Shandong cuisine, one of the four traditional Han cuisines, originated in Qi and Lu (now Shandong) during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, with a long history and wide influence. Its gestation period can be traced back to the Spring and Autumn Period, further developed in the Qin and Han Dynasties, matured in the Southern and Northern Dynasties, and became a major cuisine in the Song Dynasty. A large number of dishes entered the court in Ming and Qing Dynasties. Shandong cuisine is exquisite in material selection, exquisite in knife work, comprehensive in techniques, mild in seasoning, diverse in dishes, especially strict in cooking time, emphasizing the effect of fresh, crisp and tender dishes. Middle and low-grade popular dishes are often scallion-flavored and sauce-flavored, mainly fried and baked, accompanied by pasta, which is very popular in areas dominated by pasta in China. High-grade dishes often use expensive ingredients such as soup stock, sea cucumber soaked in water, fresh abalone, shark's fin, Taishan red scale fish, etc., and often use steak, steaming and other methods, which have the charm of court dishes and official dishes, "upright and impartial", generous and simple, delicious and pure, in line with the aesthetic requirements of Confucianism. The banquet was grand and sumptuous, paying attention to etiquette. Shandong cuisine plays an important role in China's food culture: China's pursuit of delicacy and his dietary philosophy of harmony of five flavors originated in Shandong; Shandong cuisine is the most distinctive of the four major cuisines, and the basic cooking techniques of local cuisines are mostly derived from Shandong cuisine. Influenced by court officials, there are a large number of dishes in Shandong cuisine that test cooking skills extremely, and Shandong cuisine bears the heavy responsibility of retaining the essence of traditional food culture. Shandong cuisine, named after its origin in Shandong, which was called "the land of Qilu" in ancient times, is the earliest local cuisine in China and one of the four major cuisines in China.

The formation and development of Shandong cuisine is determined by Shandong's historical culture, geographical environment, economic conditions and customs. Shandong is the birthplace of Confucian culture in China, and Confucius' theory of "never getting tired of food, never getting tired of food" has a far-reaching impact on the development of Shandong cuisine. Rich resources and ancient cultural traditions provide superior objective conditions for the formation and development of Shandong cuisine. Shandong, located in the lower reaches of the Yellow River, is known as "one of the three largest vegetable gardens in the world" with mild climate, rich products, various kinds of vegetables and excellent quality. Scallion in Zhangqiu, garlic in Cangshan, ginger in Laiwu, cabbage in Jiaozhou and radish in Weifang are all high-quality vegetables that are well-known at home and abroad. Fruit production ranks first in the country, with excellent quality, such as Yantai apple, Laiyang pear, Leling jujube, Dezhou watermelon, Feicheng peach and so on. The output of aquatic products ranks third in China. Shark's fin, sea cucumber, prawn, Cargill, flounder, abalone, shih Tzu, scallop and red snail are well-known at home and abroad. Shandong brewing industry has a long history, such as Luokou vinegar, Jinan soy sauce, Jimo old wine and so on. , are well-known products. Rich products provide rich material resources for the development of Shandong cuisine.

As early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the Biography of Qilu Yao appeared. It is mainly made of cattle, sheep and pigs, and it is also good at making poultry, game and seafood. There are many written records about the cooking requirements and fashion hobbies at that time. During the Western Zhou Dynasty, Qin and Han Dynasties, Qufu, the capital of Lu State, and Linzi, the capital of Qi State, were both quite prosperous cities. The catering industry once flourished and famous chefs came forth in large numbers. Qi Huangong's favorite, Yiya, was an excellent cook before her success. The Book of Rites has special records on meals, food, beverages, stews, preserved fruits, soups and treasures, from the collocation of raw materials, cooking methods to seasoning requirements. Book of rites? The internal rules say that "the method of reconciliation should be used according to materials;" The use of five flavors is easy because of time. " The requirement for seasoning is "sour in spring, bitter in summer and salty in winter, smooth and sweet". The Book of Rites basically outlines various cooking methods and requirements such as boiling, boiling, roasting, stewing and burning. It can be seen that many expositions about cooking theory in historical materials come from the country of Qilu and are widely circulated in these areas, thus laying the foundation for Shandong cuisine.

