Food & Drink

A Chinese meal typically consists of two or more general components: a carbohydrate source or starch - typically rice, noodles, or mantou (steamed buns); and accompanying dishes of vegetables, meat, fish, or other items.

Rice is a critical part of much of Chinese cuisine. However, in many parts of China, particularly northern China, wheat-based products including noodles and steamed buns (mantou) predominate, in contrast to southern China where rice is dominant. Despite the importance of rice in Chinese cuisine, at extremely formal occasions, it is sometimes the case that no rice at all will be served; in such a case, rice would only be provided when no other dishes remained, or as a token dish at the end of the meal. Soup is usually served at the start of a meal and at the end of a meal in Southern China.

Chopsticks are the primary eating utensil in Chinese culture for solid foods, while soups and other liquids are enjoyed with a wide, flat-bottomed spoon (traditionally made of ceramic). It is reported that wooden chopsticks are losing their dominance due to recent logging shortfalls in China and East Asia; many Chinese eating establishments are considering a switch to a more environmentally sustainable eating utensil, such as plastic or bamboo chopsticks. More expensive materials used in the past included ivory and silver.

In most dishes in Chinese cuisine, food is prepared in bite-sized pieces (e.g. vegetable, meat, doufu), ready for direct picking up and eating. Fish are usually cooked and served whole, with diners directly pulling pieces from the fish with chopsticks to eat, unlike in some other cuisines where they are first filleted. This is because it is desired for fish to be served as fresh as possible. It is common in many restaurant settings for the server to use a pair of spoons to divide the fish into servings at the table.

In a Chinese meal, each individual diner is given his or her own bowl of rice while the accompanying dishes are served in communal plates (or bowls) that are shared by everyone sitting at the table. In the Chinese meal, each diner picks food out of the communal plates on a bite-by-bite basis with their chopsticks. This is in contrast to western meals where it is customary to dole out individual servings of the dishes at the beginning of the meal. Many non-Chinese are uncomfortable with allowing a person's individual utensils to touch the communal plates; for this hygienic reason, additional serving spoons or chopsticks may be made available. In areas with increased Western influence, such as Hong Kong, diners are provided individually with a heavy metal spoon for this purpose. The food selected is often eaten together with some rice either in one bite or in alternation.

A sweet dish is usually served at the end of a formal dinner, such as sliced fruits or a sweet soup which is served warm.

In traditional Chinese culture, cold beverages are believed to be harmful to digestion of hot food, so items like ice-cold water or soft drinks are traditionally not served at meal-time. Besides soup, if any other beverages are served, they would most likely be hot tea or hot water. Tea is believed to help in the digestion of greasy foods. Despite this tradition, nowadays beer and soft drinks are popular accompaniment with meals.

Regional Styles

Chinese cuisine consists of a range of diverse regional styles.

• Beijing is famous for Peking Duck.
• In the west, spicy, peppery food is a speciality.
• The east is noted for rich, sweet cooking, seafood, hot and sour soup, noodles and vegetables.
• Southern cuisine is probably the most exotic - the markets in Guangzhou are full of the various (sometimes endangered) animals used in cooking.
• In the north, Mongolian Hotpots are popular, eaten in a communal style with meats and vegetables being cooked, fondue style, in a pot of simmering soup.

Typical Dishes

• Jiaozi (steamed or boiled (shuijiao) dumplings)
• Guotie (fried dumplings)
• Xiao Long Bao (soup dumplings)
• Noodles
  • Fried noodles
  • Noodle soup
• Kung Pao chicken
• Hot pot
• Fried pancakes (including green onion pancakes)
• Zongzi (glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo leaves, usually with a savory or sweet filling)
• Peking Duck - the trademark dish of Beijing
• Baozi (filled steamed buns)
• Soy egg: hard boiled egg, cooked in soy sauce
• Tea egg: hard boiled egg soaked or stewed in tea
• Congee: rice porridge
• Pickled vegetables
• Soy milk in either sweet or 'salty' form
• Youtiao, 'Cow tongue pastry', or other fried Chinese doughfoods
• Shaobing: a flaky baked or pan-seared dough pastry
• Rice balls with savoury fillings or coatings
• Tofu with seasoning
• Mantou (steamed bun)
• Baozi (filled bun)
• Century egg: thousand-year old egg, or preserved egg
• Mooncake: special cake eaten at Mid-Autumn Festival