Chinese Cuisine

Chinese Cuisine

China is a vast country, extending from the sub-tropical regions of Hunan and Kwantung in the south, right up to the dry plains of Mongolia in the north, while the western borders go right into central Asia, reaching almost to the frontier of Afghanistan. Because it is such a vast country, there are dramatic contrasts in geography and climate across China. The great diversity of regional history, customs, life and culture have caused a distinct cuisine to evolve in each of the four major provinces.

The cooking of Beijing and northern China is a fusion of three distinct influences, high-class court and mandarin dishes, rustic Mongolian and Manchurian fare, and the indigenous cooking of the cold, northerly climate. Here rice is less important than wheat and a variety of pancakes, noodles and dumplings are found.

Barbecuing, lacquer roasting, spit-roasting, slow-simmering and deep-frying are the most common cooking techniques in the north. Sauces are richly flavored with dark soy sauce, garlic, spring onions, spices and sesame oil. Lamb, generally disliked elsewhere in China, is common here.

The Szechuan cuisine of the West tends to be hearty rather than delicate and is renowned for highly spiced foods, especially dishes containing chillies. Szechuan cooks have perfected a fascinating range of hot-sour, savory-spiced and sweet-hot-piquant dishes, many of which are characterized by the crunch and bite of pickles. Many dishes are relatively dry and more reminiscent of southern stir-fries than of the sauce-rich dishes of the east.

The cooking of the east is more starchy, and richer, not only in the amount of oil used in cooking, but also in the range of ingredients, the amount of soy sauce, and the number and combinations of spices. Rice is used a lot, not only plain as an accompaniment, but also combined with vegetables, and as a stuffing. With a long coastline, and well-watered lands, there is a fine selection of seafood and plenty of freshwater fish and a great range of vegetables is also available. The people of Shanghai are sweet-toothed and make savory dishes that are generally sweeter than elsewhere.

Southern cooking is probably the most inventive, rich and colorful in China. It has been influenced by a steady stream of foreign traders and travelers, and is richly endowed with year-round produce from land and sea. Fruits flourish and are combined in meat and savory dishes more here than elsewhere. Vegetables are used in quantity, but meat sparsely. Stir-frying is the most popular cooking method, but steaming and roasting are also common and the use of oil in cooking is kept to a minimum. Every meal includes rice and dishes often contain thick but delicate sauces. The area produces some of the best soy sauce in the country and, because of this, specializes in ‘red cooking’ — slowing baking or braising in soy sauce.