The cooking techniques of China's "eight major cuisines" each have their own charm, and the characteristics of their dishes also have their own merits.
Chinese cuisine refers to a set of self-contained cooking techniques and flavors that have evolved over a long period of time in a certain region due to differences in climate, geography, history, products and food customs. and is recognized as a local dish across the country.
The four major cuisines of Shandong, Sichuan, Guangdong and Huaiyang were formed earlier. Later, local cuisines such as Zhejiang, Fujian, Hunan and Anhui gradually became famous, forming the eight major cuisines of our country.
(1) Shandong cuisine: Shandong cuisine is composed of Jinan, Jiaodong and Kongfu dishes. Jinan cuisine places special emphasis on soup. There are strict regulations on the use and preparation of clear soup and milk soup. The dishes are famous for their freshness, crispness and tenderness. Jiaodong cuisine originated from Fushan, Yantai and Qingdao. It is famous for cooking seafood. The taste is mainly fresh and tender, with an emphasis on lightness and color. Confucian cuisine is a concrete embodiment of "you never tire of fine food and fine food". Its exquisite and wide range of ingredients and sumptuous banquets are comparable to those of the imperial meals in the past dynasties. Shandong cuisine is highly seasoned, pure and mellow, with few complex synthetic flavors. Each dish is flavored and strives to reflect the original taste of the ingredients. Another feature is that there are many kinds of pasta. Wheat, corn, sweet potato, soybean, sorghum, and millet can all be made into pasta with different flavors and become famous dishes at banquets. Famous Shandong flavor dishes include: fried mountain scorpion, Texas boneless braised chicken, original shell braised abalone, nine-turn large intestine, sweet and sour Yellow River carp, etc.
(2) Sichuan cuisine: The flavor includes the characteristics of Chengdu, Chongqing, Leshan, Zigong and other local cuisines. The main feature is the variety of flavors and subtle changes. Chili pepper, pepper, Sichuan peppercorns, bean paste, etc. are the main condiments. Different ratios create spicy, sour, peppery, sesame sauce, garlic paste, mustard, red oil, sweet and sour, fish flavor, strange flavor, etc. The taste types are all thick and mellow, with the special flavor of "one dish, one style" and "hundred dishes and hundreds of flavours", and all kinds of dishes are very popular. Among the most famous dishes are: dry-roasted rock carp, dry-roasted mandarin fish, fish-flavored shredded pork, strange-flavored chicken, kung pao chicken, steamed beef with rice flour, mapo tofu, tripe hot pot, stir-fried shredded beef, couple Fei slices, Dengying beef, Dandan noodles, glutinous rice balls, Long Chaoshou, etc.
(3) Cantonese cuisine: Cantonese cuisine is Guangdong cuisine, which is developed from the special dishes of Guangzhou, Chaozhou and Dongjiang. It is a cuisine that started late, but it has a great influence, not only in Hong Kong and Macau, but also in Most Chinese restaurants around the world mainly serve Cantonese cuisine. Cantonese cuisine pays attention to absorbing the strengths of various cuisines and forms a variety of cooking styles. It is a cuisine with its own unique flavor. Guangzhou cuisine is light but not bland, fresh but not vulgar, with well-chosen ingredients and diverse varieties. It is also compatible with many Western cuisine recipes and pays attention to the momentum and grade of the dishes. Chaozhou belongs to the land of Fujian in ancient times, so Chaozhou cuisine combines the flavors of Fujian and Guangdong. It is famous for cooking marine dishes and sweets, with a clear and mellow taste, among which soups are the most distinctive. Dongjiang cuisine is also called Hakka cuisine. The Hakkas are the Han people from the Central Plains who migrated south and live in the Dongjiang Mountain area. Their dishes are rich in local flavor and are famous for stir-frying, deep-frying, baking and stewing. Cantonese cuisine is generally characterized by a wide selection of novel and fresh ingredients. The dishes are light in taste and rich in taste. They pay attention to light but not bland, tender but not raw, oily but not greasy, and have the "five flavors" (fragrant, loose, soft). , fat, thick), "six flavors" (sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, salty, fresh). Seasonality is strong, summer and autumn are lighter, winter and spring are richer, and many dishes have unique flavors.
