By Sonia, Year 12

Sonia takes us through 8 authentic regional Chinese cuisines, going through the common tastes, textures, and ingredients used, as well as how their location and history has affected them.

中国饮食文化丰富多彩，有八大菜系。自从春秋战国时代（从公元前 770 年到公元前 221 年）以来, 中国饮食文化在南北方有了区别。在1644年开始的清代初期时，鲁菜、苏菜、粤菜、川菜，成为当时最有影响力的菜系, 所以它们被称作“四大菜系”。下面是四大菜系的介绍： 

一，鲁菜 

山东菜历史悠久，菜谱通常很复杂。菜肴味道纯正，也很清香。另外，由于山东是沿海省份，菜肴中经常会有海鲜，比如虾、鱿鱼和海参。一些有名的菜肴包括葱烧海参、糖醋鲤鱼，油焖大虾。 

二，苏菜 

苏菜可以分为金陵菜、淮扬菜等不同烹饪方式。虽然它们注重不同方面的风味、 但是苏菜都常常有咸甜的味道，而且很漂亮。比如，松鼠桂鱼是江苏的一道色彩丰富的菜肴，有酸甜的味道。其他江苏菜肴包括扬州狮子头，这是一道肉丸菜， 看起来像狮子头，因此才有狮子头之称。 

三，粤菜 

在西方，粤菜是最受欢迎的中国菜系。粤菜有如下几个特点：首先，菜肴非常新鲜；其次，他们注重食材的原汁原味，最后，很多粤菜是清蒸的，所以不会太油腻。粤菜的一些菜肴有白切鸡和叉烧。 

四，川菜 

川菜非常酸辣，使用大量油、盐和香料，比如花椒，辣豆瓣酱，姜，和蒜。一些有名的菜肴包括宫保鸡丁和麻婆豆腐，都是非常辣的。 

后来，随着清末湘菜, 浙菜、徽菜和闽菜的发展，中国传统饮食文化中的“八大菜系”形成了： 

五，湘菜 

很像川菜，湘菜非常辣，使用辣油、花椒，桂皮等等。有人形容它是 “干辣” 味, 因为它没有川菜那么浓烈。湘菜的菜肴包括剁椒鱼头和长沙臭豆腐。 

六，浙菜 

浙江是江南的鱼米之乡。因为它是沿海省份，河流众多，因此浙菜的食材经常包括鱼类和贝类。浙菜有杭州、宁波、绍兴和温州的四个支系。这四个分支有很多不同的特点，比如，杭州菜非常甜，包括龙井虾仁等菜肴，但是宁波菜很咸。其他有名的菜肴包括东坡肉和叫化鸡。 

七，徽菜 

徽菜口味清淡，使用红烧和蒸等烹饪技巧，通常包括火腿和从野外采摘的食材。用火腿的菜肴包括火腿炖甲鱼，而且安徽的臭鳜鱼和臭豆腐也很有名。 

八，闽菜 

闽菜来自福建东南沿海省份。 在首都福州，食物非常清淡新鲜。另一种风格是莆田菜，其中有很多海鲜。闽菜也经常用汤，比如，最有名的菜肴是佛跳墙。这道素汤使用很贵的配料，比如金华火腿，让人觉得连和尚都想跳墙品尝！ 

English translation:

Chinese cuisine 

China has a rich and vivid food culture with eight major cuisines. Ever since the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods (from 770 BCE to 221 BCE), there have been differences in Chinese food culture between the north and south. During the early Qing dynasty, which began in 1644, Shandong, Jiangsu, Cantonese and Sichuan cuisines were the most influential, so they were known as the ‘Four Great Traditions of Chinese Cuisine’. Below are introductions to the four great Chinese cuisines: 

1. Shandong cuisine 

Shandong cuisine has a very long history, with recipes that are often very complex. The dishes have a pure flavour and sweet aroma. Furthermore, since Shandong is a coastal province, the dishes often include seafood, like prawn, squid and sea cucumber. Some famous dishes include roasted sea cucumber with spring onion, sweet and sour carp, and braised prawns. 

2. Jiangsu cuisine 

Jiangsu cuisine can be divided into many different styles, including Nanjing, Huaiyang, etc. Although the different styles emphasise different aspects of flavour, Jiangsu cuisine usually has a salty and sweet flavour, and beautiful presentation. For example, ‘squirrel mandarin fish’, from Jiangsu, is a very colourful dish with a sweet and sour flavour. Other Jiangsu dishes include ‘Yangzhou lion’s head’, a meatball dish, which is why it is so-called. 

3. Cantonese cuisine 

In the Western world, Cantonese cuisine is the most popular type of Chinese cuisine. It has the following characteristics: firstly, the dishes are very fresh; secondly, they pay attention to the original flavour of the ingredients, and lastly, many Cantonese dishes are steamed, so they are not too greasy. Some dishes in Cantonese cuisine are ‘white cut chicken’ and ‘char siu’ pork. 

4. Sichuan cuisine 

Sichuan cuisine is very hot and spicy, using a lot of oil, salt, and spices such as peppercorn, spicy broad bean paste, ginger and garlic. Some famous dishes include Kung Pao Chicken and Mapo Tofu, which are both extremely spicy. 

Later, with the development of Hunan, Zhejiang, Anhui and Fujian cuisines in the late Qing Dynasty, the ‘Eight Cuisines’ in Chinese traditional food culture were formed: 

5. Hunan cuisine 

Much like Sichuan cuisine, Hunan cuisine is very spicy, using chilli oil, peppercorns, cinnamon, etc. Some people describe it as ‘dry spicy’, since it’s not as strong as Sichuan cuisine. Hunan dishes include Steamed Fish Head with Chopped Chili and Changsha Stinky Tofu. 

6. Zhejiang cuisine 

Zhejiang is “the land of fish and rice”, in the south of the Yangtze River. Since it is a coastal province with many rivers, Zhejiang cuisine’s ingredients often include fish and shellfish. Zhejiang cuisine has four branches from Hangzhou, Ningbo, Shaoxing and Wenzhou. These four branches have many different characteristics; for example, Hangzhou cuisine is very sweet, including dishes like Dragon Well shrimp, but Ningbo cuisine is very salty. Other famous dishes include Dongpo pork and Beggar’s chicken. 

7. Anhui cuisine 

Anhui cuisine is light in flavour, using cooking techniques such as braising and steaming, and often includes ham and ingredients picked from the wild. Dishes with ham include stewed turtle with ham, and Anhui is also famous for its stinky mandarin fish and stinky tofu. 

8. Fujian cuisine

Fujian Cuisine is from the southeastern coastal province of Fujian. In the capital, Fuzhou, the food is very light and fresh. Another style is Putian cuisine, which has a lot of seafood. Fujian cuisine also often uses soups, for example, the most famous dish is “Buddha jumps over the wall”. This soup uses very expensive ingredients such as Jinhua ham, suggesting that even the monks would ‘jump over the wall’ to taste it!