China

Country - China

Cuisine Description - When it comes to food, Chinese are equally diverse as they are in language dialects. Food habits are also influenced by regions, as China is has a vast territory that contains deserts, steppes, grasslands and icy mountains. It is due to the diversity of the climate, products and customs that there are widely different food styles and tastes in local regions. One thing is for certain though. Chinese cuisine is highly appreciated and sought-after all over the world, because of its aromatic, delicious and exotic dishes.
Some other exotic dishes from the Chinese cuisine include the bird's nest Soup, the Kung Pao Chicken, Mapo Dofu, Shark Fin Soup, the Buddha Jumping Over the Wall dish, Prawn with Dragon's Body and Phoenix's tail, or Squirrel with Mandarin Fish.
China is one of the colossal civilizations that history gave us. Their traditions, customs and culture are almost unmatchable by a lot of the current peoples of the World. Their diversity and fascinating way of life have made China one of the jewels of Asia. Putting that together with the fact that it’s the most populous country in the World and that it is one of the dominant powers of today, gives you the idea on how big China really is...
Considered both a craft and an art, Chinese cuisine has been developing and getting richer since the oldest times. During the reign of Emperor fu (20 centuries B.C.), Chinese people learned how to fish and hunt, but also agriculture and cooking began their evolution. The Chinese cooking and food decorating got to the status of high art during the Chou Dynasty and then it was influenced by Confucianism and Taoism. The principles of Confucius promoted the etiquette of food and the joy that it can bring. Taoism promoted health and hygienic aspects of cooking, as the body should be is search for longevity. Based on the spectrum of these 2 major directions, Chinese cuisine doesn’t include unhealthy food, as most of the dishes are low-calorie and low-fat. Added to this, Chinese explored numerous kinds of herbs, spices, seeds, roots and plants and used them in natural traditional dishes and all aliments that Chinese consume have both a physiological need and a spiritual one, as they can bring joy, prosperity or happiness.
Thanks to these authentic values, Chinese cuisine is considered nowadays one of the most valuable culinary heritages in the world. A Chinese traditional meal consists of carbohydrates and zhushi, or main food. The carbs are found in rice, noodles, dough and pastries based dishes and the veggies and meats are considered starch.

There is a wide range of significant, yet not very different cuisines within the Chinese one, regarding both the regional and the influencing aspects. North-western (or Mandarin) and North-eastern cuisine, Jian-Huai, Cantonese cuisine, Hunan, Szechuan, Fujian, Yunnan, Hainan, Hakka ethnic group cuisine are just some of the cuisines within the territory of China. Still, these world famous cooking style has evolved in other regions, as well, such as: Taiwan, Nanyang (Chinese Diaspora in Southeast Asia) and there is also an individual cuisine of Hong Kong.
The Cantonese is among the most famous Chinese cuisines and it is represented by seafood, poultry and the dim sum (meaning touch of heart), made of pastries and dumplings. The hot weathered Northern regions Wheat is consumed and used for noodles, steamed dumplings, pancakes, Pork (mu shu Pork) and mutton (Mongolian hot pot). In the province of Szechuan, garlic and onions are very much enjoyed. In Eastern China, both rice and Wheat are consumed in Chinese bread, noodles, soy sauce and congee (rice gruel similar to porridge).
The Chinese influenced various countries with their cooking style and techniques: Taiwanese cuisine includes many typical Chinese meals: Chinese dried Pork sung, nut Chinese dessert is prepared with pie cherries, grass jelly (sian-chhau or the Chinese name of Liang fen). Copyright Recipes Wiki