Famous dishes include: chicken stewed with snake, dragon and tiger fight, roast suckling pig, Dongjiang salt-baked chicken, boiled shrimp, roast goose, beef in oyster sauce, Cantonese moon cakes, Shahe noodles, Tingzi porridge, etc. .
(4) Huaiyang cuisine: Huaiyang cuisine is a famous cuisine in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River in China. It covers a wide area, including today's Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Shanghai, and parts of Jiangxi and Henan. It has the reputation of "the best delicacy in the Southeast" and "the most beautiful in the world", and its reputation spreads far at home and abroad.
Since Zhejiang cuisine and Anhui cuisine later became one of the eight major cuisines with their distinctive characteristics, Huaiyang cuisine merged in Jiangsu. At the same time, the cooking industry is accustomed to refer to Jiangsu cuisine as Jiangsu cuisine to which Huaiyang cuisine belongs. In this way, Huaiyang cuisine has become a local flavor centered on Yangzhou and Huai'an, mainly on the Grand Canal, extending to Zhenjiang in the south, Hongze Lake and the Huaihe River in the north, and coastal areas in the east.
Famous dishes include: Longjing shrimp, West Lake water shield soup, fried eel back with shrimp, West Lake fish in vinegar, fried bell, grab crab, fresh eel, pickle soup yellow croaker, rock sugar turtle, oyster run Eggs, honey-filled lotus root, Jiaxing rice dumplings, Ningbo glutinous rice balls, Huzhou Qianzhang buns, etc.
(7) Hunan cuisine: Hunan cuisine includes dishes from three regions: the Xiangjiang River Basin, the Dongting Lake area and the mountainous areas of western Hunan. The Xiangjiang River Basin, centered on the Yangtze River, Hengyang and Xiangtan, is the main representative of Hunan cuisine. It is characterized by its heavy oil, rich color, emphasis on affordability, and emphasis on freshness, sourness, hotness, softness and tenderness. It is especially famous for its stewed vegetables and preserved vegetables. The dishes in the Dongting Lake area are famous for cooking river fresh food, poultry and livestock. They are characterized by large amounts of oil, thick oil, salty, spicy, fragrant and soft. They are famous for stews and roasted dishes. Xiangxi cuisine is good at making mountain delicacies, smoked bacon, various cured meats, and chicken. The taste focuses on salty, sour, and spicy, with a strong mountain flavor. The biggest features of Hunan cuisine are firstly spicy and secondly spicy.
Famous dishes include: Dong'an Chicken, Steamed Cured Meat, Zuan Shark's Fin, Rock Sugar Xianglian, Red Pepper Cured Beef, Hairy Beef Baiye, Fire Palace Stinky Tofu, Jishou Sour Pork, Egg Replacement, etc.
(8) Anhui cuisine: The flavor of Anhui cuisine includes the characteristics of dishes in southern Anhui, along the Yangtze River and along the Huaihe River. Southern Anhui cuisine includes Huangshan, Shexian (ancient Huizhou), Tunxi and other places. It pays attention to fire skills and is good at cooking game. It is large in quantity and heavy in oil. It is simple and affordable and maintains its original flavor. Many dishes are stewed with charcoal over low heat. Simmered, the soup is clear and mellow, and the aroma is overflowing when served in the original pot. Although there are not many aquatic products in southern Anhui, the pickled "stinky mandarin fish" is very famous. The cuisine along the Yangtze River is represented by Wuhu and Anqing areas, and later spread to the Hefei area. It specializes in cooking river fresh food and livestock. It pays attention to knife skills, pays attention to color and shape, and makes good use of sugar for seasoning. It is especially unique in smoked dishes. The cuisine along the Huaihe River is represented by Bengbu, Suxian, Fuyang and other places. The dishes are salty and spicy, and the soup is rich in color and heavy in taste. Coriander is also commonly used for color matching and seasoning. Famous flavor dishes include: Wuwei smoked duck, Maofeng smoked anchovy, Fuliji roasted chicken, square cured fish, stewed chicken with stone fungus, cloud meat, mung bean pancakes, butterfly noodles, etc.