Food

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You will find many varieties of Chinese food in China such as Cantonese, Beijing, Szechwan and Shanghai. If you have a sensitive stomach, we advise that you eat your meals in a hotel or large restaurant. McDonalds, Kentucky Fried Chicken and pizza restaurants are widely available. Chinese food that is found in western countries usually consists of dishes such as fried rice and sweet and sour meats. These types of dishes are a very small sample of Chinese food and are usually very “westernized”. There is an enormous variety of Chinese food that varies from region to region, and we encourage you to try the authentic dishes.

History of Chinese Food
Food is a central part of the Chinese culture and the Chinese people enjoy eating good food. Cooking Chinese food has developed into a sophisticated art. The Chinese people believe a delicious meal creates happiness, harmony, and mental and physical well-being. During China’s “golden eras”, when the times are prosperous, the Chinese people develop their culture through art, science and cooking.

China has been an agricultural civilization for thousands of years and has suffered from poor harvests. Famines and hardships played a large role in the development of the cuisine as the Chinese people would explore anything edible in order to feed themselves. Many unusual ingredients such as wood ears and lily buds were added to Chinese recipes. The scarcity of food taught the Chinese people to not be wasteful so various fruit and vegetable peels and shark fin are delicacies in China.

Because there was a lack of cooking fuel in China for many years, the Chinese people needed to conserve what they had. This is the reason for stir-frying the food as it requires a lengthy preparation time but only a few minutes cooking time.

Most Chinese dishes are cooked with the meat and vegetables together and are less caloric than many western dishes. Vegetables stay bright and crisp by cooking them for a short time, so many of the vitamins and minerals are retained. The northern area of China has a colder climate which is unsuitable to grow rice so wheat is the primary grain consumed. Rice is abundant in the southern area of China.

Beijing Food
Beijing food is the most popular food in China because Beijing is where the Imperial cuisines were made. One of the favored dishes is Beijing Duck which consists of slow roasted duck meat and crispy brown duck skin wrapped in a fresh flour tortilla with plum sauce, cucumbers and green onion.

Cantonese Food
Cantonese food or Guangdong food is typically steamed, boiled or stir-fried with minimal oil. The main ingredients are seafood, pork, chicken and vegetables and are usually accompanied by white rice. It is said “The Cantonese eat every thing that flies except planes, everything on the ground except cars, and everything that is in water except boats.” Although there are many varieties of Chinese food in Hong Kong, Cantonese food is the predominant type.

Sichuan Food
Sichuan Food is from the southwestern region of China and it known for its spicy taste. Many Sichuan dishes are prepared using chili pepper oil which gives it a unique flavor. The most famous Sichuan dish is Gongbao (Kung Pao) chicken which is chicken fried with peanuts and chili pepper oil.

Noodles
There are many types of noodles found in China including egg noodles, wheat noodles and rice flour noodles. Wheat noodles which are often found in Shanghai noodle dishes, have a round shape and are cooked then stir-fried in a savory sauce with chicken, pork and shrimp. Rice flour noodles which are often found in Singapore-style noodle dishes, uses rice vermicelli noodles cooked with curry powder, shrimp, barbecued pork and ham. Egg noodles are often found in Cantonese restaurants in a noodle soup such as won ton mian or they are used in stir-fried dishes. The two types of noodle dishes are lo mian and chow mian. Low Mian is a plate of cooked noodles with some barbequed pork or duck and some vegetables on the side, accompanied with a bowl of broth. Chow mian are pan fried noodles that are mixed with stir-fried vegetables, meat and seafood.

Soups
There are many types of Chinese soups with sweet corn and hot/sour soup being the most popular to westerners. Chinese soups are made with chicken, meat or vegetable stock and can be either light in texture and flavor, or filling enough to be a full meal.

Chinese Tea
Tea drinking is an integral part of Chinese life and a part of the dining experience. The Chinese people were the first to discover the tea leaf and they believe tea is good for your health.
 
Drink
Don’t drink the tap water in China. Either buy bottled water or use boiling water from your hotel.

Table Manners
It is customary in China to use chopsticks rather than a fork and knife at the dinner table. If you would like to use a fork and knife and they aren’t on your table in a restaurant, you can request them. Also, instead of everyone having their own plate of food, in China the dishes of food are placed on the table and everyone shares the meal. You will have the chance to try many different types of food.

Dinner in China usually begins with at least four cold dishes, followed by the main course of hot meat and vegetable dishes. Soup will be served next unless you are in Guangdong style restaurants. After the soup will be a staple dish such as rice, noodles or dumplings. If you would like to have rice with your cold or hot dishes, you will have to request this as most of the Chinese people like it at the end of the meal or not at all.

When dining with the Chinese people, it is likely that the host will put the food on your plate for you with “public” chopsticks or spoons or sometimes with their own chopsticks. This should be interpreted as a sign of friendship and politeness. It is also a sign of politeness to eat the food that you are served. People in China tend to over order food because they find it embarrassing if all of the food is consumed.

Tipping
Tipping is not generally practiced in China and it is discouraged by the authorities. In many hotels and restaurants the staff are not allowed to accept tips although if the service is good, you could tip the hotel bell boy or waiter or waitress in a restaurant. An appropriate tip in these cases would be 10 or 20 Yuan. Tipping is appreciated by tour guides or drivers that are with you all day.