The 8 Great Chinese Cuisines

Always with a desire to make Chinese culture accessible and to shine its light, we continue our series on the chinese cuisine by introducing you to its regional differences! Indeed, Chinese cuisine is rich and varied, with its style and taste varying from region to region. Its history dates back thousands of years and evolves according to changes in the environment and local preferences over time. Chinese cuisine also varies according to the social class and ethnicity of each community, and it is often influenced by the cuisines of other crops. All of these factors contribute to an unparalleled range of cooking techniques, ingredients, dishes and eating styles that make up what is known in the West as "Chinese food."

There are a number of distinctive styles from different regions that together make up the whole of Chinese cuisine, and among these, eight traditions culinary specific that are recognized throughout Chinese society and around the world. In this article you will therefore discover the 8 great Chinese cuisines that make the greatness of the Chinese gastronomy.

1) Sichuan Cuisine

Originating from southwest China, Sichuan cuisine (川菜 in Chinese) is the most popular cuisine in China. Sichuan dishes are famous for their flavors spicy, pungent, very spicy and their red color. Sichuan chefs use a lot of seasonings such as various peppers and chilies, garlic and broad bean herb, considered the soul of Sichuan dishes. Chinese hot pot is the most popular Sichuan dish in China and is the first choice when dining with friends.

Why do Sichuan people eat so much chili and hot pepper? The local climate is humid. Eating pepper can help the body's blood circulate quickly in a short time, which can easily drain moisture from the body. Sichuan people also believe that eating chili makes their skin better.

But, Sichuan cuisine is not just spicy and seasoned cuisine. In total, Sichuan cuisine has 24 flavors which can be divided into three broad categories. The first and most popular is the spicy cuisine mentioned above, with representative dishes such as Chinese fondue or Ma Po tofu. The second is spicy and aromatic, with dishes always accompanied by a hint of garlic and ginger. The third is sweet and sour.

Typical Sichuan dishes:

• Kung Pao Chicken
• Chinese fondue
• Mapo Tofu
• Yuxiang Shredded Pork

2) Cantonese Cuisine

Cantonese cuisine (粤菜), also called Yue cuisine or Guangdong cuisine, is characterized by a taste costs, natural and the use of various cooking methods. Cantonese chefs pay attention to the quality and natural taste of the raw food materials they use. Most Cantonese foods have a fresh taste, natural and mild. In order to retain the original flavor and raw taste of the main ingredient, Cantonese chefs are very light on the seasonings. Seasonings should therefore bring out or enhance the original taste of the ingredient, not create a completely new taste. This regional cuisine adapts to seasonal changes: for example, dishes in summer and autumn are light, while in winter and spring they are a little more fortifying. Indeed, the Cantonese prefer seasonal foods. For example, they eat perch in the middle of winter and shrimp in April, when they are larger and tastiest.

This cuisine is also characterized by rich methods of cooking. Cantonese chefs use cooking techniques such as sautéing, boiling, steaming, baking, braising, stir-frying, frying and roasting. Most of them can preserve the flavor natural and original food. Cantonese chefs are particularly good at controlling the temperature of the fire and decorating and arranging dishes. The dishes they cook are not only tasty but also attractive, both in appearance and smell. Accompany these sumptuous Cantonese dishes with tea poured into typical Chinese teapots and you will immediately be transported to the Middle Kingdom.

Most Chinese restaurants abroad are Cantonese restaurants, which makes Cantonese cuisine the most popular Chinese cuisine in the world and the most representative of Chinese cuisines in the world. It consists of three branches: Guangzhou dishes, Chaozhou dishes and Dongjiang dishes, and each has its own characteristics.

Typical Cantonese dishes:

• Char Siu (Chinese Barbecued Pork)
• Sweet and sour pork
• Cantonese Roast Goose
• Pumpkin soup

3) Hunan cuisine

Originating in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770 - 256 BC), Hunan cuisine, also called Xiang cuisine, is another popular cuisine throughout China that is spicy in flavor. Hunan dishes are even spicier than Sichuan dishes because they contain even more chili peppers. Hunan people also invented the use of taste sweet and sour, and they are very fond of pickled and preserved vegetables and meats. They are also fond of dried or fresh chili peppers. Hunan cuisine chefs use several cooking methods such as stir-frying, steaming, and smoking, but the most notable cooking method and one for which they are most famous is stewing.

