
Deep Dive: Making Chinese BBQ
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