Eight traditional Chinese cuisines
Sunny (Juan) Shen 沈娟 ??????
China business consultant/Interpreter, and Founder of Sunny Business Consultation. We help businesses resolve China-related issues with tailored solutions. || Business Consulting, Communication & Supply Chain Management.
I've always wanted to cover the topic of Chinese food, and there is too much delicious food in China, so it is impossible to cover them all in one article.
After digging online, I found one very detailed article talking about the 8 traditional Chinese cuisines and also sketches that will be perfect to use in this article. I made a few adjustments to make them match with each other.
In general, there are 8 traditional cuisines in China, they are:
"1. Sichuan Cuisine / Szechuan Cuisine / Chuan Cuisine
Chinese: 川菜 chuān cài
Popular in: China’s Sichuan Province, Chongqing
Features: hot and spicy, mouth-numbing; using a lot of pepper, chili, garlic, and Pixian bean chili paste.
Originating in Southwest China. Sichuan dishes are famous for their spicy, pungent, and hot flavor and red color. Sichuan chefs prefer seasonings like various pepper and chili, garlic, and broad bean paste which is the soul of Sichuan dishes.?Hot Pot?is the most popular Sichuan dish in China and is the first choice when dining together with friends.
Notable Sichuan Dishes:?Kung Pao Chicken,?Ma Po Tofu,?Dandan Noodles,?Fish-Flavored Shredded Pork, Sliced Pork in Hot Chili Oil, Sliced Beef, and Ox Organs in Chili Sauce
2. Cantonese Cuisine / Guangdong Cuisine / Yue Cuisine
Chinese: 粤菜 yuè cài
Popular in: China’s Guangdong Province, Hong Kong, and Macau
Features: mild, fresh, and natural taste; wide use of materials and rich cooking methods
Cantonese cuisine is welcomed by people around the world and is representative of Chinese cuisine. The cooking methods of Cantonese dishes are always complex, flexible, exquisite, and creative. Most Cantonese dishes taste mild and fresh, preserving the natural taste of food materials. The food materials are extremely rich which include poultries, birds, seafood, land animals, and various vegetables and fruits.
Notable Cantonese Dishes: Ah Yat Abalone, White Cut Chicken, Cantonese Roasted Goose, Roasted Suckling Pig, Char Siu (Chinese BBQ Pork), Poached Lobster in Soup, Slow-cooked Soup, Beef Chow Fun (Beef Ho Fun)
3 Major Styles in Cantonese Cuisine: Guangzhou Cuisine,?Teochew Cuisine (Chaoshan Cuisine),?Hakka Cuisine?(Dongjiang Cuisine)
3. Hunan Cuisine / Xiang Cuisine
Chinese: 湘菜 xiāng cài
Popular in: China’s Hunan Province
Features: spicy, hot, salty; preference for chili & fermented soya beans; dark dish color
Originating in?the Eastern Zhou Dynasty?(770 - 256 BC), Hunan cuisine, also Xiang cuisine, is another cuisine popular throughout China with a spicy taste. Hunan dishes are even hotter and spicier than Sichuan cuisine since they have even more dried or fresh chili in dishes. Hunan people also invent sour and spicy tastes and numb and spicy tastes, and they like pickled and preserved vegetables and meats very much.
Notable Hunan Dishes: Steamed Fish Head with Chopped Chili, Steamed Preserved Meat, Chairman Mao’s Red Braised Pork, Fried Pork with Chili, Tasty Lobster, Changsha Stinky Tofu, Hunan Rice Noodles, Spicy Salted Duck
4. Shandong Cuisine / Lu Cuisine
Chinese: 鲁菜 lǔ cài
Popular in: China’s Shandong Province and Southern Liaoning Province
Features: umami, salty, sweet, and sour flavors; using much soup, scallion, ginger, and garlic; good at cooking seafood
Originating in the Spring and Autumn Period (770 - 476 BC), Lu cuisine is the only self-originated cuisine among 8 Chinese cuisines which has the longest history of 2,500 years, hence seen as the No. 1 of 8 great cuisines of China. Shandong dishes pay much attention to the quality and natural taste of food. Soup and scallion are key seasonings and seafood plays a crucial role in Shandong cuisine. Most Shandong dishes taste fresh, umami, and moderately salty.?
Notable Shandong Dishes: Sweet and Sour Carp, Braised Sea Cucumber with Scallion, Braised Intestines in Brown Sauce, Braised Prawns in Oil, Steamed Stuffed Tofu, Dezhou Braised Chicken, Caramel Sweet Potato, Omelet Chicken Slices, Four Joy Meatballs…
5. Jiangsu Cuisine / Su Cuisine
Chinese: 江苏菜, 苏菜, sū cài
Popular in: China’s Jiangsu Province
Features: umami, mild, slightly sweet, and natural; exquisite cuttings and precise control of heat; delicate dish appearance
Jiangsu cuisine, the representative of South China food, is famous for its delicate appearance and lightly sweet, umami, natural and mild taste. Jiangsu dishes preserve much original flavor of food materials. The main food materials are mainly freshwater fish, river fish, and seafood. The cutting is extremely exquisite and changeful and the control of heat is precise. The dishes are always served delicately.
