You will be charged for a wrapped-up packet of a hand-cleaning wipe or tissues if you open it at your restaurant table; if you don’t use it, it should not appear on your bill.
Northern Chinese Cooking
With Shāndōng (鲁菜; lǔcài) – the oldest of the eight regional schools of cooking – at its heart, northern cooking also embraces Běijīng, northeastern (Manchurian) and Shānxī cuisine, creating the most time-honoured and most central form of Chinese cooking.
In the dry northern Chinese wheat belt, an accent falls on millet, sorghum, maize, barley and wheat rather than rice (which requires lush irrigation by water to cultivate). Particularly well suited to the harsh and hardy winter climate, northern cooking is rich and wholesome (northerners partially attribute their taller size, compared to southern Chinese, to its effects). Filling breads – such as mántou (馒头) or bǐng (饼; flat breads) – are steamed, baked or fried, while noodles may form the basis of any northern meal. (The ubiquitous availability of rice means it can always be found, however.) Northern cuisine is frequently quite salty, and appetising dumplings (铰子; jiǎozi) are widely eaten – usually boiled and sometimes fried.
As Běijīng was the principal capital through the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, Imperial cooking is a chief characteristic of the northern school. Peking duck is Běijīng’s signature dish, served with typical northern ingredients – pancakes, spring onions and fermented bean paste. You can find it all over China, but it’s only true to form in the capital, roasted in ovens fired up with fruit-tree wood.
With China ruled from 1644 to 1911 by non-Han Manchurians, the influence of northeast cuisine (dōngběi cài) has naturally permeated northern cooking, dispensing a legacy of rich and hearty stews, dense breads, preserved foods and dumplings.
Meat roasting is also more common in the north than in other parts of China. Meats in northern China are braised until falling off the bone, or slathered with spices and barbecued until smoky. Pungent garlic, chives and spring onions are used with abandon and also employed raw. Also from the northwest is the Muslim Uighur cuisine.
The nomadic and carnivorous diet of the Mongolians also infiltrates northern cooking, most noticeably in the Mongolian hotpot and the Mongolian barbecue. Milk from nomadic herds of cattle, goats and horses has also crept into northern cuisine – as yoghurts (suānnǎi), for example.
Some hallmark northern dishes:
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Běijīng kǎoyā 北京烤鸭 Peking duck
jiāo zhá yángròu 焦炸羊肉 deep-fried mutton
jiǎozi 饺子 dumplings
mántou 馒头 steamed buns
qīng xiāng shāo jī 清香烧鸡 chicken wrapped in lotus leaf
ròu bāozi 肉包子 steamed meat buns
sān měi dòufu 三美豆腐 sliced bean curd (tofu) with Chinese cabbage
shuàn yángròu 涮羊肉 lamb hotpot
sì xǐ wánzi 四喜丸子 steamed and fried pork, shrimp and bamboo shoot balls
yuán bào lǐ jí 芫爆里脊 stir-fried pork tenderloin with coriander
zào liū sān bái 糟溜三白 stir-fried chicken, fish and bamboo shoots
Southern Chinese Cooking
The southern Chinese – particularly the Cantonese – historically spearheaded successive waves of immigration overseas, leaving aromatic constellations of Chinatowns around the world. Consequently, Westerners most often associate this school of cooking with China.
Typified by Cantonese (粤菜; yuècài) cooking, southern cooking lacks the richness and saltiness of northern cooking and instead coaxes more subtle aromas to the surface. The Cantonese astutely believe that good cooking does not require much flavouring, for it is the xiān (natural freshness) of the ingredients that marks a truly high-grade dish. Hence the near-obsessive attention paid to the freshness of ingredients in southern cuisine.
The hallmark Cantonese dish is dim sum (点心; Mandarin: diǎnxīn). Yum cha (literally ‘drink tea’) – another name for dim sum dining – in Guǎngzhōu and Hong Kong can be enjoyed on any day of the week. Dishes, often in steamers, are wheeled around on trolleys so you can see what's available to order. Well-known dim sum dishes include guōtiē (a kind of fried dumpling), shāomài (a kind of open pork dumpling), chāshāobāo (pork-filled bun) and chūnjuǎn (spring rolls). The extravagantly named fèngzhuǎ (phoenix claw) is the ever-popular steamed chicken’s feet. Xiǎolóngbāo (steamed dumplings) are often sold in dim sum restaurants but are traditionally from Shànghǎi.
