China Cuisine and typical dishes
China is a vast country with diverse climates, customs, products, and habits. People living in different regions display great variety in their diets. People in coastal areas eat more aquatic products and seafood, whereas those in central and northwest China eat more domestic animals and poultry. Foods vary from north to south, and typical local dishes may eve astonish strangers, such as snake, pangolin, and white rat. Tastes also differ regionally because of the climatic differences. One popular summary of Chinese food is “sweet in the south, salty in north, sour in the west, and spicy in the east.”
China’s vast territory and long history have given birth to distinct regional cuisines over the centuries. The precise number of regional cuisines in China is still under dispute, but experts agree on at least eight: Sichuan, Shandong, Guangdong (Cantonese), Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Human and Anhui, the eight provinces in China.

Sichuan Cuisine: Characterized by its spicy and pungent flavor, Sichuan Cuisine emphasizes on the use of chili. Pepper and prickly ash also never fail to accompany, producing typical exciting tastes. Besides, garlic, ginger and fermented soybean are also used in the cooking process.
Typical dishes: Twice Cooked Pork Slices, Spicy Diced Chicken with Peanuts, Dry-fried Shark Fin, Fish-flavoured Pork Shreds, Pockmarked Woman’s Bean Curb, etc.

Shangdong Cuisine: The seafood is a major component of Shandong cuisine, and the raw materials are mainly domestic animals and birds, seafood and vegetables. The masterly cooking techniques include Bao(quick frying), Liu(quick frying with corn flour), Pa(stewing, roasting, boiling, using sugar to make fruit, crystallizing with honey).
Typical dishes: Deep-fried Red-scale Fish, Yellow River Carp in Sweet and Sour Sauce, Stewed Sea Cucumber, Dezhou Braised Chicken, etc.

Guangdong (Cantonese) Cuisine: Characterized with the natural flavor of the vegetables and meats. The dishes are fresh, crisp, tender, and lightly seasoned. The raw material is very rich, which includes snake, cat and pangolin.
Typical dishes: Dragon and Tiger Locked in the Battle, Roast snake with Chrysanthemum Blooms, Roast Suckling Pig, Duck Web in Oyster Sauce, Braised Chicken Feet with Wild Herbs, etc.

Jiangsu Cuisine: It is characteristically sweet and ingredients, cutting and seasoning are different according to the seasons of the year. Cooking techniques can be varied, but quick frying and stirfrying, simmering and steaming are more often used.
Typical dishes: Sweet-sour Boneless Fried Fish, Watermelon Chicken, Salted Duck, Creamed Abalone Soup, etc.

Zhejiang Cuisine: Zhejiang Cuisine makes crisp, tender, light and fresh dishes. And the temperature of cooking is the key to the success of Zhejiang Cuisine.
Typical cuisine: Shrimp-meat with Dragon-well Tea, West Lake Sour Fish, Steamed Carp, Fried Shrimp Balls, Dongpo Braised Pork, Beggar’s Chicken, etc.

 

 

Fujian Cuisine: Fujian Cuisine is good at steaming, frying, braising the food, particularly good at pickling the ingredients before cooking. Flavor, color and appearance are important in Fujian Cuisine.
Typical dishes: Wined Chicken, Wined Sliced Fish, Deep-fried Prawns, Wined Sea Cucumber with Brown Sauce, Braised Abalone with Oyster Sauce, etc.

 

 

Hunan Cuisine: Hunan Cuisine’s 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.
Typical dishes: Hot and Spicy Chicken, Simmered Shark’s Fin in Brown Sauce, Gold-Coin Fish, Sweet Lotus Seeds Soup, etc.

 

 

Anhui Cuisine: Anhui Cuisine’s characteristics are natural ingredients selected, temperature and timing of cooking closely observed, original color and flavor preserved. Deep-frying, roasting, simmering and steaming are the usual cooking techniques applied.
Typical dishes: Fuli Stewed Chicken, Salted Mandarin Fish, Milky Fish King, Ham Simmered with Bamboo Shoots, Ham Simmered with Soft-shelled Turtles, etc.

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