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Notable Jiangsu Dishes: Nanjing Salted Duck, Sweet and Sour Mandarin Fish, Braised Meat Balls in Brown Sauce, Stewed Tortoise and Chicken, Beggar’s Chicken,?Yangzhou Fried Rice, Boiled Shredded Dry Bean Curd, Pork Trotter Aspic Jiangsu Style, Mutton in Fish Maw
4 Major Styles in Jiangsu Cuisine: Nanjing Style,?Huaiyang Cuisine, Suxi Style, Xuhai Style
6. Zhejiang Cuisine / Zhe Cuisine
Chinese: 浙菜 zhè cài
Popular in: China’s Zhejiang Province
Features: light and fresh, crisp and tender; good at controlling fire heat; prefer yellow wine as a special seasoning
Popular in Zhejiang, Zhejiang cuisine is often lightly seasoned with an appealing appearance. Zhejiang cuisine chefs prefer fresh food materials like seafood, freshwater fish, and vegetables in season and they are extremely strict in the selection of raw materials. In addition, Zhejiang cuisine is well-known for its varied cooking methods and frying is the most frequently used.
Notable Sichuan Dishes: West Lake Fish in Vinegar Gravy, Fried Shrimps with Longjing Tea, Dongpo Pork, Braised Bamboo Shoot, Deep-Fried Beancurd Rolls Stuffed with Minced Tenderloin, Sliced Lotus Root with Sweet Sauce,?West Lake Beef Soup, Steamed Pork with Rice Flour in Lotus Leaves
7. Fujian Cuisine / Min Cuisine
Chinese: 闽菜 mǐn cài
Popular in: China’s Fujian Province
Features: light, fresh, sweet, and sour; special condiment red vinasse; woodland delicacies and seafood widely used for ingredients
Originating in Fuzhou in Fujian, Fujian cuisine dishes are light, fresh, mellow, and non-greasy in general. The food materials used are pretty rich, containing both materials on land and seas. The common seasoning includes red vinasse, sugar, and vinegar. Like Jiangsu cuisine, Fujian cuisine attaches great importance to cutting techniques as well.
Notable Sichuan Dishes: Buddha Jumps over the Wall, Braised Sea Clam with Chicken Soup, Sweet and Sour Litchis, Sliced Whelk in Red Vinasse, Fuzhou Fish Balls, Oyster Omelette, Drunken Ribs
8. Anhui Cuisine / Hui Cuisine
Chinese: 徽菜 huī cài
Popular in: China’s Anhui Province
Features: salty and fresh, light, preserving the original flavor of ingredients; preference for hams; light cooking methods including braising, stewing, and steaming
Popular in Anhui Province, Hui dishes taste salty, fresh, and light and have a unique flavor of ingredients. Hui cuisine attaches importance to dietetic invigoration with natural ingredients. It is worth noticing that Anhui cuisine dishes have the effect of nourishing the body with multiple ingredients with varied nutrition matched scientifically.
Notable Sichuan Dishes: Stinky Mandarin Fish, Fried Hairy Tofu, Steamed Partridge, Stewed Bamboo Shoots of Wenzheng Mountain, Huangshan Stewed Pigeon, Li Hongzhang Chop Suey, Stewed Soft-Shelled Turtle with Ham, Braised Masked Palm Civet
As we can see above, the food in different regions of China can be very different, the flavors in the coastal regions, for example, Jiangsu, and Guangdong are lighter than in the inland regions, for example, Hunan and Sichuan. And you may already have tried some of the 8 traditional cuisines somewhere, especially Sichuan cuisine or Hunan cuisine because they are quite popular both inside and outside China.
Sketch credit:
Text credit:
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A bit about me: ??♀?
I am Sunny, a bilingual speaker in Mandarin Chinese and English. I help foreign B2B companies make better business decisions and improve efficiency in the Chinese market.
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AI Generalist ? Multicultural Biz & Tech Professional ? CMA?
1 年Sooooo hungry just by looking at these pictures Sunny ??
Certified Professional Coach | Keynote Speaker | Mentor | Trainer
1 年oh I love the chinese cuisine! And the black sauce which is usually served with the JiaoZi Super nice Sunny (Juan) Shen 沈娟 ??????
China, Finland, World Photo & Video — Corporate Photographer, Videographer, Creative who gets stuff done.
1 年Another thought about the topic: Many of my European friends, who have visited China but not lived here, think Chinese food is really oily and unhealthy. True or false? Maybe another topic for the future.
China, Finland, World Photo & Video — Corporate Photographer, Videographer, Creative who gets stuff done.
1 年Thanks for writing this Sunny (Juan) Shen 沈娟 ?????? Here's an idea for another topic for another video: Coming to do business in China as a vegetarian? What and where to eat, how to handle the business dinners and casual lunches. I might even have something to give to this topic ??