Chinese New Year

The festivities continue until the fifteenth day of the first lunar month

 Characteristics of China’s Regional Cuisines

Traditional Chinese cuisine comprises four schools of thought and four philosophies of cooking

Although people almost everywhere in the world claim to be familiar with Chinese cooking, it is often misunderstood. Cantonese cooking, which first gained a foothold in Hong Kong, spread around the planet and erroneously came to be thought of as representative of all Chinese cooking, perhaps because the refined and mild Cantonese cuisine was well-suited to western palates. Meanwhile, Peking Duck is often reduced to the level of “a recipe,” though in fact its refinement perfectly and concisely sums up the whole philosophy of northern imperial cuisine. While Szechuan cooking has lately gained favor amongst enthusiasts of spicy foods, many of them remain unfamiliar with Hunan cooking. As for the cooking of Shanghai, it remains strangely secret and regional.

Many so-called “Chinese” dishes came into being far from China - for instance chop suey (whose literal translation is “garbage can”) was created in New York by a chef who threw together the last remaining ingredients he had to offer. Other recipes were born in America and crossed the oceans with tourists, finally ending up on the menus of certain “western-style” restaurants.

In order to better understand the complex and many-faceted world of Chinese cooking - which is not one single cuisine at all, but rather numerous distinct ones - we will examine the various characteristics that define China’s four main culinary schools. In China, eating is not simply a matter of nourishing the body; it is a daily ritual that is based on a whole philosophy of harmonies, textures and flavors.

We should point out that English spellings of Chinese words sometimes vary from one text to another, and the names of cities or regions may appear differently depending on their source. For instance, you may see Szechuan, Szechwan or Sichuan. On the other hand, some place names become something completely different when one letter is changed: Hunan is to the east of Szechuan while Yunan is far to the southwest of Szechuan, one in the middle and one in the south of the country.

The Northern School - centered around Peking

The northern school also includes Manchuria and Korea. With few vegetables and little soy, wheat or herd’s grass, crops are minimal and lack diversity due to the harsh climate. This is the region of noodles, lacquered duck and Peking soup which merits its own special dish. Over the centuries, northern cooking has been influenced by the Mongols and the meals often reflect this rustic heritage, cooked on a barbecue or on large hot slabs, or perhaps served in the form of a fondue or hotpot, with each ingredient immersed into simmering broth.

Those who live outside the capital gave Peking the nickname “the city of sheep.” A specialty here is lamb, thinly sliced and fried in oil with ginger, garlic, onion and leeks - the traditional flavorings of the north, along with cilantro - or else cooked in a casserole.

The cuisine of the Peking region also retains imperial associations, for this was the home of the emperors for many centuries. After the collapse of the empire in 1912, many recipes, still carrying the title “imperial,” were made available to everyone, though they remain special occasion dishes because of the cost or scarcity of their ingredients, many of which are not commonly found in the north.

South of the capital is the province of Shandong, bathed by the Yellow River or “Huang-Ho,” from which pink shrimp are fished and later fried right in their shells.

The Eastern School, centered around Shanghai

Shanghai is unique, for as a major port on the Huangpu, it was connected to the outside world, benefiting from an international contact unknown to other parts of China until fairly recently. The trading posts here first saw the British come by in 1845, the French in 1849, and the Americans in 1854. Even today it is still said that in Shanghai you can find a little of everything. This is a fertile region: rice, wheat, pork, fish, seafood from the Yellow Sea and freshwater hairy crab are staples of this rich cuisine, that is both sweet and spicy. The region also produces corn, barley, peanuts and sweet potatoes, though the most common vegetable is white cabbage, often called Chinese cabbage, which is used in soups, braised or fried.

The central cooking method of the region is called hung-shao, a slow-cooked process in which ingredients are simmered in rice wine, covered and left to steam. Anyone passing the region of Soochow-wuhsi should never pass up a chance to try the pork with rock sugar, prepared by this long-cooked method. The city of Hang-chou is renowned for its fried rice, and Chin-hua for its delicious ham. Black vinegar from Zhejiang and rice wine from Shaoxing are often added to flavor the typical regional sauce based on soya and sugar.

The Western School centered around Szechuan

There is a saying here that “Szechuan cooking is very spicy. No doubt that’s why the inhabitants of the region have the sharpest tongues in the whole country.” This land of the four rivers includes the western border regions. Isolated for centuries, some 1600 km from the sea, Szechuan province developed a unique cooking style, notably spicier than in other regions, especially since the Szechuanese have a predilection for fagara, a small hot red pepper whose effect on the palate is like a time bomb.

