1. Food in Chinese Culture市鹏

2. 饭(fan) Starch Stable Source of Starch such as: Rice (北方人）
Noodles (南方人）
Mantou (Steamed Buns)

3. 菜 (cai) “Vegetable” Can be vegetable, fish, meat, etc.. Mushrooms
Cabbage
Pork
Beef
Chicken
Snapper
Walleye
No Dairy Products Used

4. Preparation The meal needs to have a good balance between 饭和菜。
When being prepared, the majority of ingredients are diced into small pieces.
In modern days rice is cooked in a 饭堡 or rice cooker
Meats and vegetables are cooking together in a 炒锅 or a wok.

5. Cuisines Eight Regional Cuisines Hui: Anhui Yue (Cantonese): Guangdong
Min: Fujian
Xiang: Hunan (Can include Xiangjiang Region, Dongting Lake and Xiangxi styles)
Su (aka Huaiyang Cuisine): Jiangsu
Lu: Shandong (Include Jinan, Jiaodong styles, etc.)
Chuan: Sichuan
Zhe: Zhejiang (Can include Hangzhou, Ningbo, and Shaoxing styles)

6. HUI: ANHUI Derived from the Native cooking of the Huangshan Mountains
Similar to Jiangsu Cuisine but focuses more on local herbs and vegetables and not as much on seafood as Jiangsu Cuisine does.
Staple Foods: Fresh Bamboo and Mushroom Caps

7. Yue (Cantonese): Guangdong
Known for Dim Sum (Touch your heart) – small dishes
rice rolls, lotus leaf rice, turnip cakes, buns
Combination of the Central Plains and Southern Cuisine

8. Min: Fujian
Known for the use of hundreds of different kinds of fish, shellfish, and Turtles.
Staple Ingredients: Seafood, Bamboo Shoots, and Edible Wild Mushrooms
Cooking Methods: Stewing, Braising, Steaming and Boiling
Food usually served in some type of broth or form of soup.

9. Xiang: Hunan
Known for its hot, spicy flavor, fresh flavor and deep color.
Cooking Methods: stewing, frying, pot-roasting, braising, and smoking.
Very Large Agricultural Region makes for many various ingredients.

10. Su (aka Huaiyang Cuisine): Jiangsu
World Famous Cuisine Region for its flavors. Includes cuisine from Yangzhou, Nanjing, Suzhou and Zhenjiang.
Especially popular in the lower part of the Yangtze River.
Typical Dishes:
Jinling salted dried duck (Nanjing's most famous dish)
Yangzhou steamed Jerky strips (dried tofu, chicken, ham and pea leaves)
Farewell My Concubine (soft-shelled turtle stewed with many other ingredients such as chicken, mushrooms and wine).

11. Lu: Shandong
Very popular in Northern China, but not liked in South China or Shanghai.
Known for various cooking techniques and seafood.
Typical menu items:
Braised Abalone
Sweet and sour carp
Dezhou Chicken

12. Chuan: Sichuan
Known for its Bold and Spicy flavors from using plenty of garlic and chili peppers and also the unique flavor Sichuan Peppercorns.
Other Staple Ingredients
Peanuts
Sesame Paste
Ginger

13. Zhe: Zhejiang Known for its fresh, soft flavor with a mellow fragrance
The cuisine consists of at least three styles, each of which originates from different cities in the province:
Hangzhou style, characterized by rich variations and the use of bamboo shoots
Shaoxing style, specializing in poultry and freshwater fish
Ningbo style, specializing in seafood

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15. Other Staple Ingredients
Ingredients have been imported into China over time. Wheat and sheep and goats were possibly introduced from western Asia in prehistoric times, many fruits and vegetables came in from central Asia during the Han and the T'ang periods, and peanuts and sweet potatoes from coastal traders during the Ming period.

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17. Symbolic New Years Dishes
Jiaozi- meaning wealth and prosperity because of the crescent shape looks like the ancient Chinese money.
Steamed Whole Fish – First “yu” itself sounds like the word for wish and abundance. Serving a fish at the end of the meal symbolizes the wish for abundance in the coming year. A whole fish with the head and tail symbolizes the end and the beginning of a new year.
China New Year Salad – Usually eaten on the 7th day of Spring Festival , symbolizing “everyone’s birthday”. The Tradition is to toss the salad and high you can toss it the greater your luck and prosperity will be in the New Year.