Local esteem for Cantonese food is evident in a popular Chinese saying: ‘Be born in Sūzhōu, live in Hángzhōu, eat in Guǎngzhōu and die in Líuzhōu’. (Sūzhōu was famed for its good-looking people, Hángzhōu was a lovely place to live in, Guǎngzhōu was the best place to eat while Liǔzhōu was famed for the wood of its coffins!)
Fújiàn (闽菜; mǐncài) cuisine is another important southern cooking style, with its emphasis on light flavours and, due to the province’s proximity to the East China Sea, seafood.
Hakka cuisine from the disparate and migratory Hakka people (Kèjiāzú) is another feature of southern Chinese cooking, as is the food of Cháozhōu in eastern Guǎngdōng.
Rice is the primary staple of southern cuisine. Sparkling paddy fields glitter across the south; the humid climate, plentiful rainfall and well-irrigated land means that rice has been farmed here since the Chinese first populated the region during the Han dynasty (206 BC–AD 220).
Some southern-school dishes:
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bái zhuó xiā 白灼虾 blanched prawns with shredded scallions
dōngjiāng yánjú jī 东江盐焗鸡 salt-baked chicken
gālí jī 咖喱鸡 curried chicken
háoyóu niúròu 蚝油牛肉 beef with oyster sauce
kǎo rǔzhū 烤乳猪 crispy suckling pig
mì zhī chāshāo 密汁叉烧 roast pork with honey
shé ròu 蛇肉 snake
tángcù lǐjī/gǔlǎo ròu 糖醋里脊/咕老肉 sweet-and-sour pork fillets
tángcù páigǔ 糖醋排骨 sweet-and-sour spare ribs
Western Chinese Cooking
The cuisine of landlocked western China, a region heavily dappled with ethnic shades and contrasting cultures, welcomes the diner to the more scarlet end of the culinary spectrum. The trademark ingredient of the western school is the fiercely hot red chilli, a potent firecracker of an ingredient that floods dishes with an all-pervading spiciness. Aniseed, coriander, garlic and peppercorns are thrown in for good measure to add extra pungency and bite.
The standout cuisine of the western school is fiery Sìchuān (川菜; chuāncài) food, one of China’s eight regional cooking styles, renowned for its eye-watering peppery aromas. One of the things that differentiates Sìchuān cooking from other spicy cuisines is the use of ‘flower pepper’ (huājiāo), a numbing, peppercorn-like herb that floods the mouth with an anaesthetising fragrance in a culinary effect termed málà (numb and hot). A Sìchuān dish you can find cooked up by chefs across China is the delicious sour cabbage fish soup (酸菜鱼; suāncàiyú), which features wholesome fish chunks in a spicy broth. The Chóngqìng hotpot is a force to be reckoned with but must be approached with a stiff upper lip (and copious amounts of liquid refreshment). If you want a hotpot pitched between spicy and mild, select a yuanyang hotpot (yuānyāng huǒgūo), a vessel divided yin-yang style into two different compartments for two different soup bases. Sìchuān restaurants are everywhere in China: swarming around train stations, squeezed away down food streets or squished into street markets with wobbly stools and rickety tables parked out front.
Another of China’s eight regional schools of cooking, dishes from Húnán (湘菜; xiāngcài) are similarly pungent, with a heavy reliance on chilli. Unlike Sìchuān food, flower pepper is not employed and instead spicy flavours are often sharper, fiercer and more to the fore. Meat, particularly in Húnán, is marinated, pickled or otherwise processed before cooking, which is generally by stir-
or flash-frying.
Cuisine in Tibet includes tsampa (porridge of roasted barley flour), bö cha (yak-butter tea), momos (dumplings filled with vegetables or yak meat), thugpa (noodles with meat), thenthuk (fried noodle squares) as well as shemdre (rice, potato and yak-meat curry).
