Variations of Chinese cuisine
In recent years, China has become one of the most popular sources for almost any type of cuisine. This paved the way for Chinese food to be recognized around the world, especially in countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Western Europe. What many Westerners tend to do is that they tend to group dishes together despite their regional variation. Different traditions have developed around different areas in China and this is mainly due to climatic conditions as well as ethnic composition. As China continues to influence the West, it worked as a win-win situation on both sides. This brought the establishment of several fast food chains along the streets of China fostering an even freer economy.
Despite the differences in each region, what holds them together is the idea that meals should be pleasing to the eye, healthily balanced, and contain the best and freshest ingredients available. As a tradition, the dishes are served together with a tea or hot water, as this is believed to aid digestion. However, beers and soft drinks have taken over and become people’s favorites in recent years. Meat such as chicken and pork has become a demand and has been a large part of the daily diet of workers. Also, beef is eaten and comes in very thin slices. Vegetables, as always, are a mainstay in many Chinese cuisines and come in a wide range of options.
One of the most requested menu options is sweet and sour pork. Dishes that contain beef as the main ingredient are often cooked with noodles along with black bean or cashew sauce. Recipes that use chicken include lemon chicken, honey chili chicken, and lychee chicken. In general, Chinese food dishes are typically served with bowls of rice or noodles. Vegetables are not overcooked so they taste crisp and fresh. The most common vegetables used are green beans, eggplant, zucchini, mung bean sprouts, and mushrooms. Additionally, Chinese cabbage, Chinese broccoli, and bok choy are included.
The coastal areas of China have their own traditional cuisine with seafood as the main ingredient. This includes both freshwater and deepwater fish dishes. Prawns, crabs, squid, shark fin, and scallops are favorite ingredients.
Chinese food dishes are never complete without a bowl of steaming soup. It’s especially welcome during cold weather, especially Chinese winters, and it’s a great way to use up leftovers. The broth, as it is called, is usually made from meat, chicken, or vegetables. Sweet corn soup has become a Western favorite, as has Szechwan soup, which is made with pork, ham, mushrooms, red pepper, prawns, and chicken broth.
When it comes to cuisines by region, one of the most demanded internationally is Cantonese cuisine. These dishes are typically made up of meat or chicken, but also include shark fin soup and steamed sea bass. Cantonese cooks generally prefer to fry, sauté, steam or fry. Which makes Chinese food unique from other types of dishes, as it uses soy sauce, rice vinegar, or oyster sauce instead of spices for flavor.