Eight Style of Distinct Regional Cuisine
Thursday, November 26th, 2009
There are eight styles of distinct regional cooking in China. Of them, the most influential and representative ones are the culinary styles of Lu, Chuan, Yue, Min, Su, Zhe, Xiang and Hui.
Each culinary style is inseparable from its long history and influenced by geography, climate, resources, specialties and dining habits of each area. Some descriptions of the eight culinary schools are: the cuisines of Jiangsu and Zhejiang have been compared to delicate beauties of the Yangtze River Delta; those of Shandong and Anhui have been compared to simple but sturdy men of the north; those of Guangdong and Fujian are compared to elegant nobles; those of Sichuan and Hunan are likened to people with substantial and varied accomplishments.
The cooking techniques of each of the Chinese culinary schools are unique and the dishes have their own distinguished characteristics.
Sichuan Cuisine/Chuan Cuisine
Among the eight major schools of China’s culinary art, Sichuan Cuisine is perhaps the most popular one. It is well-known for its hot and pungent flavoring. Sichuan dishes boat a variety of flavors and different methods of cooking. It can be hot, sweet, sour salty or tongue-numbing.