Some western-school dishes:
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bàngbàng jī 棒棒鸡 shredded chicken in a hot pepper and sesame sauce
Chóngqìng huǒguō 重庆火锅 Chóngqìng hotpot
dāndan miàn 担担面 spicy noodles
gānshāo yán lǐ 干烧岩鲤 stewed carp with ham and hot-and-sweet sauce
huíguō ròu 回锅肉 boiled and stir-fried pork with salty-and-hot sauce
málà dòufu 麻辣豆腐 spicy tofu
Máoshì Hóngshaōròu 毛氏红烧肉 Mao family braised pork
shuǐ zhǔ niúròu 水煮牛肉 spicy fried and boiled beef
shuǐzhǔyú 水煮鱼 fried and boiled fish, garlic sprouts and celery
suāncàiyú 酸菜鱼 sour-cabbage fish soup
yú xiāng ròusī 鱼香肉丝 fish-flavour pork strips
zhàcài ròusī 榨菜肉丝 stir-fried pork or beef tenderloin with tuber mustard
Spanish traders in the early Qing dynasty first introduced the red chilli pepper to China. Not only a spice, chillies are also a rich source of vitamins A and C.
Eastern Chinese Cooking
The eastern school of Chinese cuisine derives from a fertile region of China, slashed by waterways and canals, glistening with lakes, fringed by a long coastline and nourished by a subtropical climate. Jiāngsū province itself is the home of Jiāngsū (苏菜; sūcài) cuisine – one of the core regions of the eastern school – and is famed as the ‘Land of Fish and Rice’, a tribute to its abundance of food and produce. The region has been historically prosperous, and in today’s export-oriented economy the eastern provinces are among China’s wealthiest. This combination of riches and bountiful food has created a culture of epicurism and gastronomic enjoyment.
South of Jiāngsū, Zhèjiāng (浙菜; zhècài) cuisine is another cornerstone of Eastern cooking. The Song dynasty saw the blossoming of the restaurant industry here; in Hángzhōu, the southern Song-dynasty capital, restaurants and teahouses accounted for two-thirds of the city’s business during a splendidly rich cultural era. One of Hángzhōu’s most famous dishes, dōngpō ròu (named after the celebrated poet and governor of Hángzhōu, Su Dongpo), was invented during this era.
Generally more oily and sweeter than other Chinese schools, the eastern school revels in fish and seafood, reflecting its geographical proximity to major rivers and the sea. Fish is usually qīngzhēng (清蒸; steamed) but can be stir-fried, pan-fried or grilled. Hairy crabs (dàzháxiè) are a Shànghǎi speciality between October and December. Eaten with soy, ginger and vinegar and downed with warm Shàoxīng wine, the best crabs come from Yangcheng Lake. The crab is believed to increase the body’s yīn (coldness), so yáng (warmth) is added by imbibing lukewarm rice wine with it. It is also usual to eat male and female crabs together.
As with Cantonese food, freshness is a key ingredient in the cuisine, and sauces and seasonings are only employed to augment essential flavours. Stir-frying and steaming are also used, the latter with Shànghǎi’s famous xiǎolóngbāo, steamer buns filled with nuggets of pork or crab swimming in a scalding meat broth. Learning how to devour these carefully without the meat juice squirting everywhere and scalding the roof of your mouth (or blinding your neighbour) requires some (quite enjoyable) practice.
With a lightness of flavour, Ānhuī (徽菜; huīcài) cuisine – one of China’s eight principle culinary traditions and firmly in the eastern cooking sphere – puts less emphasis on seafood. Braising and stewing of vegetables and wildlife from its mountainous habitats is a pronounced feature of this regional cuisine.
China’s best soy sauce is also produced in the eastern provinces, and the technique of braising meat using soy sauce, sugar and spices was perfected here. Meat cooked in this manner takes on a dark mauve hue auspiciously described as ‘red’, a colour associated with good fortune.
Famous dishes from the eastern school:
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gōngbào jīdīng 宫爆鸡丁 spicy chicken with peanuts, aka kung pao chicken
háoyóu niúròu 蚝油牛肉 beef with oyster sauce
hóngshāo páigǔ 红烧排骨 red-braised spare ribs
hóngshāo qiézi 红烧茄子 red-cooked aubergine
hóngshāo yú 红烧鱼 red-braised fish
huǒguō 火锅 hotpot
húntùn tāng 馄饨汤 wonton soup
jiācháng dòufu 家常豆腐 ‘homestyle’ tofu
jiǎozi 饺子 dumplings
jīdànmiàn 鸡蛋面 noodles and egg
qīngjiāo ròupiàn 青椒肉片 pork and green peppers
shāguō dòufu 沙锅豆腐 bean-curd (tofu) casserole
suānlàtāng 酸辣汤 hot-and-sour soup
tiěbǎn niúròu 铁板牛肉 sizzling beef platter
xīhóngshì chǎojīdàn 西红柿炒鸡蛋 fried egg and tomato
xīhóngshì jīdàntāng 西红柿鸡蛋汤 egg and tomato soup
xīhóngshì niúròu 西红柿牛肉 beef and tomato
yúxiāng qiézi 鱼香茄子 fish-flavoured aubergine
Home-Style Dishes
Besides China’s regional cuisines, there is a tasty variety of jiāchángcài (homestyle) dishes you will see all over the land, cooked up in restaurants and along food streets.
