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Universally
recognized as one of the great cuisines of the world,
Chinese food in all its variety and
complexity is unquestionably one of the finest pleasures
a visitor can experience in China.
There is a vast rang of restaurants, from street stalls
serving noodles to revolving restaurants top hotels
and converted courtyards where the imperial family once
dined.
China’s vast territory and long history have give
birth to distinct regional cuisines over the centuries.
The precise number of regional cuisines in China is
till under dispute, but experts agree on at least eight:
Sichuan, Shangdong, Guangdong(Cantonese), Jiangsu, Zhejiang,
Fujian, Huan and Anhui, the eight provinces in China.
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Eight
Distinct Regional Cuisines in China |
Guangdong
Cuisine |
One
of the eight major schools of China’s culinary
art, Guangdong Cuisine is perhaps the most
popular.
Guangdong Cuisine, known as Cantonese Cuisine in the
West, was developed in Guangzhou, Huizhou and Chaozhou,
and Hainan Island. As the climate of Guangdong is hot,
these dishes are fresh, tender, and lightly seasoned.
The raw material for Guangdong Cuisine is very rich,
which includes snake, cat and pangolin. Cooked snake
is considered a delicacy. The most famous snake dish
is the Dragon and Tiger Locked in Battle, in which cobra,
leopard cat, and over twenty spices are used.
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| Roast
snake with Chrysanthemum Blooms is provided in autumn.
The dish is creamy in colour and is garnished with beautiful
petals of chrysanthemum, mushrooms, and various flavorings.
Other delicacies in Guangdong Cuisine include Roast Suckling
Pig, Duck Web in Oyster Sauce, and Braised Chicken Feet
with Wild Herbs. |
Sichuan Cuisine
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Sichuan
Cuisine is well-known for its hot and pungent at flavoring.
Yet the highly distinctive pungency is not its only characteristic.
In fact, Sichuan cuisine boasts a variety of flavors and
different methods of cooking. A Sichuan dish can be hot,
sweet, sour, salty, or tongue-numbing. Typical dishes
of Sichuan are Twice cooked pork Slices, Spicy Diced Chicken
with peanuts, Dry-fried Shark Fin, and Fish-flavored Pork
Shreds. One of the popular dishes is Pockmarked Women’s
Bean Curd which was invented by a Chengdu Chef’s
pockmarked wife decades ago. Te cubed bean curd is cooked
over a low flamed in a sauce which contains ground beef,
chili, and pepper. When served, the bean curd is tender,
spicy and appetizing. |
Shandong Cuisine
Shandong
Cuisine includes many well-known seafood dishes. The dishes
are usually fresh, tasty, but not greasy. Some of the
famous dishes are Deep-fried Red-scale Fish.
Shandong Cuisine has been influenced by the “Confucius
Family Dishes”, which are renowned for their taste,
aroma, colors and shape. Most famous ones are Jadeite
Shark Fin, Agate Sea Cucumber, Shrimps Wearing Jade Belts,
and Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea. |
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Jiangsu Cuisine
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Developed
from the local food of the four cities, Suzhou, Yanghzou,
Nanjing and Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Cuisine is popular in the
middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. It is characteristically
sweet. Sweet-sour Fish, Sweet-sour pork and Sweet-sour
soup are common dishes at the table of the ordinary families.
The most popular dishes are Sweet-sour Boneless Fried
Fish, Watermelon Chicken, Salted Duck and Creamed Abalone
Soup. |
Zhejiang Cuisine
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from the local food of the four cities in zhejiang province:
Hangzhou, Ningbo, Shaoxing, Wenzhou. Zhejiang Cuisine
makes crisp, tender, light and fresh dishes. The ways
of the cutting and the temperature of cooking are closely
observed, which is the key to the success of Zhejiang
Cuisine. |
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Fujian Cuisine
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Fujian
Cuisine is developed from the local food of the three
cities of Fujian Province: Fuzhou, Quanzhou and Xiamen.
This region is very close to the sea and sea food making
is, of course, the chef’s culinary art. They are
good at steaming, frying, braising the food, particularly
good at pickling 7 the ingredients before cooking. The
popular dishes are Wined Chicken, Wined Sliced Fish, Deep-fried
Prawns, Wined Sea Cucumber with Brown Sauce, and Braised
Abalone with OysterSauce, Flavor, color and appearance
are important in Fujian Cuisine. |
Hunan Cuisine
| Hunan
Cuisine is developed from the local food of the Xiangjiang
Valley, Dongting Lake Area, and Western Mountainous Hunan
Province. Its characteristics are: a great variety of
ingredients, shiny and strong colors, hot and spicy tastes,
smoked and pickled flavors. Cooking techniques are pickling,
smoking, spicing, simmering, steaming, braising and frying.
The noted dishes are Hot and Spicy Chicken, Simmered Shark’s
Fin in Brown Sauce, Gold-Coir Fish, and Sweet Lotus Seeds
Soup. |
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Anhui Cuisine
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Anhui
Cuisine is developed from the local food at the Yangtze
banks In Anhui Province, the Huai River Valley, and Huizhou
region. Is characteristics are natural ingredients selected;
original color and flavor preserved. Deep-frying, roasting,
simmering and steaming are the usual cooking techniques
applied. The noted dishes are Fuli Stewed Chicken, Salted
Mandarin Fish, milky Fish King, Ham Simmered with Bamboo
Shoots and Ham Simmered with Softy-shelled Turtles. |
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As the famous saying goes, "Eating
in Guangzhou", Catering has been the relatively active industry
of the economy of Guangzhou and also the sensitive industry to
the society. Judging from the history, as long as the society
is stable, the economy develops, the restaurants must be flourishing.
Therefore, people regard catering industry as the weather glass
of the politics and economy of the society.
The "morning tea", which becomes popular all
of China, has delicate and tasty dim sum.The most famouse one
you can't miss is Guangdong Dim-sums!!It's the best way for you
to join Chinese Guangdong Food culture.
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