The Three, Five, Seven or Eight Cuisines of China

Depending on who you ask, there are three, four, five, seven, or eight major cuisines of China. Then if you want to get into the nitty-gritty, even eight doesn’t come close; there are over thirty provinces, each with their own distinct dishes and methods of cooking, and then within that, local cuisines within cities, or within the minority cultures of China. This is, after all, a huge country roughly the size of Europe with diverse landscapes and people that foster different ingredients. In the colder provinces of the North, wheat and grains feature heavily, with pork, lamb and river fish. In the South, rice plays a more central role, with vegetables like beansprouts, water chestnuts and wild mushrooms cropping up. Naturally, coastal areas rely heavily on seaweed and an array of creatures from the ocean - from sea snails to sea cucumbers to jellyfish and abalone, whereas inland cuisines use chicken or pork, sometimes rabbit and lamb.

To understand Chinese regional cooking, we also have to understand the fundamentals of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) which in turn relates to the climate. There is a harmony to TCM; often the very foods that one should eat naturally occur in the province or region. In hot and humid areas like Sichuan, TCM believes there is can be an imbalance in the body causing ‘dampness’. The solution is to eat foods that are heating in nature to restore this balance. Spicy food helps to remove the moisture, which is why Sichuan cuisine is known for its heat. In the North, where it is dry, TCM recommends whole grains such as wheat, millet and beans, along with cucumbers, lettuces, radishes and zucchini to add wetness to the body.

North, South, West

The most rudimentary culinary divide in China would be to split the country into three: North, South and West. Tea & Oranges focuses on Northern cuisine - provinces from Dongbei (Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning), Beijing, Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia and Gansu. These provinces are wheat-heavy, hearty cuisines that are largely unknown outside of China. The South (Guangxi, Guangdong, Fujian, Hubei, Henan) is more delicate, with rice (and rice noodles), broths and steamed food; whereas the West (Sichuan, Chongqing, Hunan, Yunnan) is full of mouth-numbing peppercorns and fiery red chilli oils.

During the Qing Dynasty, there were four celebrated cuisines of China, representing the four points of the compass: North (lu cai 鲁菜), East (huaiyang cai 淮扬菜), South (yue cai 粤菜) and West (chuan cai 川菜). In the 1980s, the government expanded this to include eight, which is how most people now breakdown China’s food scene.

The Eight Cuisines

Shandong (lu cai 鲁菜)

Arguably the most important cuisine in China, albeit one that is not well-known at all outside of China. This style of cooking started in the coastal province of Shandong (the birthplace of Confucius and Qingdao beer), but later influenced many of the Northern provinces - Hebei, Shanxi, Tianjin, Liaoning and Beijing. Indeed, many of the techniques from lu cuisine made their way into the Imperial Cuisines of the Forbidden City in Beijing. Much of the dishes rely on thick sauces, braises and complex preparation.

Jiangsu (su cai 苏菜)

There are many sub-cuisines of su cai as the region encompasses a diverse range of places from Shanghai to Nanjing to Suzhou and Wuxi, all with their own proud styles and dishes. The most revered cuisine is huai yang, delicate and subtle cooking with intricate dishes that test the patience of most chefs. Food from Shanghai, Nanjing and the other cities often rely on sweet, sticky sauces that I struggle to eat more than once or twice in a week.

Guangdong (yue cai 粤菜)

When most Westerners think of Chinese food, it’s Guangdong cuisine. The original Chinatowns of the US and UK were mostly Cantonese, and thus, it was a version of yue cai we were exposed to. Dim Sum is Guangdong’s version of a fancy brunch, available in the glitzy cities of the province. Guangdong is known as a foodie haven within China, which is saying something. There are a number of food meccas such as Guangzhou, as well as Chaozhou, known for it’s Chaoshan cuisine. There is no spice used in Guangdong food, instead they pride themselves on the freshness on the ingredients, particularly, seafood and fish. Dishes are often steamed or poached and served with broths.

Sichuan (chuan cai 川菜)

Thanks to Fuchsia Dunlop, the champion of Chengdu and Sichuan food, chuan cai has become much more known in the West. Often mis-attributed as just fiery and explosively spicy, Sichuan food is a careful balance of ma (numbing spice from Sichuan peppercorns), la (spicy), tian (sweet) and suan (sour), but also sharp, fragrant, rich and everything in between. “China has the best cuisine” the saying goes, “but Sichuan has the best flavour.” Indeed, Chengdu city holds a special place in the hearts of the Chinese - a city that doesn’t take itself too seriously, except when it comes to food. A city in the heart of misty bamboo mountains where the humidity encourages a laid-back approach to life, with friendly locals, ‘spicy’ girls and a food scene like no other.

Anhui (hui cai 徽菜)

Anhui province is landlocked and surrounded by mountains. Traditionally a poor region with a rustic cuisine relying on vegetables, wild mushrooms, pork and tofu. The food is often braised  or steamed, and often simple and humble. River fish do sometimes find their way onto the table; in fact, say ‘anhui food’ to most Chinese and they’ll reply chòu guì yú (stinky fish), a famous dish from the area, which is, as you might have guessed, a bit of an acquired taste.

Fujian (min cai 閩菜)

You can’t talk about min cai without first talking about the famous Buddha Jumping Over the Wall (佛跳墙) dish - a soup that, according to the legend, smelled so good, a buddhist monk jumped over the wall of his monastery to taste it. It is an indulgent soup that takes days to make, and is hideously expensive, stuffed full of rare ingredients, including abalone, sea cucumber and scallops. The soup, like much of Fujian cuisine, is a bold dish. Many of the dishes are packed with boisterous flavours - shrimp paste, rice wine and fermented red yeast paste. This is food for opulent banquets, served to impress.

Hunan ( xiang cai 湘菜)

Hunan has some of the spiciest dishes I’ve ever tasted. Where Sichuan food is balanced, complex and keeps your tastebuds on your toes, Hunan food slaps you across the face with a Scotch Bonnet and grates chilli into your tongue. There are red hot chilli peppers everywhere, either fresh, pickled or salted, and if by some miracle there isn’t, you’ll be sure to find some hot green peppers instead. The food from Hubei, that borders Hunan, can be a test too. Innocent looks dishes like deep fried chicken, or lotus root chips have caught me off guard many a time. You have been warned.

Zhejiang (zhe cai 浙菜)

Centred around the foodie city of Hangzhou, zhe cai is lighter than other bordering provinces like Jiangsu. Zhe cai relies on vinegar, soy sauces and shaoxing wine, the latter made locally. The unique cooking technique of zhe cai is probably ‘drunken cooking’; no no, it does not require the chef to get plastered beforehand, rather it refers to poaching meat or seafood in Chinese wine until tender. The flavours are often delicate, with the vinegar, ginger or wine never overpowering the ingredients.