During the Han, Wei and Six Dynasties, Shandong cuisine developed rapidly. In Qi Yao Min Shu, Jia Sixie comprehensively summarized the cooking methods in the Yellow River basin, especially in Lu. The methods of frying, roasting, frying and frying mentioned in the book are still widely used in Shandong cuisine. The book also describes the production methods of some famous dishes, such as roast duck, roast suckling pig, etc. These famous dishes were well-known at home and abroad at that time and widely circulated in this area. The discussion on cooking in Qi Yaomin's Book had a far-reaching influence on the formation and development of Shandong cuisine. After the improvement and tempering of Sui, Tang, Song and Jin Dynasties, Shandong cuisine gradually became the representative of northern cuisine. During the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, Shandong cuisine maintained its original charm, absorbed the advantages of other cuisines and made new development. At this time, Shandong cuisine entered the court in large quantities and became a royal cuisine, which was widely used in North China and Northeast China.

In modern times, in order to meet all kinds of needs, on the basis of inheriting traditional skills, chefs skillfully used ingenious ideas to cook new dishes, improved and developed many new dishes with diverse raw materials, processing techniques, taste characteristics and artistic styles, which made Shandong cuisine take a big step towards finer processing, more beautiful modeling and more scientific catering on the basis of maintaining traditional flavor.

Shandong has great regional differences, with different natural environments, products and customs, thus forming three major food-eating areas: the lower reaches of the Yellow River in central Shandong, the coastal areas of Jiaodong and the southwestern Shandong. Their dishes are different, and many famous dishes have been handed down.

The wind supply areas in central Shandong and the lower reaches of the Yellow River include Tai 'an, Weifang, Zibo, Dezhou, Huimin, Liaocheng, Dongying and other places with Jinan as the center. Jinan flavor is the main part of Shandong cuisine, which has a great influence in Shandong. Jinan cuisine is most famous for its soup dishes. As the saying goes, "the opera is the cavity of the opera, and the chef's soup is soup." The method of making clear soup and milk soup is recorded in Qi Yaomin's Book. Jinan cuisine pays attention to cooking methods such as frying, frying, burning, frying, roasting and baking. Jinan cuisine pays attention to material benefits, and its style is strong, vigorous, fragrant and tender. Since the Qing Dynasty, Shandong cuisine has been divided into "Fushan Gang" and "Jinan Gang". Jinan cuisine is divided into "Lixia School", "Wei Zi School" and "Taisu School". "Jinan Lixia School: Soups are especially fresh and cool. Chicken and duck dishes pay attention to seasoning with sweet noodle sauce, and they are good at being sweet, salty and rich in sauce. Its variants include sauce flavor, sauce, onion sauce, sugar sauce and so on. , representing more dishes, such as sweet and sour duck slices and braised mandarin fish in sauce. " Stir-fried vegetables are the representative dishes in Shandong. Both Jiaodong and Jinan are good at this method, but there are also differences. Jinan has a long history of cooking. Yuan Mu, a scholar in the Qing Dynasty, once described that "it is better to stir-fry with oil and add seasoning to the pot, so it is extremely brittle, which is also the law of northerners." Fried double crisp, fried tripe and diced chicken are all famous stir-fried dishes. According to legend, when Ding Baozhen, the governor of Sichuan, was appointed as the governor of Shandong in the late Qing Dynasty, he used the famous chef Zhou in Jinan as his home cooking. The fried diced chicken was very popular with Governor Ding, and Ding was often called "kung pao chicken" because he was given "kung pao chicken". Later, Ding was transferred to Sichuan Prefecture and introduced this dish to Bashu. Jinan's "sweet and sour yellow river carp" is known as Qilu famous carp. Jiuzhuan large intestine is the representative dish of Jinan. According to legend, during the Guangxu period of Qing Dynasty, a businessman named Du in Jinan opened Jiuhua Mountain Villa. This person likes the word "nine" very much, and he has to carry the word "nine" in everything. The word "nine" is a Taoist term, which means repeated burning. The "burning large intestine" made by Jiuhualou is extremely exquisite, and its kung fu is like Taoist alchemy, hence the name "Jiuzhuan large intestine".