Notable jiāchángcài dishes:
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jiāng cōng chǎo xiè 姜葱炒蟹 stir-fried crab with ginger and scallions
mìzhī xūnyú 蜜汁熏鱼 honey-smoked carp
níng shì shànyú 宁式鳝鱼 stir-fried eel with onion
qiézhī yúkuài 茄汁鱼块 fish fillet in tomato sauce
qīng zhēng guìyú 清蒸鳜鱼 steamed Mandarin fish
sōngzǐ guìyú 松子鳜鱼 Mandarin fish with pine nuts
suānlà yóuyú 酸辣鱿鱼 hot-and-sour squid
xiǎolóngbāo 小笼包 steamer buns
yóubào xiārén 油爆虾仁 fried shrimp
zhá hēi lǐyú 炸黑鲤鱼 fried black carp
zhá yúwán 炸鱼丸 fish balls
Dining Ins & Outs
Table Manners
Chinese meal-times are generally relaxed affairs with no strict rules of etiquette. Meals can commence in a Confucian vein before spiralling into total Taoist mayhem, fuelled by incessant toasts with báijiǔ (a white spirit) or beer and furious smoking by the men.
Meals typically unfold with one person ordering on behalf of a group. When a group dines, a selection of dishes is ordered for everyone to share rather than individual diners ordering a dish just for themselves. As they arrive, dishes are placed communally in the centre of the table or on a lazy Susan, which may be revolved by the host so that the principal guest gets first choice of whatever dish arrives. It is common practice and not impolite (unless messy) to use your own chopsticks to serve yourself straight from each dish. Soup may appear midway through the meal or at the end. Rice often arrives at the end of the meal; if you would like it earlier, just ask. Chinese diners will often slurp their noodles quite noisily, which is not considered to be impolite.
It is good form to fill your neighbours’ tea cups or beer glasses when they are empty. To serve yourself tea or any other drink without serving others first is bad form; appreciation to the pourer is indicated by gently tapping the middle finger on the table.
When your teapot needs a refill, signal this to the waiter by simply taking the lid off the pot.
It’s best to wait until someone announces a toast before drinking your beer; if you want to get a quick shot in, propose a toast to the host. The Chinese do in fact toast each other much more than in the West – often each time they drink. A formal toast is conducted by raising your glass in both hands in the direction of the toastee an
d crying out gānbēi (literally, ‘dry the glass’) which is the cue to drain your glass in one hit – this can be quite a challenge if your drink is 65% báijiǔ. Your glass will be rapidly refilled to the top after you drain it, in preparation for the next toast (which may rapidly follow).
Smokers can light up during the meal, unless they are in the nonsmoking area of a restaurant. Depending on the restaurant, smokers may smoke through the entire meal. If you are a smoker, ensure you hand around your cigarettes to others, which is standard procedure.
Don’t use your chopsticks to point at people or gesticulate with them – and never stick your chopsticks upright in bowls of rice (it’s a portent of death).
Last but not least, don't insist on paying for the bill if someone else is tenaciously determined to pay – usually the person who invited you to dinner. By all means offer to pay, but then raise your hands in mock surrender when resistance is met: to pay for a meal when another person is determined to do it is to make them lose face.
Chinese toothpick etiquette is similar to that found in other Asian nations: one hand excavates with the toothpick, while the other hand shields the mouth.
It is quite common for banquets and dinners in China to finish abruptly, as everyone stands up and walks away in unison with little delay.
Desserts & Sweets
The Chinese do not generally eat dessert, but fruit – typically watermelon (xīguā) or oranges (chéng) – often concludes a meal. Ice cream can be ordered in some places, but in general sweet desserts (tiánpǐn) are consumed as snacks and are seldom available in restaurants.
Lonely Planet China Page 203
