Kung Pao chicken
Diced chicken stir-fried with peanuts, scallion and whole dried chillies in a sauce that is a little sweet, a little sour and hot. Named after Ding Baozhen, a Qing governor of Sichuan whose title was Gongbao.
Life in Mainland China
The eight cuisines: a Chinese conversation with pinyin
Eight great kitchens, each with its own taste.
The conversation
Speakers: Xiaoyu and Jiahao.
- Xiaoyu
大家都说中国有八大菜系，这事儿你没少听说吧？
Everyone says China has eight major regional cuisines. You've heard that a million times, right?
- Jiahao
我只知道三种：早茶、夜宵，还有只要加辣椒我就会抗议的菜。
I only know three: dim sum, late-night snacks, and anything with so much chili I have to protest.
- Xiaoyu
我决定假装没听见这话。先说那个公认历史最悠久的。
I'm pretending I didn't hear that. Let's start with the one widely agreed to be the oldest.
- Xiaoyu
哪一个常被称为最老牌的菜系，还是北京宫廷菜的底子？
Which one is often called the veteran cuisine and forms the foundation of Beijing imperial cuisine?
- 鲁菜 Shandong cuisine
- 川菜 Sichuan cuisine
- 粤菜 Cantonese cuisine
Answer
鲁菜 Shandong cuisine
- Jiahao
鲁菜！他们最讲究吊高汤了吧？一清汤一白奶汤。
Shandong cuisine! They're super big on making clear broths, right? A clear broth and a milky white broth.
- Xiaoyu
没错。再看我们川菜：百菜百味，麻辣酸甜香咸样样俱全。
Spot on. Now take our Sichuan cuisine: a hundred dishes with a hundred flavors, hitting every note of numbing, spicy, sour, sweet, aromatic, and salty.
- Jiahao
听着就像一碗麻辣江湖在打架。
Sounds like a whole spicy brawl in a bowl.
- Xiaoyu
粤菜可完全相反，讲究清淡、鲜美、微甜，食材本身的底色最重要。
Cantonese cuisine is the exact opposite. It's all about being light, fresh, and slightly sweet, letting the natural flavor of the ingredients shine.
- Jiahao
我最爱粤菜了。一条清蒸海鲜，火候刚好，搁点姜丝葱段就成。
Cantonese food is my absolute favorite. A steamed seafood dish, cooked for just the right amount of time, with a few slivers of ginger and scallion on top.
- Xiaoyu
这道菜就是试厨艺的门槛，什么也藏不住。
That's the ultimate test of a chef's skills. There's nowhere to hide.
- Jiahao
那苏菜呢？
What about Jiangsu cuisine?
- Xiaoyu
清鲜微甜，刀工极其叫绝。还记得那道松鼠桂鱼吗？
Light, fresh, and slightly sweet, with mind-blowing knife skills. Remember that squirrel-shaped mandarin fish?
- Jiahao
八大菜系都让你数遍了，结果你还是得往每盘菜里狂倒辣椒。
You've gone through all eight cuisines, and you still end up dumping a mountain of chilies over every single dish.
- Xiaoyu
这叫对美食最深沉的敬意。
That's just my way of showing food the deepest respect.
Words in the conversation
大家everyoneHSK 2听说to hear (that)HSK 2只要as long asHSK 2完全completelyHSK 2结果resultHSK 2决定to decideHSK 3称为to be calledHSK 3就是preciselyHSK 3美食delicious cuisineHSK 3历史historyHSK 4讲究particular aboutHSK 4没错that's rightHSK 4相反oppositeHSK 4海鲜fresh oceanic seafoodHSK 4极其extraordinarily and profoundlyHSK 4公认publicly acknowledgedHSK 5打架to fightHSK 5抗议to protestHSK 6本身itselfHSK 6刚好just rightHSK 6
Notes
- Shandong (Lu): Salty, fresh and clear, with plenty of scallion and garlic. Quick-frying over a fierce flame, clear and milky soups, and braising.
- Sichuan (Chuan): Bold: numbing, hot, sour, sweet and savoury, often in one dish. Dry-stir-frying, quick-frying, and slow braising in chilli bean paste.
- Cantonese (Yue): Mild, fresh and a little sweet; the ingredient is the point. Steaming, quick stir-frying and roasting.
- Jiangsu (Su): Light, fresh and slightly sweet, with precise knife work. Stewing, braising and slow simmering.
- Zhejiang (Zhe): Fresh, tender and mellow; lake fish, bamboo shoots and rice wine. Braising, stewing and quick-frying.
- Fujian (Min): Light, a little sweet and sour, and full of soups. Soups and broths, slow stewing, red fermented rice for colour.
- Hunan (Xiang): Hot and fresh: chilli without the numbing pepper, often sour from pickles. Smoking and curing, steaming, and stir-frying.
- Anhui (Hui): Hearty and earthy: mountain herbs, bamboo shoots and fungi. Braising and stewing over a slow fire.
Dishes in the conversation
Dim sum
Small dishes with tea, in baskets and plates: siu mai (open-topped pork dumplings with a dot of roe), har gow (translucent shrimp dumplings), char siu buns, rice noodle rolls and many more.
Squirrel-shaped mandarin fish
A mandarin fish boned and cut in a deep crosshatch, then fried so the flesh fans out like a squirrel's fur, and glazed with a bright sweet and sour sauce. The sauce is said to squeak as it is poured.