Although Porphyra Wei originated in Jinan, it has formed its own characteristics due to different products and geographical locations. Good at cooking, frying, drawing and other processes, the raw materials are mostly meat, poultry and eggs. The taste is salty and slightly sweet, and soy sauce and lobster sauce are used more. The representative dishes of Wei Porphyra are pregnant carp, shredded sweet potato, elbow and so on. Cabbage is very popular in Luzhong, and every household in Zibo will cook it. Boshan tofu box has a long history and unique technology. It is a famous dish in Boshan. According to legend, when Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty made a southern tour, he went to Boshan to pay a visit to Sun Tingquan, a great scholar during the Kangxi period, and Sun used Boshan Tofu Box to entertain him. After Gan Long ate it, he was full of praise. Since then, "Boshan Tofu Box" has become famous all over the world.

Thai vegetarian dishes refer to vegetarian dishes and temple dishes represented by Tai 'an. There are many temples in Mount Tai, and there is an endless stream of monks and Taoist priests. Mount Tai is famous for its tofu, cabbage and spring water, and is known as the "three beauties". In addition, Mount Tai is rich in all kinds of fungi and vegetables, so the vegetarian dishes in Tai 'an area are particularly exquisite, and their techniques are mostly influenced by Jinan. They are good at burning, frying, frying and frying, with elegant color and fresh taste. The representative dishes of Thai cuisine include pot tofu, soft baked tofu, fried tofu balls, fried thin lotus, baked Erdong and Sanmei tofu. When Feng Yuxiang, a patriotic general, lived in seclusion in Mount Tai, he usually ate tofu, cabbage and spring water and painted poems for it, which was highly praised.

Jiaodong Peninsula is known as the "Pearl of Shandong" and is rich in seafood. Jiaodong cuisine has made considerable achievements as early as the Spring and Autumn Period, and later developed into an important part of Shandong cuisine. Jiaodong cuisine pays attention to raw materials, fine knife work, crisp taste, and keeps the original flavor of the dishes. It is good at seafood making, especially cooking little seafood. Since the late Qing Dynasty, Jiaodong cuisine has formed "Beijing-Tianjin Jiaodong cuisine" represented by Beijing and Tianjin, "Benbang Jiaodong cuisine" represented by Yantai Fushan, and "Improved Jiaodong cuisine" represented by Qingdao. Among them, the main famous dishes of this cuisine are: fried fish slices, fried shrimps, fried oyster yolk, steamed Cargill fish, fried sea cucumber with onion, fried chicken slices, fried mullet flowers, braised clams in oil, fried conch and dried scallop hibiscus. According to legend, Guo Zhongguo, the minister of the Ministry of War of the Ming Dynasty, returned to Fushan to visit relatives and brought a famous chef from Fushan to Beijing. The famous chef became the emperor's chef. A few years after the royal chef retired in his later years, the emperor missed Fukuyama's "rotten fish fillets" and sent half a pair of horses to Fukuyama to summon the old chef to the palace. Later, the hometown of this famous chef was called "Luanjia Village". The reformists widely absorbed western food skills and made dishes with jam, bread and other raw materials. Representative dishes are: roasted Jiayu, chrysanthemum fish in tomato sauce, fried shrimp plate, curry chicken, stone tongue, fried double flowers, dragon's feet and so on. Among them, the stone tongue is light, fresh and crisp. According to legend, Wang Xu, a scholar in the late Qing Dynasty, went to Qingdao to celebrate the opening of Jufu Building. At the end of the banquet, he served a soup made from the abdominal muscles of giant clams. White and delicate color, fresh and crisp. Wang Xu asked about the name of the dish, but the owner replied that there was no name of the dish and asked Wang Xiucai to give it a name. On a whim, Wang Xu wrote the words "Xi Stone Tongue". Since then, this dish has been named "Xishi Tongue".

