Think Chinese cuisine is all sweet and sour pork and prawn dumplings? Think again. This vast country is blessed with eight distinct cuisines – and crowd-pleasing Cantonese is just one of them!
To help broaden your Chinese horizons when cooking and dining out, here’s a handy guide to this multilayered nation, from fiery Sichuan favourites to the delicate seafood dishes of Shandong.
- Sweet and delicate Cantonese:
By far the most popular Chinese cuisine here in Australia, Cantonese fare hails from the Guandong province of South East China and Hong Kong. Here, the cooking style is all about enhancing and preserving the natural flavour of the ingredients, so spicy sauces are eschewed in favour of light braises, sweet marinades and steamed dishes. Seafood also shines, so think delicate har gow (prawn dumplings), char sui (barbecued pork), or whole fish steamed with ginger and shallot.
- Hot and numbing Sichuan:
At the other end of the flavour spectrum, and fast gaining popularity in Australia, is Sichuan cuisine, from the land-locked Sichuan province in South West China. Along with garlic and chillies, mouth-numbing Sichuan peppercorns take centre stage. Literally meaning “flower pepper” this fragrant, fruity peppercorns offer incendiary heat and a tingling finish to fiery hotpot, punchy kung pao chicken, and ma po tofu. Be warned: they’re highly addictive.
- Spicy and sour Hunan:
Similarly spicy is Hunan cuisine, from the Hunan province in South Central China. The Hunanese rely less on those numbing Sichuan peppers and more on chopped chillies, vinegar and citrus fruit, for a spicy-sour combination that is utterly beguiling. They’re also big on fermentation and preserving, so expect to see salted pork popping up in dishes such as cured ham with green beans, and shredded pork with vegetables.
- Salty and crisp Shandong:
If you need a break from all that heat, zero in on the coastal cuisine of Shandong, in China’s north, around Beijing. Here, fresh river fish, ocean-caught seafood and vegetables star, and frying over high heat is the preferred cooking method, locking in the flavour without any residual oiliness. Spicing comes courtesy of onions, garlic and ginger, plus rich chinkiang vinegar, and hearty vegetables such as potatoes, eggplant and cabbage. Steamed wheat-based buns generally take the place of rice.
- Aromatic and elaborate Jiangsu:
To the south, surrounding Shanghai, lies the coastal Jiangsu province. Seafood is also a major drawcard, and here elaborate cooking techniques such as braising and preserving aim to maintain the natural flavour of the foods. Blessed with lakes and waterways, the region is also known for its lotus, water chestnuts and bamboo, and for the medicinal properties of the local ingredients. Signature dishes include complex Yangzhou-style fried rice, braised duck, and sweet and sour mandarin fish.
- Wild and wonderful Anhui:
Inland from Jiangsu, mountainous Anhui boasts a unique cuisine that draws on wild plants, herbs and animals. This hearty peasant fare uses innocuous ingredients such as mushrooms, tea leaves, bamboo shoots and dates for medicinal purposes, plus frogs, turtles, shrimp and pork for protein. Sauteeing and stewing are the preferred cooking methods.
- Mild and mellow Zhejiang:
South of Jiangsu, along the central China coast, the province of Zhejiang is fresh and refined, with a focus on seafood and raw ingredients that draws similarities with Japanese cuisine. Keenly influenced by the seasons, this cooking style includes virtuous fish soups, lashings of bamboo shoots, and sugary deserts.
- Light, sweet and sour Fujian:
On the South East coast, just to the north of Guangdong, Fujian favours light cooking techniques and sweet and sour flavourings. Red rice wine is a popular ingredient, used in trademark creations such as Three Cups Chicken and other “drunken” dishes. Soup is a must-have in any Fujian meal, and locals prefer red fermented rice over the standard white staple, thanks to its sweet flavour and medicinal properties.
Discover more than 100 Chinese recipes on asianinspirations.com.au.
bon appetit
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