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 The
essence of Chinese cuisine lies in the traditional insistence that food
must have taste and flavor, however humble and simple the ingredients.
It can be infinite in variety and extravagant for formal entertaining,
yet timesaving and frugal in daily preparation.
Typical Chinese fare is comprised principally of foods of plant origin,
supplemented by small amounts of meat. The use of dairy products is not
as widespread. Their substitutes are numerous bean products such
as bean sprouts, bean curd, soy-bean milk, and
soy sauce.
It is through frugal use of all parts and forms of available foods that
Chinese cookery has acquired an exotic reputation. Some of these are
shark's fin, bird's nest, bear's paw, duck tongues,
fish lips and gills, dehydrated turtle meat,
abalone, sea slugs, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts,
lotus root and seeds, and lily blossoms.
  
shark's fin soup
bird's nest soup bamboo shoots
Chinese dishes almost always consist of a mixture of foodstuffs.
Vegetables and meat are prepared together in a small amount of fat.
Heated to a high temperature, the oil quickly sears the meat to preserve
flavor, juice, and tenderness. This also preserves the characteristic
texture and attractive color of vegetables. The oil acts as a flavor
extender, giving meat the fragrance of vegetable and vegetable the
glamour of meat.
 This
unique method of cooking is called ch'ao, fast cooking in a small
amount of fat with constant stirring. Cutting and preparation of
ingredients, quick, intense heat, and accurate timing are its three
essential elements.
Being a vast country, China has food as varied as her map. There are
five major schools of cookery: Shantung, Honan,
Szechwan, Fukien, and Canton.
Shantung is noted for dishes
prepared with wine stocks, while Honan is famous for
sweet and sour sauce and soft-fried dishes. Szechwan, known
for its hot, peppery seasonings, produces the best dishes using
ham and fungus. Seafood is a Fukien specialty. Its
cooking is delicate in taste and light in body. It is fond of using
sugar and hung tsao (red wine dregs) as seasonings.
The Cantonese school,
offering the most variety and grandeur, uses more expensive
ingredients and herbs. Concentrated stock is the base of many of its
dishes. First to show foreign influence, Cantonese has played a major
role in popularizing Chinese food in foreign lands. Sweet and sour
pork, chow mein, wanton, fried rice, and egg
rolls have been introduced abroad by the Cantonese, although all of
these dishes originated with other schools. Chop suey was first
improvised by Cantonese restaurants abroad to meet foreign tastes.   
chop suey
chow mein
sweet and sour pork
Chinese cookery can be divided into four regions. The south is
represented by Canton and Fukien; central, by Shanghai;
north, by Mandarin; and inland, by Szechwan.
South of the Yangtze River, rice is the food staple, while to the north
wheat flour is the mainstay. Different types of steamed bread (man
t'ou, pao tzu), noodles (mein), and various pastas (ping,
chiao tzu, and wanton) are basic northern foods. To the south, these
foods are served less frequently and mainly as refreshments or
“in-between” meals.
  
pao
mein
wanton soup
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