China is an enormous and multifaceted country, so it makes sense its cuisine is anything but one-note. As you travel through the country, you’ll experience changes in spice level, ingredients and cooking methods.
Chinese cuisine is typically divided into eight distinct canonical regions:
- Cantonese, or Guangdong cuisine, which favors sweeter sauces and braising
- Sichuan, or Chuan cuisine, which is a spicy punch to the face and heavy on garlic, ginger and peanuts
- Shangdong, or Lu cuisine, which utilizes braising, is heavy on seafood and liberal with salt
- Fujian, or Min cuisine, which is lighter in body and balanced in its use of sweet and sour flavors; Fujian incorporates ingredients from both the sea and the mountains
- Jiangsu, or Su cuisine, which is heavy on soups that feature fresh ingredients heavily, and balance salty and sweet flavors
- Hunan, or Xiang cuisine, which is also high in spice; cooking methods include sautéing, stir frying, steaming and smoking
- Anhui, or Hui cuisine, which specializes in the use of wild plants and animals and utilizes stewing and lots of oil
- Zhejiang, or Zhe cuisine, which includes seafood and bamboo shoots often, in a wide variety of preparations
To learn more about these regions and their traditions, visit The World of Chinese blog and China Highlights.
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