Chinese cuisine is one of the greatest methods of cooking. Many elements that have influenced its development. The Chinese people enjoy eating good food at all levels of society so cooking has developed into a very sophisticated art.

There are many kinds of Chinese food from North to South, East to West. Recipes of famous dishes Beijing duck, Shanghai noodles, Sichuan soup and Guangdong dumplings actually are not sofisticated.

Many Chinese dishes are cooked with less meat and more vegetables, so the foods contain lower calories and are less rich than Western style food. Vegetables stay bright and crisp by cooking them for a short time over high heat, either in their own juice or in a small amount of water. This method retains most of the vitamins and minerals.

Beijing Food
Beijing food is the most famous food of China, particularly known for Beijing Duck. Much of this fame comes from the fact that the Imperial cuisines were based out of there. Beijing Duck is a time consuming dish to prepare of oven roasted duck with a crispy brown skin. Thin slices of the skin are cut off and put onto a plate where it is wrapped with a fresh flour tortilla with plum sauce, cucumber, and green onion. The rest of the duck is used with additional dishes. The northern part of China has a cold climate unsuitable to grow rice, so wheat is the primary grain consumed. Northern Chinese eat more breads than those in the south, where rice predominates.

Cantonese Food
Cantonese food or Guangdong food is typically steamed, boiled or stir-fried. It is a very healthy food since it uses minimum of oil. The main ingredients of this type of Chinese food are seafood, pork, chicken and vegetables, but could include almost anything. You need white rice to accompany the meal to make it complete unless it is a special banquet. It is said, "the Cantonese eat every thing that flies except planes, every thing on the ground except cars, and every thing that is in water except boats." In Hong Kong, you will find all the cuisines of China pretty much, but Cantonese cooking predominates. In the morning you could have Dim Sum for breakfast and Beijing Duck for dinner.

Sichuan Food
What is typical of this southwestern province of China is the spicy taste of its food. Many Sichuan dishes are prepared using chili pepper oil, which gives a special taste to the food. The most famous Sichuan dish is the Gongbao (Kung Pao) chicken, fried with peanuts and chili pepper.

Some noodle knowledge
There are egg noodles, wheat noodles, and rice flour noodles. Wheat noodles are often found in Shanghai noodle dishes. These are round wheat noodles that are cooked then stir-fried in a savory sauce with chicken, pork and shrimp. Rice flour noodles are often found in Singapore-style noodle dishes and use rice vermicelli noodles cooked with curry powder, shrimp, barbecued pork and ham. Egg noodles are often found in Cantonese restaurants as noodle soup (like won ton mian), or stir-fried in a dish. There are two types of noodle dish. The first is lo mian which is a plate of cooked (boiled) noodles with some barbeque pork or duck and some vegetables on the side of the plate, and accompanied with a bowl of broth. The second is Chow mian in which the noodles are pan fried and then mixed with stir-fried vegetables, meat, and seafood.

Soup
Chinese soups have been part of Chinese meals for a long time. There are many different types of Chinese soups. Sweet corn and hot/sour soups are the most popular soups to westerners. Chinese make their soups with chicken, meat or vegetable stock. Chinese soups are very tasteful and can be light in both texture and flavor. Yet some of the soups are filling enough to be a meal by themselves.

Chinese Tea
Tea drinking is an integral part of Chinese life and the Chinese food experience. Tea is believed to be good for you. The Chinese were the first to discover the tea leaf and have been drinking tea ever since in many varieties.