The North (北方菜)

The north ( North China (华北), Northeast China (东北) and Northwest China (西北)) is famous for such grain-based foods as noodles, pancakes, dumplings, steamed breads, and stuffed buns, while China’s East, West and South consume rice more often. Baozi and jiaozi (dumplings filled with meat or vegetables) are made with a variety of fillings seasoned with sesame oil and white pepper (Preparing and eating Jiaozi together is a tradition in many northern Chinese homes to enjoy the family reunion and celebrate the Chinese New Year). The popularity of noodles in Northern China can rival that of Italian pasta.

Mutton and pork are meats of choice for northern dishes. Mutton is a Mongolian and Muslim tradition,and particular popular in the Muslim northwest. Thinly sliced mutton and pork are often used as hot pot dishes, together with mushrooms, bean sprouts, leafy vegetables, egg dumplings, and seafood.

Seasonings in Northern food are strong with the use of vinegar, garlic, scallions, leeks, and salt. Northern dishes can be oily with somewhat liberal use of salt, oil, and sometimes animal fat to add calories to the diet in the north’s bitterly cold and dry winter. Northern foods are usually steamed, boiled, braised, roasted, glazed, or fried, with boiling the most popular, and steaming the next most common method.
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The West (川菜, 湘菜)

Sichuan (四川) (Szechuan) and Hunan (湖南) cuisines are the most famous in China’s western regional school of cooking, which are primarily known for their hot and spicy dishes. Many Chinese Szechuan and Hunan restaurants overseas serve some version of Sichuan and Hunan food, but they are really just a pale comparison to the authentic things. Red chili are used in many dishes, often rivaling that of Mexican or Thai preparations.

The reason for this emphasis on spice may derive from the region’s hot, humid climate as well as its hundreds of years’ independent culture from other parts of China. The climate also contributes to the necessity of sophisticated food-preservation techniques which include pickling, salting, drying and smoking. However, there is more to the Szechuan and Hunan food than spice and sauces rich and strong in flavor. There is a large portion of recipes that use little or no spice at all, such as “Tea Smoked Duck” (五香樟茶鸭).

The spices and ingredients used in China’s western food include a variety of chili peppers, peppercorns over various types, and Sichuan peppers, also known as flower pepper or mountain pepper. In addition to the warm flavor, Sichuan peppers’ numbing effect, called ma la in Chinese, makes the tongue and mouth numb and tingly. Hunan dishes are more often made with fresh chili peppers, including the seeds and membranes, while Szechuan recipes frequently call for Chile bean paste. Chili peppers are a traditional part of the Chinese five spice powder – sweet, sour, pungent, salty and bitter.
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The East (江浙菜)

Eastern Chinese cuisine, found in the region of Jiangsu (江苏), Zhejiang (浙江), Shanghai (上海) and the surrounding provinces, is one of the lesser-known types of Chinese food, generally characterized as ’sweet and oily’.

Not surprisingly, Seafood and freshwater fish predominates in Eastern Chinese cuisine, as the nearby ocean, Yangtze River, numerous lakes and river tributaries provide abundant fish, shrimp, and shellfish to this region. Steaming, stewing, braising and frying are the most common forms of Eastern Chinese cooking. This school uses sugar, vinegars and wines to provide sweet tastes and create subtlety of flavor.

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The South (南方菜)

South China (华南) (Guangdong, Hainan) is in the tropical and subtropical zones, with rivers, lakes, and a higher rainfall. Because of the rich resources brought by these climate and landscape factors, Southern Chinese food is characterized by the staggering variety of the ingredients used, and is widely regarded as the country’s best. In addition to produce, meats and seafood, Cantonese cuisine (粤菜) is known for its sometime use of ‘exotic’ ingredients. A famous proverb illustrates the variety of Cantonese food: “anything that walks, swims, crawls, or flies with its back to Heaven is edible.” However, these exotic foods are not eaten that often. Guangdong food are often exaggerated and magnified by these sayings often due to the lack of understanding in foreign culinary traditions in the Western world.

Guangdong (广东) cuisine stresses freshness of ingredients and correct cooking method. Ingredients are usually prepared with a light touch, just enough cooking and seasoning to keep the original color of the material and the natural flavors of the foods. There are countless Cantonese cooking methods, steaming, stir-frying, shallow frying, double boiling, braising and deep-frying are the most popular cooking methods. The traditional Guangdong cuisine emphasizes seafood, especially various kinds of steamed fish and shellfish. Pork and duck in whole are glazed with mixtures of soy sauce, peanut oil, ginger, onion, sugar, wine, and roasted to a beautiful reddish gold. Dishes are almost always served with freshly steam rice, since rice is the staple crop of South China.
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Contemporary health trends

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimates for 2001–2003, 12% of the population of the People’s Republic of China was undernourished. The number of undernourished people in the country has fallen from 386.6 million in 1969–1971 to 150.0 million in 2001–2003.

Undernourishment is a problem mainly in the central and western part of the country, while “unbalanced nutrition” is a problem in developed coastal and urban areas. Decades of food shortages and rationing ended in the 1980s. A study in 2004 showed that fat intake among urban dwellers had grown to 38.4 percent, beyond the 30 per cent limit set by the World Health Organization. Excessive consumption of fats and animal protein has made chronic diseases more prevalent. As of 2008, 22.8 percent of the population were obese and 18.8 percent had high blood pressure. The number of diabetes cases in China is the highest in the world. In 1959, the incidence of high blood pressure was only 5.9 percent.

A typical Chinese peasant before industrialization would have eaten meat rarely and most meals would have consisted of rice accompanied with green vegetables, with protein coming from foods like peanuts. Fats and sugar were luxuries not eaten on a regular basis by most of the population. With increasing wealth, Chinese diets have become richer with more meats, fats, and sugar being consumed.

Health advocates put some of the blame on the increased popularity of Western foods, especially fast food, and other culinary products and habits. Many Western, especially American, fast food chains have appeared in China, and are highly successful economically. These include McDonald’s and Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC).
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