Typical Hunan dishes:

• Mao-style red braised pork
• Fried pork with chili
• Beef with orange peel

4) Shandong cuisine

Shandong cuisine (鲁菜), originating from Zibo, Shandong also called Lu cuisine, is over 2,500 years old, and is therefore considered the first of the 8 great cuisines of China. Shandong dishes pay great attention to quality and natural taste food. Seafood plays a crucial role in Shandong cuisine, which is known for using broth as a seasoning! Most Shandong dishes are flavorful umami, the fifth flavor along with sour, bitter, sweet and salty, which makes dishes that are salty, sweet and sour.

Shandong chefs pay attention to the original taste of raw materials. Many dishes, such as steamed stuffed tofu, are lightly seasoned, mainly with salt and soup, which gives the dishes an umami and fresh taste with a tasty taste made from fresh produce. Sweet and sour is also a representative flavor of Shandong dishes, such as the famous sweet and sour carp and sweet and sour pork tenderloin.

There soup is the secret seasoning of Lu cuisine. Two types of soup, clear soup and white milk soup, are always used in cooking. Clear broth is usually made from chicken and duck. White milk broth is made from fatty meat such as pork knuckle and pork bones. These broths are not consumed directly, but are used as seasoning when cooking. It is this broth that is the secret of Shandong chefs to make dishes umami.

Shandong cuisine has the most abundant cooking techniques and methods of cooking and cutting the most difficult. There is the incredible cooking technique of flash frying, called "Bao" in Chinese. The technique of the frying Flash frying includes frying in oil, frying in sauce, frying with green onion and frying in broth. The heat is precisely controlled during flash frying. This cooking method can best preserve the original taste of the products.

Another special cooking technique is braising, called "Pa" in Chinese. After preliminary cooking, such as frying, and rapid boiling, the food is placed in a large round-bottomed pan and then cooked again. The best-known dish made using this technique is Dezhou braised chicken.

THE "Your" is the unique cooking technique of Lu cuisine. The ingredient is marinated and coated with a starch or flour paste, fried until golden brown, and then slowly simmered with seasonings and prepared broth. In this way, the dish is flavorful, tender, and umami.

Crispy frying in syrup is a specialty of Lu cuisine for the preparation of sweet dishes which has inspired other cuisines. Sugar is melted in oil, before adding an ingredient to caramelize, such as sweet potato. The diced sweet potato is coated in crispy, golden syrup and you can see the candied thread when you pick up one of the cubes.

Typical dishes from Shandong:

• Ravioli in broth
• “Auspicious” Dried Scallops
• Corn with dried shrimp

5) Jiangsu cuisine

Jiangsu cuisine (苏菜), also called Su cuisine, represents the food of the South China, is one of the eight Chinese cuisines with more than 2,000 years of history. It is famous for its delicate appearance and slightly sweet, umami, natural and mild taste. Jiangsu dishes retain much of the original flavor of the food. The main products are freshwater fish and seafood. The vegetables used are mostly lotus root, Chinese chestnut, cane shoots, winter bamboo shoots and water chestnut.

Chefs are particularly good at making simmer And braise food. They focus on controlling the heat of the fire and the art of cutting. The carvings and cutting are extremely fine and precise. Jiangsu chefs can even cut 2 cm wide tofu into 30 slices!

There are 4 main styles of Jiangsu cuisine: Nanjing, Huaiyang, Suxi, Xuhai.

Typical dishes from Jiangsu:

• Crab ravioli in soup
• Cabbage and fish stew
• Porridge with hundred-year-old eggs and pork

6) Zhejiang cuisine

Zhejiang cuisine (浙菜) is often lightly seasoned and attractive in appearance. Zhejiang cuisine chefs prefer fresh food such as seafood, freshwater fish and seasonal vegetables and they are extremely strict in food selection. In general, the ingredients in Zhejiang cuisine are fresh and seasonal, and are rigorously selected. First of all, the ingredients used are from the local specialties seasonal and the ingredients must be fresh; seafood and fish are usually killed just before cooking, in order to preserve freshness and purity of taste. Finally, the ingredients must be tender, especially the meat.

