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Cantonese dishes comprise Cantonese, Chaozhou and Dongjiang dishes. While Cantonese dishes are representative, they are characterized by their great variety of ingredients, such as fresh-water fish, seafood, birds etc. Fresh materials and an exact degree of heat ensure a fresh and tender texture of Cantonese foods. The major condiments are oyster sauce, fermented soya bean sauce, fish sauce, sugar and vinegar.
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Shangdong Cuisine is popular for its wide selection of materials and use of different cooking methods. Soups and dishes prepared with scallions are especially well known. Also well known are its seafood dishes.
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Sichuan dishes comprise one of the four major cuisines in China and are noted for using Chinese prickly ash and hot pepper. It is characterized by a variety of flavouring and adaptability of cooking style. Sichuan cuisine enjoys a high reputation with locals, widespread publicity of "Best eat at Sichuan". Major flavouring styles include fish, the five-spices (prickly ash, star aniseed, cinnamon, clove and fennel), prickly ash-hot pepper, and vinegar-pepper flavouring style.
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Huaiyang Dishes
Huaiyang Cuisine mainly consists of Yangzhou and Zhenjiang dishes in water villages south of the Yangtze River, which are characterized by the strictness in ingredients selecting, the emphasis on cleanliness and freshness of its ingredients, fine workmanship in cutting, matching, cooking and arrangement. Freshness and mildness in taste are the features of the dishes and special attention is paid to retaining each ingredient's natural juices and flavours.
Special Cuisines
Imperial Palace Dishes
Imperial Palace dishes originated from dishes cooked for the Imperial Family by the imperial kitchen. Imperial cuisine was developed on the basis of Shandong cuisine and later Islamic pastry and Tibetan dishes were included.
The cuisine is characterized by its strictness in selecting ingredients. For example, duck dishes must be made of Peking duck, mutton dishes must be made of black trotter or black-and-white faced sheep. It also emphasizes seasonal food: boiled mutton is consumed at the beginning of autumn, spring rolls at the beginning of spring and shrimp in the summer. Quick frying is used to keep flavour, tenderness and a minimum of extra juice in the dishes.
Vegetarian Dishes
Vegetarian cuisine has a long history and a high place in Chinese cuisine. Its main ingredients are green leaved vegetables, fruit, mushrooms, bean curd and vegetable oil, which are not only tasty and nutritious but also easy to digest and offer anti-cancer effects. Major dishes include Vegetarian Chicken, Sauced Meat made of Bean Curd, Vegetarian Pork, Assorted Bean Curd, Mushroom with Gluten, Hot and Sour Slices, Vegetarian Prawn and Fish with Chinese Toon.
Medicinal Dishes
Medicinal diet is an important component of Chinese culinary art. The five flavours of food, namely salty, sour, sweet, bitter and pungent, if applied appropriately at every meal, would be conducive to health and longevity. Drawing from the theory of traditional Chinese medicine and pharmacy, Chinese culinary masters have found a scientific way for diet therapy through proper cooking. Well- known dishes are Chicken Egg in Lilly Soup, Shrimp Slices with Pearl Powder, Tianfu-style Carp, Braised Duck Seasoned with Soya sauce and Dried Tangerine Peel, Steamed Bun with Minced Meat and Tuckahoe Stuffing.
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China is a country of 10,000 cuisines! Authentic Chinese food is delectable in flavor and astounding in its sheer variety. With 56 ethnic minority groups contributing recipes cultivated over centuries from the farthest corners of the country, China is justifiably famous for its claim as home to the most popular cuisine in the world.
You would be remiss if you didn’t sample as many types of China’s regional cuisine as possible during the trip. For a true taste of authentic cuisine, stop by one of the food stalls at the local “night market” and join neighborhood residents in sampling delicious fresh local foods; it will be an evening to remember, and the prices are great too.
Those who prefer a meal more familiar to their tastes may be surprised to discover the quality and variety of international dishes available in China today. American, Italian, Japanese, Thai, Indian, Korean, German, and French restaurants can be found at many 4- and 5-star hotels, and in shopping areas around Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong. Travelers with special dietary requests can make advance arrangements with most 4- and 5-star (or international chain operated) hotels for vegetarian or special dishes.
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