Food in China
Chinese people like eating. They regard food is everything in life, so in every occasion or a regular family gathering, a good meal can make people very happy ! However, in such a vast and populous country, different places can develop different styles of cuisine that cater to the local climate and the people's taste. For people who are going to China, the local food specialty is perhaps one of the main topics before the trip begins. In China, there are four main cuisine categories :
Cantonese Cuisine Beijing Cuisine
Shanghai Cuisine Sichuan Cuisine
Canton (Guangzhou) is the provincial capital of Guangdong in southern China, bordering Hong Kong and Macao, the Cantonese cuisine is actually a great combination of north and south. Originated from northern China, wonton noodle is a dish of small dumplings that shrimp and pork with vegetable wrapped in thin flour skin, and then cooked in soup with noodles.
Dim sum (literally "touch of heart") is another specialty in Guangdong Province, it is actually a kind of Chinese snacks : shrimp dumplings, wo tip (pot-sticker), siu maai (small steamed dumplings with pork inside a thin flour wrapper) and then baked or steamed buns filled with preserved meat (cha siu bau). Some Chinese restaurants there start serving dim sum as early as five in the morning.
Steamed beef balls and Chinese spare rib are delicious dim sum meat dishes, turnip cake and lotus leaf rice can be eaten in breakfast and at dinner respectively. Moreover, sweet dishes such as jin duei (a chewy dough filled with red bean paste, rolled in sesame seeds and deep fried), sweet creamed buns and Malay steamed sponge cake are very attractive. There are some other Cantonese varieties such as roast suckling pig, dog meat pot and preserved pork with taros.
Beijing has been the nation's capital in many dynasties and the center of politics, economy and culture, so Beijing Cuisine traditionally represents the flavor of the ancient imperial court. Due to its special statue in history, many ethnic minorities from northern China have lived in the city, so Beijing cuisine has absorbed their specialties into local's cooking technique. By this combination, Beijing cuisine becomes a specialty that is very different from other styles, it has always been loved by gourmets throughout the world. Beijing cuisine mainly consists of the cooking styles of Muslim, imperial recipes from the Ming and Qing Dynasties, seafood from the Tan family cuisine and specialties from some northern provinces.
Muslim cuisine is quite popular in Beijing, its main ingredients are beef and mutton. The famous "Lamb Feast" uses almost all parts on a lamb that can make about a hundred kinds of recipes. Roast and stew mutton are the delicious Muslim dishes in Beijing as well. Imperial recipes of the Ming and Qing Dynasties are having great importance in Beijing cuisine, the notable dishes are fried fish pieces and yellow fish with dried meat pieces. Peking roast duck is loved by gourmets at home and abroad. The dish is prepared by crispy fat duck and chufa and served with steamed buns. Local family style noodle dishes are excellent also, because noodles are more popular than rice in Beijing.
Sweet taste, rich in sauces and blending of styles are the Shanghai cuisine's characteristics. The cuisine is mainly derived from the rural cooking methods in neighboring Zhejiang and Jiangsu Provinces with a little bit influence of the Western style. The outstanding features in Shanghai cuisine are the methods of braising and stewing, rich sauces and cured meat are popularly used also. Making the good taste and the beautiful color of the dish by controlling the cooking time and the intensity of the fire, "Shanghainese braise fish" is an excellent example of this. Shao Xing Yellow Wine is a produce in Shao Xing County in Zhejiang Province, its aroma taste adds much fragrance to many dishes, especially fish. Use of brown vinegar is very popular also.
Sichuan cuisine has a long history and it is very famous throughout the world. The cuisine was originated in ancient Ba and Shu states, and then widely developed during the Tang and Song Dynasties. Sichuan style includes the tastes of Chengdu, Chongqing and some other places in the province. The typical characteristics of the style are hot, spicy and sour, thus the tastes of dishes are very strong.
The strong chili taste is to stimulate the taste buds and appetite in hot and humid weather during summer, as well as to make people feel warmer during miserable winter in Sichuan Province. Well known Sichuan recipes are Sichuan beef and re-cooked pork, which is a dish of pork, cooked in boiled water, and then stir-fried in a very hot pan with cooking oil and put sauces on it finally. Cold noodles mixed with peanut sauce is a favorite snack in Chengdu and Chongqing, it can be served either spicy or not. Ma-Po bean curd is very mouth-watering that is commonly eaten with rice. It is mainly made of fine bean curd cut to small pieces and cooked with slices of pork and peppers and chilies. The taste of the dishes, of course, is very hot.