To improve the taste of dishes, some seasonings are used in Zhejiang cuisine recipes, such as shallots, ginger, garlic, vinegar and Shaoxing yellow wine, which can have the effect of reducing unwanted odors and heightening flavors. In particular, Shaoxing yellow wine, the specialty of Shaoxing, is a unique condiment in Zhejiang cuisine, giving it a style all its own. Zhejiang's famous Dongpo pork is cooked with Shaoxing yellow wine instead of water.

Zhejiang cuisine is famous for its varied cooking methods and frying is the most commonly used method to prepare Zhejiang cuisine dishes, the ingredients are usually cut with some skill of slicing incomparable for having an attractive appearance.

The process is quick and the cooked food comes out tender and flavorful. Foods cooked over high heat are often shaped into rolls, which are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.

Typical dishes from Zhejiang:

• Dongpo pork
• Sautéed sliced freshwater eel
• Eight Treasure Rice Pudding

7) Fujian cuisine

Originating from Fuzhou in Fujian, Fujian cuisine, or Min cuisine, is also popular in Taiwan and some Southeast Asian countries. Fujian cuisine (闽菜) dishes are light, fresh, soft and very low in fat. The foods used are quite rich, containing both land and sea products. Common seasonings are red vinasse (liquor residue), sugar and vinegar. Like Jiangsu cuisine, Fujian cuisine attaches great importance to cutting techniques.

Fujian Province is located by the sea, but is also bordered by plains. Therefore, many delicacies of the earth and of the sea become ingredients of Fujian cuisine, such as mushrooms, bamboo shoots, rice, cane sugar, vegetables, fruits, freshwater turtles, fish, shrimp, clams... Soups are not uncommon in Fujian cuisine, and boiled clam soup with chicken is a delicious representative.

When it comes to condiments, the red vinasse, sugar and vinegar are the most commonly used condiments in Fujian cuisine recipes. Red vinasse is a residue of rice wine or yellow wine fermented with red yeast, which is very nutritious. The use of red vinasse is a unique feature of Fujian cuisine, which gives dishes a vine aroma and a beautiful red color. Sugar is used to eliminate unwanted bad odors; vinegar is used to give a refreshing taste to food. Thus, Fujian food has a reputation for being sweet without being sickly, and light but not tasteless. Other unique seasonings, such as shrimp sauce, chili sauce, and Worcestershire sauce are also used.

The most commonly used cooking techniques are steaming, pan-frying, frying, flash frying, stewing, and simmering. In addition, the marinade Red Vinasse is the characteristic cooking technique of Fujian cuisine, such as Red Vinasse Steamed Fish in which the fish is marinated with red vinasse and then steamed.

Typical Fujian dishes:

• Buddha jumped over the wall
• Popiah
• Drunken Crab

8) Anhui cuisine

Anhui cuisine (徽菜), or simply Hui cuisine, originated over 1,000 years ago in Huizhou, now Shexian County at the foot of the Yellow Mountain in Anhui Province. The ingredients are mostly fromnatural origin and the flavor is light. Anhui cuisine attaches importance to dietary revitalization with natural ingredients.

Most dishes in Anhui cuisine are cooked with more oil than dishes in other cuisines and keep an attractive color. The oil used is usually rapeseed oil made from local rapeseed, which can change and adjust the taste of the ingredients. The sausage is extremely popular in Anhui. The use of hams as a condiment is typical of Anhui cuisine. In addition, Anhui cuisine dishes have the effect of nourishing our body, because multiple ingredients with varied nutritional qualities are balanced together.

The pleasant climate, numerous lakes and rivers, and lush hills of the ancient Huizhou region make it possible to prepare Anhui cuisine recipes from a wide variety ofwild ingredients, such as partridges, fish, turtles, masked civets, poultry, fresh mushrooms, bamboo shoots, mushrooms, chestnuts, etc. Even Chinese medicinal herbs are used by Anhui cuisine chefs in cooking. These materials are all from nature, which is essential to ensure the flavor of Anhui cuisine dishes.

THE techniques The most commonly used cooking methods in Hui cuisine are braising, stewing, and steaming. Frying and flash frying are less commonly used.

Typical dishes of Anhui:

• Fatty kingfish in milk
• Shrimp Love Nest
• Ham with bamboo shoots

You now know all the secrets of Chinese gastronomy and its 8 great cuisines. We hope that this article has also made you want to try each cuisine and make some of the typical recipes of these delicious cuisines.

To enjoy these succulent dishes according to the Chinese art of living, use traditional Chinese chopsticks carefully selected by us from our online store.