Chinese Food

Regional Cuisines

There is a dizzying array of regional cuisines in Chinese cooking, from Mandarin to Peking and far beyond. Each cuisine relies on local ingredients to create their own unique recipes. All use fresh and preserved ingredients, but also use different herbs and spices to differentiate tastes and textures. Some of the most famous regional cuisines are:

Beijing – Beijing (or Peking) is where the Imperial Cuisine of China originated, and the city is most famous today for Beijing (Peking) Duck. Beijing is located in Northern China, where it is difficult to grow rice, so most menus will feature wheat flour breads or flat breads instead of rice as the traditional starch.

Cantonese – Cantonese food, also called Guangdong food, is traditionally cooked by steaming, boiling, or stir-frying. Cantonese is one of the most flexible cuisines of the country, and Cantonese cooks will use just about any meat, vegetable, and sauce in their cooking. Rice is a must with just about any Cantonese meal. Cantonese is the predominate style of cooking in Hong Kong and in many American Chinese restaurants.

Hunan—The Hunan province is landlocked, and so they have little access to seafood. Their cooking is also extremely spicy and rich, like the close cousin of Szechwan cooking. Hunan is also famous for hot mustard sauce.

Shanghai – This type of cooking is a bit heavier and oilier than Cantonese style cooking, and citrus fruits are also popular in the cuisine. They are perhaps most famous for their Thousand-Year-Old Eggs flavored with lime and ginger.

Szechwan – Most people are familiar with this spicy style of Chinese cooking that incorporates hot, spicy sauces as part of the method. Perhaps the most well known dish is Kung Pao chicken, which is fried with peanuts and chili pepper.

Chinese Culture and Food

Food is an indelible part of the Chinese culture. Chinese cooks are adept at mixing ingredients, flavors, and textures to produce satisfying meals that are an integral part of their lives. They use fresh, natural ingredients that are locally available, but they are also infinitely flexible when it comes to incorporating new and different ingredients introduced from other cultures. For example, traders brought items like sweet potatoes and peanuts that worked their way into many Chinese dishes as they became more readily available.

Woks and Stir-Frying

A key ingredient in any Chinese kitchen is the wok. These large round frying pans can come with a flat or round bottom and in a variety of materials from aluminum to carbon steel. You don't absolutely have to have a wok to create Chinese recipes, but a wok will make the job easier and the results more authentic. The best news is, most Chinese cooks use carbon steel woks because they conduct heat more evenly – and they are one of the most inexpensive types of woks on the market! Many experts recommend avoiding electric woks, because they simply can't get hot enough to stir-fry effectively. So, you don't have to spend a fortune on fancy cooking gadgets to begin your Chinese cooking adventure.

Learning to stir-fry isn't difficult, but it may seem daunting at first. Stir-frying is really all about quick cooking and understanding which ingredients cook fastest and slowest. Meats and tougher vegetables, such as celery, carrots, and broccoli will cook longest, while vegetables such as bean sprouts or green onions don't require much cooking at all, so you add them last for the least amount of cooking. Stir-frying is about layering flavors and textures, but the best part is, it's extremely flexible. You can stir-fry your favorite meats with vegetables your family loves, and end up with a quick, healthy meal that makes you feel good about cooking at home!

Fresh Ingredients Make the Difference

Another absolute necessity for Chinese cooking are fresh ingredients. Most Chinese dishes have at least one or two fresh vegetables in them, like bok choy, green onions, cabbage, mushrooms, carrots, celery, and seasonings like fresh ginger and soy sauce. All of the vegetables should be fresh and chopped or sliced before you begin to cook.