Beyond Kung Pao Chicken

“The Eight Great Cuisines”

中国八大名菜Confucius Institute At Texas A&M University 得克萨斯州 A&M大学孔子学院

What Americans Believe

Chop Suey, Eggroll, Kung Pao, Mongolian Beef, Sweet & Sour, Egg Drop Soup, Fried Rice, Lo Mein, Shrimp with Lobster Sauce, Fortune Cookie, etc.

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What Chinese Think

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Food is culture

Americanscomfort

necessity

indulgence

convenient

individual

homogeneous

Chinesecomfort

life

medicine

crafted

shared

diverse

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Food and Geography

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The 8 Great Cuisines:• Shandong• Jiangsu• Zhejiang• Cantonese• Fujian• Sichuan• Hunan• Anhui

Shandong Cuisine• earliest “regional cuisine” in China, dating back to the “Spring

Autumn” Dynasty (~ 500 B.C.)• became an icon of “Northern cuisine” after the Song Dynasty• had great influence on Beijing & Tianjin cuisines, which are the

basis of the “royal cuisine”• characteristics: light; uses a wide range of cooking methods; lots of

soups and seafood• examples: roast duck, deep fried meatballs, steamed tofu, braised

whole abalone

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Jiangsu Cuisine• “home of fish and rice”• home to Nanking, the South capital – melting pot of different

regional cuisines• characteristics: refined look, light in flavor, uses a lot of

seafood, sophisticated use of sugar, slow-cook• examples: meat balls with bak choy, eight treasure rice, sweet

and sour fish

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Zhejiang Cuisine

• similar to Jiangsu cuisine• “delicate and pure”• famous for tea and wine• characteristics: elegant, light, fresh, emphasize true flavor of

food• examples: shrimp with green tea, shark fin and ham soup, fish

with vinegar

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Cantonese Cuisine• international influence from Southeast Asia, Europe and the U.S., as

well as other regions in China• wide range of ingredients; very seasonal• well known for its dim sum• characteristics: fresh, extensive use of stir-fry and steaming,

innovative• examples: barbeque pork wrapped in rice noodle, stir-fry shrimps,

birds’ nest in sweet coconut soup

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Fujian Cuisine

• fusion of North-South cuisines• famous for its soups and vegetarian dishes• characteristics: lots of seafood, strong flavors, fresh

ingredients, emphasis on knife skills• examples: “chrysanthemum” fish, whole chicken

steamed in spiced “gao liang” liquor, stir-fry clams

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Sichuan Cuisine• another early regional cuisine, developed around the Qin

Dynasty (~ 200 B.C.)• further developed during the civil war and “endorsed” by a lot

of famous writers at that time• well known for its spicy hot pot• characteristics: extensive use of spices, • examples: twice cooked pork, paper hot pot, extra thin beef

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Hunan Cuisine

• abundant natural resources: fish, cattle, agriculture• well known for snacks & street food• characteristics: tart and spicy, extensive use of pickles,

slow-cook in broth• examples: stuffed chili peppers, very spicy shrimps,

steamed fish in bamboo

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Anhui Cuisine

• “treasures of the mountain and the sea”• food as medicine• characteristics: extensive use of steaming and smoking,

emphasis of “original flavor”, use of charcoal – slow-cook and smoking

• examples: fish in grape juice, smoked duck, steamed bamboo shoots in broth

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