Southern Shandong and southwestern Shandong include Linyi, Jining, Zaozhuang and Heze. This area is mostly the land of the gurus, and the residents pay attention to etiquette and are good at eating and drinking. For example, Linyi Babao Douchi, Linyi Dunnang, Shanxian Mutton Soup and Jining Ben Meat are all local famous dishes. Its representative dishes are steamed mandarin fish, braised turtle, crucian carp in milk soup and silver carp in oil.

In addition, Confucian cuisine is also an important part of Shandong cuisine, and the production pays attention to exquisiteness, seasoning and cooking; The taste is mainly fresh and salty, hot, soft and rotten; Cooking skills are good at steaming, roasting, roasting, roasting, frying and frying. The famous dishes are "one pot at a time", "Imperial Pen and Monkey Head", "Imperial Shrimp", "Holding Carp", "Fairy Duck" and "Spilled Bean in Oil". It is said that Kong Fanpo, a descendant of Confucius, especially loved ducks in Shanxi in Qing Dynasty, so his chef tried every means to change his cooking skills. Once the cook cleaned up the ducks, carefully seasoned them and steamed them in a cage. Because there was no clock, time was measured by burning incense. When the incense is burned out, the duck is taken out. It's delicious and soft. Kong well-known praised it after eating it, so he named it "Xianya". Gan Long once came to Qufu to offer sacrifices to Confucius, and had a meal after dinner, but he ate very little because he was not hungry. The Duke of Feast was in a hurry, so he sent someone to the chef to find a way. The chef is in a hurry. At this time, someone sent a basket of fresh bean sprouts. A cook grabbed a handful of bean sprouts, put some peppers in the wok, and served them when they were ready. Ganlong has never eaten this dish before. He took a bite out of curiosity. Because this dish is clear, fragrant, crisp, tender and refreshing, he actually ate it. Since then, "fried bean sprouts" has become a traditional dish of Confucius.

In recent years, the masters of Shandong cuisine have made great efforts in inheriting, developing, developing and innovating Shandong cuisine. The emergence of new and innovative Shandong cuisine has made Shandong catering market prosperous, and Shandong cuisine has also been consolidated, developed and expanded in the competition. Wang Xinglan, a master of Shandong cuisine, led a delegation to hold the Shandong Cuisine Festival in Taiwan Province Province, which caused an unprecedented sensation and attracted businessmen from Taiwan Province Province to invest in South China thousands of miles away. With the development of the times, people's ideas have changed and Shandong cuisine has also developed. Master Jia Fuyuan's Mazong Cuisine, Master Ji Xiaofeng's Qilu Jiaodong Cuisine and Weifang Oriental Hotel's Banqiao Banqiao Banquet all developed and changed on the basis of Shandong cuisine. At the 13th China Chef's Day, the Zhenhai Banquet of Qingdao Huiquan Dynasty Hotel and the Quanming Banquet of Jinan Longquan Hotel won the title of "China Famous Banquet" and the Golden Chef Award. At the 4th China Food Festival, the Peach Blossom Garden Banquet of Jinan Taoyuan Hotel won the title of "Famous Chinese Banquet", and the dishes of Tianwaicun Hotel such as "Crab Yellow Skirt Wings", "Sea Cucumber with minced meat" and "Abalone Stewed in Jiaodong Sauce" were rated as famous dishes in China.