Chinese Food Information

Types of Chinese Cuisine

Canton Cuisine Cantonese cuisine originated from the areas of Guangdong Province and Hong Kong in southern China. Canton is an old port city that today is referred to as Guangzhou. Dim sum meaning touch the heart, the Chinese meal of small tidbits of food presented on roving carts, began in this region. Freshness is supreme to the Cantonese. Live fish and seafood are held in tanks just before being dispatched immediately for cooking. Cantonese sauces are mild and subtle so as to not overpower the freshness of the ingredients. Popular Cantonese dishes include steamed whole fish, crispy-skinned chicken, shark's fin soup, and roast suckling pig.

Mandarin Cuisine Mandarin cuisine is the food of the northern imperial courts of old Peking, known today as Beijing. In this region, wheat instead of rice is widely used, as is a pale leafy cabbage, known as Napa cabbage in America. The crepe like wraparound mu-shu pork and crispy Peking duck accompanied with steamed buns originated in this area. Mandarin cuisine, an elaborate style arising from the imperial days, is often intricately decorated with vegetables carved into flowers, animals, and designs. In another northern dish, Mongolian hot pot, diners cook their own meats and vegetables in a large boiling pot of flavorful broth at the table. Other popular Mandarin foods are pan-fried pot stickers, garlic and scallion Mongolian beef, and beggar's chicken.

Shanghai Cuisine The Shanghainese have mastered the arts of braising and stewing so full-bodied flavors commingle on the tongue. Generally considered the cuisine of China is southeastern region of Zhejiang Province, the sauces tend to be rich due to slow cooking techniques and reduction of sauces. The area is also known for preserving food by pickling vegetables and curing meats. Noodle products are heartier as in Shanghai noodles. The region is sherry-colored wine, Shao Xing, is exported worldwide and is an important ingredient in many dishes. Popular regional dishes are cold appetizer dishes such as drunken shrimp, and wine chicken, stewed "lion's head" meatballs, sea cucumber with shrimp roe, and pickled greens with pork.

Sichuan Cuisine (Szechuan Style Cuisine) Chili peppers and red peppercorns are used in Sichuan (Szechuan in Cantonese) cooking to stimulate the taste buds and counter the bitter cold of winter. Sichuan dishes are considered spicy, although the heat is not immediate, it can creep up on you. Through pickling and salt-curing, the vegetables and meats of this region are preserved to last through the harsh winter. The combined flavors of vinegar with sweetly fried food originated in this central western region. Well known Sichuan dishes are Szechuan beef, stir-fried green beans, cold noodles with peanut sauce, and spicy stir-fried Ma-Po tofu. Go to Szechuan Style Cuisine to read more.

Hunan Cuisine (Hunan Cuisine) The food from Hunan is hot, hot, hot. It's often difficult to distinguish Hunan from Sichuan cuisine, as many Chinese restaurants in North America tend to serve both regional styles side-by-side. The cuisines dovetail nicely as the two provinces also are neighbors in Chinaís heartland. The Hunanese use preserved basics such as hearty oils, garlic, and chili-based sauces. The stir-fried meats are often seared prior to stir-frying, creating sauces and dishes that exude comfort. Popular dishes from Hunan are orange beef or chicken, spicy eggplant in garlic sauce, and hot crispy fish.

About the Author

Shane is an expert in Chinese culture. Please visit Chinese Culture Articles Page to read more about Chinese Culture.

Chinese Cooking Recipes

For the most excellent of Chinese cuisine, wok recipes is the best way to get that scrumptious gourmet taste in Asian delicacies. Woks are designed for the use over a gas stove. These are normally sloped grates or recessed burners below a round pit to cover the shape of the wok. Stability to the curve of the wok is provided through the sloped grates on the stove. A recessed pit stove supplies the stability for the wok as well as concentrates directed heat to every one of the hot gases produced onto the wok, as opposed to affording it to escape around the heated wok. The process permits the delicacies to be stir-fried at an extremely high heat, even hot enough to sometimes deform the woks. In most Chinese restaurants, pit stoves are generally used by gourmet chefs. This is due to the fact that they have the heating power to give their delicacies an appealing wok flavor.

Woks are not only a big sell in China and other Asian countries, but are sold vastly in the Western Hemisphere as well. In America especially, the woks are sometimes designed with flat bottoms. This causes them to be more akin to a deep frying pan. The flat bottom woks allows the use on a western gas stove which normally has flat grates that doesn't afford sufficient stability for the round wok. Due to this, woks with the curved bottoms occasionally come with rings of metal to stabilize them.

Whether woks are flat-bottomed or round, they normally don't work well for quick cooking methods, such as stir-frying, when used on electric cookers. These types of stoves don't produce the large and quick quantities of required heat for stir-frying; although, it is probable to discover round-shaped electric stove elements that will suit the wok's curve. When this is combined with the lower heat wok retention, most stir-fry cooking done in customary woks on the electric stoves tend to boil and stew, rather than fry. Therefore, you don't get that appetizing wok flavor.

A wok can profit from the constant, slow heating of electric stoves when used for cooking methods that are slower like braising, stewing and steaming, as well as cooking techniques of immersion such as boiling and frying. Several Chinese chefs used cast-iron pans for electric stove stir-frying, due to the fact that they hold sufficient heat for the necessary sustained hot temperatures.