Chinese regional cuisine



Chinese regional cuisines are the different cuisines found in different provinces and prefectures of China as well as from larger Chinese communities overseas.To get more news about shanghai Chinese cuisine, you can visit shine news official website.

A number of different styles contribute to Chinese cuisine but perhaps the best known and most influential are Cantonese cuisine, Shandong cuisine, Huaiyang cuisine and Szechuan cuisine.[1][2] These styles are distinctive from one another due to factors such as availability of resources, climate, geography, history, cooking techniques and lifestyle.[3] One style may favour the generous use of garlic and shallots over chilli and spices, while another may favour preparing seafood over other meats and fowl.

Jiangsu cuisine favours cooking techniques such as braising and stewing, while Sichuan cuisine employs baking, just to name a few.[1] Hairy crab is a highly sought after local delicacy in Shanghai, as it can be found in lakes within the region. Peking duck and dim-sum are other popular dishes well known outside of China.[1]

Based on the raw materials and ingredients used, the method of preparation and cultural differences, a variety of foods with different flavors and textures are prepared in different regions of the country. Many traditional regional cuisines rely on basic methods of preservation such as drying, salting, pickling and fermentation.
Cantonese cuisine (Chinese: 粤菜; pinyin: yuècài) is a regional cuisine that emphasises the minimal use of sauce which brings out the original taste of food itself.[6] It is known for dim sum, a Cantonese term for small hearty dishes, which became popular in Hong Kong in the early 20th century.[1][7] These bite-sized portions are prepared using traditional cooking methods such as frying, steaming, stewing and baking. It is designed so that one person may taste an assortment of different dishes in bite-size. Some of these may include rice rolls, lotus leaf rice, turnip cakes, buns, jiaozi-style dumplings, stir-fried green vegetables, congee porridge, soups, etc. The Cantonese style of dining, yum cha, combines the variety of dim sum dishes with the drinking of tea. Yum cha literally means "drink tea".
Kung pao chicken is a famous Sichuan dish

Sichuan cuisine (Chinese: 川菜; pinyin: chuāncài; spelled Szechuan or Szechwan in the once-common postal romanization) is a style of Chinese cuisine originating from the Sichuan Province of southwestern China, famed for bold flavors, particularly the pungency and spiciness resulting from liberal use of garlic and chili peppers, as well as the unique flavor of the Sichuan peppercorn (花椒; huājiāo) and Facing heaven pepper (朝天椒; cháotiān jiāo). Peanuts, sesame paste and ginger are also prominent ingredients in this style.

Main article: Anhui cuisine
Anhui cuisine (徽菜; huīcài or 徽州菜; huīzhōu cài) is derived from the native cooking styles of the Huangshan Mountains region in China and is similar to Jiangsu cuisine, but with less emphasis on seafood and more on a wide variety of local herbs and vegetables. Anhui province is particularly endowed with fresh bamboo and mushroom crops.
Fujian

Main article: Fujian cuisine
Fujian (Hokkien) cuisine (闽菜; mǐncài) is influenced by Fujian's coastal position and mountainous terrain.[10] Woodland delicacies such as edible mushrooms and bamboo shoots are also utilized.[10] Slicing techniques are valued in the cuisine and utilized to enhance the flavor, aroma and texture of seafood and other foods.[10] Fujian cuisine is often served in a broth or soup, with cooking techniques including braising, stewing, steaming and boiling.

Jiangsu cuisine (淮扬菜; huáiyángcài) is one of the major components of Chinese cuisine, which consists of the styles of Huai'an, Yangzhou, Nanjing, Suzhou and Zhenjiang dishes. It is especially popular in the lower reach of the Yangtze River. Huaiyang cuisine, one of the Four Great Traditions, is a style of Jiangsu cuisine.

Typical courses of Jiangsu cuisine are Jinling salted dried duck (Nanjing's most famous dish), crystal meat (pork heels in a bright, brown sauce), clear crab shell meatballs (pork meatballs in crab shell powder, fatty, yet fresh), Yangzhou steamed jerky strips (dried tofu, chicken, ham and pea leaves), triple combo duck, dried duck, Farewell My Concubine (soft-shelled turtle stewed with many other ingredients such as chicken, mushrooms and wine), and sweet and sour mandarin fish (Suzhou cuisine).
Hunan
Hunan cuisine (湘菜; Xiāngcài) is well known for its hot spicy flavor,[11] fresh aroma and deep color. Common cooking techniques include stewing, stir-frying, pot-roasting, braising, and smoking. Due to the high agricultural output of the region, there are many varied ingredients for Hunan dishes. Hunan cuisine is called Xiāngcài in China, because the abbreviation of Hunan Province is Xiāng (湘). Some typical dishes of Hunan Cuisine are steaming smoked meat, stew fish, rice noodle soup. Besides spicy, Hunan cuisine, especially western Hunan, also emphasizes on sourness. Therefore, different kinds of pickles are popular in Hunan, for example, Douchi is a type of fermented and salted black soybean.'