Schools of chinese cuisine

Chinese cuisine has a very long history and is renowned all over the world. There are eight major schools of Chinese cuisine, named after the places where they were conceived: Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Hunan, Jiangsu, Shandong, Sichuan and Zhejian. For a brief appreciation of the cuisine, it is possible to break it down into four major regional categories:

Northern Cuisine: Beijing, which has developed from the Shandong school, is famous for Peking Duck. Another speciality of the North of China is Mongolian Hotpot, which is a Chinese version of fondue. It is eaten in a communal style and consists of a central simmering soup in a special large round pot into which is dipped a variety of uncooked meats and vegetables, which are cooked on the spot. A cheap and delicious local dish is shuijiao(dumplings), similar in idea to Italian ravioli.

Southern Cuisine: Guangdong (Cantonese) food is famous for being the most exotic in China. The food markets in Guangzhou are a testimony to this, and the Western visitor is often shocked by the enormous variety of rare and exotic animals that are used in the cuisine, including snake, dog, turtle and wildcat.

Eastern Cuisine: Shanghai and Zhejiang cooking is rich and sweet, often pickled. Noted for seafood, hot and sour soup, noodles and vegetables.

Western Cuisine: Sichuan and Hunan food is spicy, often sour and peppery, with specialities such as diced chicken stirred with soy sauce and peanuts, and spicy doufu (beancurd).