140 CultureShock! China
REGIONAL DIFFERENCES IN CUISINE
While Shanghai cooking mainly employs steaming, dishes
from north China are usually braised or stir-fried. Ingredients
in dishes prepared in north China are typically meat and
root vegetables. A legacy from the Mongolian hordes that
stormed north China, no northern meal is complete without
noodles or dumplings.
Xinjiang food is influenced by its age-old ties to the Middle
East as an ancient outpost of the Silk Road. The food in this
region is typically hearty and filling, with bread, meat, rice
and root vegetables frequently featured. Lamb is often a key
ingredient in Xinjiang food, making it unique to the beef,
pork and fish-based dishes of the east and north. Xinjiang
dishes makes use of unusual spices such as cumin that are
unique in Chinese cuisine.
Cantonese food is thought by some to be the most refined
in China. Fresh ingredients and a tradition of small snacks,
known as dim sum, have made Cantonese food famous
worldwide. Much of what is now known as Chinese food in
other parts of the world originated in Guangdong province.Northern Dishes: Hot Food for a Cold Night
Traditional-style bean curd with shallots (xiao cong ban
dou fu)—Cold bean curd chunks blended with soy sauce,
vinegar and sesame dressing and seasoned with chopped
spring onions.
Empress dowager’s beef (ci xi tai ho niu rou)—Sliced
preserved beef seasoned with five spices.
Candy vinegar cabbage mound (cu liu bai cai)—Pickled
Chinese cabbage marinated in sweet and sour sauce, and
topped with spicy peppers.
Boiled peanuts (shui zhu hua sheng)—Served with chopped
peppers after being soaked in brine and seasoned with
star anise.
Beijing duck (bei jing kao ya)—Duck marinated in oil,
sauce and molasses and roasted. Slices of crispy skin
served with thin flour pancakes, which should be eaten
with plum sauce and slivered spring onions or finely
sliced cucumber.