The seasoning called Szechuan pepper is in fact a mixture of fagara and true black pepper. There are 21 sauces and spice mixtures unique to this cuisine, each with a distinctive flavor and its own particular culinary role. The best known are Gung-bao, a hot peppery blend; Tou pan jian, based on garlic, ginger, onion and chili; hot and sour; garlic sauce; ginger sauce; five spice powder, etc.

People of this region are adept in the art of preserving meat, either by pickling or smoking, and duck smoked over camphor wood and tea leaves is one of their most famous specialties.

Traditional rural cooking is often very time-consuming. A certain meat-based specialty is known as “pudding boiled three times and turned nine times,” consisting of successive layers of meat and vegetables steamed in a casserole for many hours. The choice and balance of ingredients is an art in itself, a reflection of the culinary sophistication of the cook.

If you go to Szechuan’s capital, Chengdu, the traditional departure point on the long routes leading to the Himalayas, don’t miss going to one of the many tea rooms to be found in the old parts of the city, especially near the temple of Wenshu. Here locals sit playing chess or cards, and between sips of tea the ear cleaner may come by and offer you his services!

The Southern School centered around Canton

The capital of Guangdong province - and virtually the capital of Chinese cooking - Canton or Guangzhou is situated in a subtropical climate close to the sea. In Canton, you can expect to be served everything except the table and chair, according to a local joke. Crabs, clams, prawns, scallops, oysters and squid are grilled or sautéed and are part of many dishes. Throughout this province more beef is eaten than anywhere else in China. It is also the homeland of the lychee, of wok cookery, and of bird’s nest and shark’s fin soups. But perhaps most significantly, this is where dim sum originated, a meal made up of many varied little dishes that has become famous throughout the world. Dim sum - the name means “delights of the heart” - may include meat, poultry or seafood based dishes, steamed or fried dumplings or buns, often combining both salty and sweet. (The Cantonese favour a slightly sweet style of cooking and it is not unusual for their recipes to call for a little sugar.) Some restaurants in the region offer hundreds of varieties of dim sum dishes, presented in individual portions on little carts that are rolled by customers’ tables. Diners simply choose plate after plate from the carts… until they can’t manage another bite.

Walking around Canton you will encounter countless merchants on foot every hour of the day or night. This is not a city where the shutters are closed up as soon as soon as night falls. If you are looking for an exotic and completely different experience, see if the “wild” restaurant of Yeweixiang on Beijing Lu is still open. There you can have a taste of animals you’ve only ever seen in zoos - ones you’ve probably never envisaged as roasts or chops. Also pay a visit to the Qingping farmers’ market to experience in its riot of sights and smells all the richness of Cantonese cuisine.

Hunan cooking is rooted in Szechuan cuisine
Hunan means “south of the lake” and the region is nicknamed “the land of fish.” With the Dongting, a true natural basin, and the rivers which flow into it, fishermen here find a seemingly-inexhaustible catch. It is agriculture, however, that is the province’s primary occupation. Changsha, the capital, is famous for its orange groves.

The basics of Hunan cooking can be found in the culinary style of Szechuan. However, poultry here takes on a unique flavor since it is cooked in a special earthenware pot. Steamed or fried noodles or breads are often served instead of rice. Braising is a cooking technique that is central to Hunan cuisine. The slow-simmered stew, called wei, will tenderize virtually any cut of meat, while flavoring it with mandarin peels, sweet peppers and a large amount of pepper and chilies.

Hunan’s salted foods are famous, particularly carp, meat and poultry which are initially marinated in salt, sugar, pepper and wine for 6 or 7 hours. They are then brushed off and hung for 12 hours before being smoked over a walnut shell fire.

Traditional Hunan cooking includes game, swallows, bear’s claws, turtle and snails. Many recipes call for walnuts, chestnuts, peanuts and large amounts of sesame seed.

While many dishes are typically regional, others can be found from one end of China to the other, with each area imparting its own particular flavors to a recipe. For example, sweet and sour pork is made with just sugar and rice vinegar in the north; in the east a little ketchup is added; while the Cantonese, always favoring abundance, top the dish with pickled vegetables and fruit. On the other hand, if you ask for sweet and sour pork in a Szechuan or Hunan restaurant you will be told politely that it’s not on the menu - such sweet foods are foreign to that region’s tradition.