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 range of restaurants, from street stalls serving noodles to revolving restaurants atop hotels and converted courtyards where the imperial family once dined.

 

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 all least eight: Sichuan, Shandong, Guangdong (Cantonese), Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Hunan and Anhui, the eight provinces in China.

 

Once you come to China, you can’t help yourself loving the Chinese Cuisine. What makes Chinese cuisine truly unique is the balancing of ingredients. A proper Chinese meal always contains an equal division of fan, grains and starches, and tsar, meat and vegetables. The two are never mixed together, allowing each to retain its own unique characteristics. The balance between fan and t'sai fits in with the Chinese belief in the importance of balance and harmony in every aspect of life. Perhaps this is the reason we find Chinese cuisine so comforting.

 

Eight Distinct Regional Cuisines

 

SICHUAN CUISINE   
Of the eight major schools of China’s culinary art, Sichuan Cuisine is perhaps the most popular. It is well-known for its hot and pungent 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,   Boiled Combination of Duck's  

Blood??, Dry-fried Shark Fin, and Fish-favored Pork Shreds. One of the popular dishes is Pockmarked Woman’s Bean Curd which was invented by a Chengdu chef’s pockmarked wife decades ago. The cubed bean curd is cooked over a low flame in a sauce which contains ground beef, chili, and pepper. When served, the bean curd is tender, spicy and appetizing.      
 

 
SHANGDONG CUISINE
Shangdong 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. Yellow River Carp in Sweet and Sour Sauce, Stewed Sea Cucumber, and Sautéed Pickled Fish Slices. When meat or seafood is cooked, only small amounts of cooking oil and mild spices are used so that the natural flavor of the food is preserved. Dezhou Braised Chicken is known  throughout the country. The chicken is so well cooked that the meat easily separates from the bone although the shape of the chicken is preserved.   
 

The most representative of Shandong Cuisine is, perhaps, Beijing Roast Duck. Beijing Roast Duck is prepared from specially-bred Beijing crammed duck with a unique roasting process which gives it a perfect combination of color, aroma, taste, a crisp thin skin, and a delicious flavor.

 

Shangdong Cuisine has been influenced by the “Confucius Family Dishes”, which are renowned for their taste, aroma, color and shape. Most famous ones are Agate Sea Cucumber, Shrimps Wearing Jade Belts.

 

 

GUANGDONG CUISINE
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. Snake soup with Chrysanthemum Blooms is provided in autumn. The dish is creamy in color and is garnished with beautiful petals of chrysanthemum, mushrooms, and various flavorings. Other delicacies in Guangdong Cuisine include Roast Suckling Pig, Chicken wings in Oyster Sauce, and Braised Chicken Feet with Wild Herbs.

 

JIANGSU CUISINE
Developed from the local food of the four cities, Suzhou, Yangzhou, 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. Cooking techniques can be varied, but quick frying and stir frying, simmering and steaming are more often used. Special attention is given to the section of the ingredients, cutting, and seasoning according to the different seasons of the year. The most popular dishes are Sweet-sour Boneless Fried Fish, Watermelon Chicken, and Salted Duck.

 

ZHEJIANG CUISINE
Developed 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 region is beautiful with many rivers and lakes so that shrimps and fish are largely produced. The products fresh from the water are made into mouthwatering dishes: Shrimp-meat with Dragon-well Tea, West Lake Sour Fish, Steamed Carp, Fried Shrimp Balls. Othlls. Other famous dishes are Dongpo Braised Pork, Beggar’s Chicken. The ways of the cutting and the temperature of cooking are closely observed, which is the key to the success of Zhejiang Cuisine.
 

FUJIAN CUISINE

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 seafood making is, of course, the chef‘s culinary art. They are good at steaming, frying, braising the food, particularly good at pickling the ingredients before cooking. The popular  dishes are Wined Chicken, Wined Sliced Fish, Deep-fried Prawns, Wined Sea Cucumber with Brown Sauce, Braised Abalone with Oyster Sauce. Flavor, color and appearance are important in Fujian Cuisine.

 

HUNAN CUISINE
Hunan Cuisine is developed from the local food of the Xianjiang 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-Coin Fish, Sweet Lotus Seeds Soup.

 

 

 

 

ANHUI CUISINE
Anhui Cuisine is developed from the local food at the Yangtze banks in Anhui Province, the Huai River Valley, and Huizhou  region. Its 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. The noted dishes are Fuli Stewed Chicken, Salted Mandarin Fish,  Milky Fish King, Ham Simmered with Bamboo Shoots and Ham Simmered with Soft-shelled Turtles.