Discover 8 Schools of Chinese Cuisine

Shandong cuisine

The finest Chinese cuisine is the Shandong school, with its local flavors from Jinan city and the Yaodong Peninsula. Located in the lower reaches of the Yellow River, Shandong is a fertile province and China's wheat granary, boasting a diverse and abundant supply of fruits and vegetables. All these factors have contributed to a unique and leading culinary tradition in China.

The distinctive feature of this region's cuisine is its strong, flavorful dishes, which are primarily fried, grilled, and steamed, with vibrant and eye-catching colors. In particular, dishes often use a lot of onions and garlic, especially seafood dishes. Braised snails and sweet and sour carp are two of Shandong's most famous dishes.

Jiangsu cuisine

Jiangsu cuisine, developed from recipes from Yangzhou, Suzhou, and Nanjing, is elaborately and beautifully presented, like a work of art. The distinctive features of Jiangsu cuisine include a focus on knife skills, refined dishes, and delicate flavors, with steamed, stewed, and braised dishes preserving the original essence of the food.

People in Jiangsu don't like using soy sauce in their dishes, but they prefer adding sugar and vinegar to create a sweet and sour flavor. Steamed meat and crab meat are the most famous dishes here.

Zhejiang cuisine

Zhejiang boasts a diverse array of culinary specialties, showcasing the sophistication and variety of Hangzhou, the softness and uniqueness of Ningbo, and the elegance of Shaoxing... but the most famous remain Hangzhou cuisine. Dishes here are typically not greasy or heavy, emphasizing freshness, tenderness, and lightness. The cooking process is highly valued, resulting not only in delicious flavors but also visually stunning, elaborate, and elegant presentation, offering diners a beautiful artistic experience.

Zhejiang cuisine is famous for dishes such as Longjing shrimp, West Lake carp, Dongpo braised pork, Hangzhou grilled chicken, Jinhua braised duck with salted pork, crispy rice with tomato sauce and shrimp...

Fujian cuisine

Fujian province's delicacies are renowned for their refined menus and elaborate preparation, with unique cooking methods rooted in the culinary traditions of Fuzhou, Quanzhou, and Xiamen, primarily Fuzhou cuisine.

Generally, the dishes here emphasize sweet and sour flavors, with little salt, and the main ingredients are fresh, nutritious seafood and mountain vegetables. The most famous dishes here are Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, Kim Phuc Tho (a type of traditional Vietnamese dish), and dried braised fish...

Cantonese cuisine

Cantonese cuisine is diverse in ingredients and prepared using 21 different cooking methods: stir-frying, deep-frying, grilling, roasting, stewing, steaming, braising, and steaming in a bowl, among others. These methods utilize traditional techniques and sophisticated presentation styles involving skillful cutting and carving. Cantonese cuisine emphasizes clear, fresh, and delicate flavors. Some famous Cantonese dishes include: roast suckling pig, steamed chicken with salt, roast goose, boiled chicken, char siu pork, steamed shrimp, and chicken braised with snake.

Cantonese cuisine is formed from three cooking traditions: Guangzhou, Chaozhou, and Dongjiang, boasting a rich variety of ingredients and sophisticated, complex cooking methods. Among these, Guangzhou cuisine is particularly renowned for its fried, braised, and stewed dishes, characterized by their fragrant, crispy, and fresh flavors.

Hunan cuisine

With over 2,000 years of existence and development, Hunan cuisine is renowned for its dishes from the Xiangjiang River basin, the Dongting Lake area, and the mountainous regions of Hunan. The menus and grilling techniques of Hunan cuisine are exquisite and perfect.

Hunan cuisine is characterized by its rich, tangy, spicy, aromatic, and mild flavors. Dishes often utilize plenty of chili peppers, garlic, shallots, and sauces to enhance the taste. Hunan's most famous dishes include braised shark fin, stir-fried fresh cabbage with chestnuts, and immortal chicken.

Anhui cuisine

Anhui cuisine encompasses dishes from three main regions: the Yangtze River, the Yellow River, and southern Anhui, with southern Anhui cuisine playing a key role, featuring stewed and braised dishes with a savory flavor and pleasant herbal aromas.

The most famous dishes here are葫芦参 (Hulu Duck), Badongshan stinky tofu, egg tarts, Luzhou roast duck, and Wushan braised goose...

Sichuan cuisine

With its basin-shaped topography, year-round fog, and humid climate, Sichuan cuisine is known for its spiciness. Sichuan dishes encompass two schools: Chengdu and Chongqing, both emphasizing color and flavor, skillfully blending a variety of tastes including numbing, spicy, sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and aromatic.

Moreover, the dishes here offer a variety of flavors to suit individual tastes, seasons, and climates, with famous dishes such as braised shark fin, spicy stir-fried crab, and Mapo tofu...

Huong Thao