To answer the question 1 first, the eight major cuisines include Shandong cuisine, Guangdong cuisine, Sichuan cuisine, Hunan cuisine, Fujian cuisine, Jiangsu cuisine, Zhejiang cuisine and Anhui cuisine. Geographically, Shandong cuisine is the northernmost province, Guangdong cuisine is the southernmost, Fujian cuisine and Zhejiang cuisine are the easternmost, and Sichuan cuisine is the westernmost. This shows that the eastern provinces have their own characteristics in dishes.
Let's answer the second question, that is, what are the representative dishes of the eight major cuisines? Let's talk about Shandong cuisine first
From a historical point of view, Shandong cuisine originated in Qi and Lu (today's Shandong Province) during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and it was formed in the Qin and Han Dynasties. After the Song Dynasty, Shandong cuisine became the representative of northern cuisine and one of the eight famous cuisines. It is understood that Shandong cuisine is the most widely covered local flavor cuisine in China, which covers Beijing, Tianjin and Tangshan and even the three northeastern provinces. It can be seen that the coverage of Shandong cuisine is very wide. Shandong cuisine emphasizes that the seasoning must be pure and the taste is fresh in Yu Xian, which is characterized by freshness, tenderness, fragrance and crispness. Moreover, Shandong cuisine pays great attention to the preparation of fresh soup and milk soup, which is clear and fresh, and milk soup is white and mellow. The typical dishes of Shandong cuisine are sweet and sour yellow river carp, fried oyster yellow, apple chicken, agate sea cucumber, buttered cattail, nine-turn large intestine, sherry crab, three-color prawn, emerald shrimp ring and so on. ?
After talking about Shandong cuisine, let's learn about Sichuan cuisine. Sichuan cuisine is also one of the eight famous cuisines, and it also occupies an important position in the history of cooking. Sichuan cuisine has a wide range of materials, varied seasonings and diverse styles, and its taste is both fresh and mellow. It is particularly noteworthy that Sichuan cuisine is famous for its good use of spicy food, and it has a unique cooking method and strong local flavor, which combines the characteristics of all parties in the east, west, north and south, and draws on the strengths of many families. Sichuan cuisine is characterized by spicy and delicious flavor, big oil and thick taste, and the reuse of three peppers (that is, pepper, pepper) and fresh ginger. The main representative dishes of Sichuan cuisine are boiled fish, spicy crab, perfumed duck intestines, Mapo tofu, kung pao chicken, hot and sour fish, Maoxuewang, fish-flavored shredded pork and so on. ?
Hunan cuisine is also one of the eight famous cuisines, and its history is very long. If you look up historical materials, you will find that Hunan cuisine has formed a cuisine as early as the Han Dynasty. Hunan cuisine is developed from Xiangjiang region, local dishes in Xiangxi mountainous area and Dongting Lake area. The main characteristics of Hunan cuisine are spicy and sour. Of course, it is mainly spicy and sour. Its cooking skills are characterized by exquisite knife work, beautiful shape and taste, and various cooking techniques of Hunan cuisine, especially simmering. The representative dishes of Hunan cuisine are braised pork in Mao Shi, hot and sour chicken wings, fried pork with Chili, sour pork in Xiangxi, steamed pork with rice flour, spicy shrimp, braised pork feet, chopped fish head with pepper in Xiangshui chicken, spicy frog, diced chicken with hot and sour sauce, and hot and sour chicken wings.
Guangdong cuisine, as its name implies, is Guangdong flavor cuisine. It is unique with its unique dishes and charm, and enjoys a high reputation at home and abroad. Cantonese cuisine has a wide range of exotic materials, and its varieties and patterns are very changeable. Yue cuisine has fine and fine materials, skillful ingredients, beautiful and gorgeous decoration, and pays special attention to quality and taste, and its taste is relatively light, striving for freshness in the clear and beauty in the light. Its representative dishes are: three snakes, dragon and tiger stew, dragon, tiger, chicken and snake soup, fresh shrimps in oil, fresh mushrooms in oyster sauce, crispy suckling pigs, winter melon cups, beef in oyster sauce and so on.
Fujian cuisine is a special flavor dish in Fujian. Fujian cuisine is often based on Fuzhou cuisine and Xiamen cuisine. It originated in Minhou county, Fujian province, and later developed into three schools: Fuzhou, Minnan and Minxi. In the history of its development, Fujian cuisine has gradually formed through the mixing and exchange of the Han culture in the Central Plains and the local ancient Yue culture. Its cooking characteristics are clear soup, light taste, crisp fried food and good at cooking seafood. Its cooking techniques are characterized by steaming, frying, stewing, frying, sliding, frying and stewing. Its representative dishes are Buddha leaping wall, chicken soup with mussels, shredded chicken with mustard, Dragon Ball on the east wall, litchi meat, crispy crucian carp with scallion, steamed fish and so on.
Jiangsu cuisine, also known as Jiangsu cuisine, is also one of the eight famous cuisines. Jiangsu cuisine is mainly composed of six local cuisines: Nanjing, Yangzhou, Suzhou, Huai 'an, Xuzhou and Haizhou. It is good at stewing, stewing, steaming and frying. It pays attention to mixing soup, keeps the original juice, has a fresh flavor, is thick but not greasy, is crisp and boneless without losing its shape, and is smooth, tender and crisp without losing its flavor. Jiangsu cuisine is mainly made of fresh sea water from rivers and lakes, which requires that the knife work should be very delicate, pursue the original taste, be fresh and peaceful, and have strong adaptability. Its representative dishes are pine nuts, anchovies, eight-treasure boat ducks, stewed soft-shelled turtles, Vince tofu, fried prawns and so on. ?
Zhejiang cuisine, also known as Zhejiang cuisine, is small and exquisite, delicious, tender, crisp and refreshing. The biggest feature of Zhejiang cuisine is clear, fragrant, crisp, tender and fresh. Among the many local flavors in China, Zhejiang cuisine plays an extremely important role. Zhejiang cuisine is mainly composed of Hangzhou, Ningbo, Shaoxing and Wenzhou, with strong local characteristics. Its representative dishes are West Lake vinegar fish and Longjing. ?
Finally, let's learn about Anhui cuisine, one of the eight major cuisines. There are many traditional varieties of Anhui cuisine, as many as 1000, and its flavor includes the characteristics of three local dishes: southern Anhui, along the Yangtze River and along the Huaihe River. Anhui cuisine is characterized by elegance and simplicity, original flavor, crisp, tender, fragrant and fresh, and appropriate shade. It is worth noting that the selection of materials for Anhui cuisine is very rigorous, not only that, but also pays special attention to the heat. It requires unique pyrotechnics, pays attention to food supplements, and has a variety of dishes. Its uniqueness is mainly reflected in the stewed, roasted, steamed and smoked Kung Fu dishes. Its representative dishes include stewed soft-shelled turtle with ham, roast chicken with Fuliji, stinky mandarin fish, crab-yellow shrimp, fat king fish with milk, Huizhou hairy tofu, pickled fresh mandarin fish, stewed horseshoe turtle and so on. Knowing this, I believe everyone has a preliminary understanding of the eight major cuisines.