[Eat] Chinese Food Discovery

Chinese food classification

Regional cultural differences vary greatly within China, giving rise to the different styles of food across the nation. Traditionally there are eight main regional cuisines, or Eight Great Traditions (八大菜系): Anhui, Cantonese, Fujian, Hunan, Jiangsu, Shandong, Sichuan and Zhejiang. Sometimes four of the Eight Great Traditions are given greater emphasis (四大菜系), and are considered to be the dominate culinary heritage of China.

They are notably defined along geographical lines: Sichuan (Western China), Cantonese (Southern China), Shandong (Northern China), as well as Huaiyang Cuisine (Eastern China), a major style derived from Jiangsu cuisine and even viewed as the representation of that region’s cooking.

In modern times, Beijing cuisine and Shanghai cuisine on occasion are also cited along with the classical eight regional styles as the Ten Great Traditions (十大菜系). There are also featured Buddhist and Muslim sub-cuisines within the greater Chinese cuisine, with an emphasis on vegetarian and halal-based diets respectively.

Famous Chinese food

Beijing Roast Duck: Peking Duck, or Peking Roast Duck is a famous duck dish from Beijing that has been prepared since the imperial era, and is now considered one of China’s national foods. The dish is prized for the thin, crispy skin, with authentic versions of the dish serving mostly the skin and little meat, sliced in front of the diners by the cook.

Ducks bred specially for the dish are slaughtered after 65 days and seasoned before being roasted in a closed or hung oven. The meat is often eaten with pancakes, spring onions, and hoisin sauce or sweet noodle sauce. The two most notable restaurants in Beijing which serve this delicacy are Quanjude and Bianyifang, two centuries-old establishments which have become household names. A variant of the dish known as crispy aromatic duck has been created by the Chinese community in the United Kingdom.

Boiled sliced chicken

Boiled sliced chicken : Baiqie chicken is the simple one in Cantonese chicken cooking without adding any other flavor except boiled water. It tastes fresh and light, marinating the best original taste of chicken. The method of making it is easy. It is just well cooked but not mushy, retaining the original flavor. Firstly, choose local chicken below one kilogram and clear out. Then cook it in boiling water for fifteen minutes. During the course of it, raise the chicken twice. Cool it in the water subsequently. When the epidermis of the cooked chicken is dry, mix with cooked peanut oil. When you eat it, match ginger and green onion and sprinkle cooked peanut oil. Baiqie chicken’s skin is tasty and refreshing and the chicken meat is not greasy or strongly flavored. Famous Baiqie chicken of Panxi Restaurant was received the Golden Tripod of high quality production by Department of Commerce. In addition, Qingping Chicken is also one kind of Baiqie chicken.

Chinese-Style Steamed Fish

Chinese-Style Steamed Fish: Place small cake rack in large (12-inch-diameter) skillet; place 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish on rack. Put fish in dish; sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Sprinkle wine, ginger and garlic in dish around fish. Top fish with soy sauce, sesame oil and 1 tablespoon cilantro. Pour enough water into skillet to reach depth of 1 inch. Bring water to boil. Cover skillet; steam fish until just opaque in center, about 10 minutes. Transfer fish to plates; top with juices from dish and remaining 1 tablespoon cilantro.