Chinese food is a popular and refined ambassador of Chinese culture. Nowadays you can find various representations of Chinese food on every corner in the world. A common misconception is that most people regard Chinese Food as a heterogeneous cuisine style. Although there are common features in Chinese food, it is difficult to speak of one Chinese Cuisine.
Chinese cuisine consists of four distinct styles in regional cuisine: the Cantonese, the Sechuan, the Beijing and the Northern Chinese cuisine. All styles have specific qualities and famous representation. Dim Sum is a famous Cantonese lunch; Sechuan cuisine has the famous Kung Po Chicken and the Beijing cuisine has the tasty Peking duck. The Northern Chinese cuisine is famous for its Hot Pot.
As mentioned before, common features of the Chinese regional cuisines do exist. Three important underlying ideas of the comprehensive Chinese food culture are the yin-yang principles, the concepts of a balanced meal and the importance of food itself. Besides these common features, Chinese Table Customs are also distinctive features.
According to the yin-yang principle, food is relevant to one's health since food is regarded as a daily medicine. The bodily functions are classifiable into those that possess the yin quality and those who possess the yang quality. This distinction is also made with the food elements. Balance in yin and yang is eminently important to stay healthy.
The concept of a balanced meal is a logic outcome derived from the yin-yang principle. A proper Chinese meal always contains an equal amount of fan, rice, grains and starch foods, and ts'ai, vegetables and meat. The two are never mixed together, allowing each to retain its own unique characteristics. The balance between fan and ts'ai fits within the Chinese belief of the importance on balance and harmony in every aspect of life.
Perhaps the most important aspect of the Chinese food culture is the importance of food itself. Food can be prepared in a numerous methods of cooking such as baking, boiling, braising, deep-frying, double-boiling, poaching, sautéing, scalding, shallow- frying, simmering, smoking, steaming, stir-frying, barbecuing and blanching. Chinese people are also eager to adopt foreign foods (peanuts and chilli peppers, for example) to enrich their cuisine.
One thing is certain: A Chinese host will always offer food to their guests. A quote from the famous Chinese philosopher, Lao Tzu, is a good example to illustrate the food mindedness of the Chinese culture:
"Governing a great nation is like cooking a small fish- too much handling will spoil it"
(Lao Tzu, Chinese philosopher)
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