The Four Regions

Szechuan (West) Beijing/ Pekking (North) Shanghai (East) Cantonese (South)

 Harsh climate with extreme heat in the summer and extreme cold in the winter  Suffers from lack of rain therefore rice is not a leading crop  Wheat, millet, sorghum, peantus, corn, and soybeans are main crops  Noodles and steamed breads,buns, dumplings, and pancakes are served instead of rice

 Soy sauce, garlic, sesame oil, and green onions are used generously  Fire pot is a common cooking method. A tureen full of broth is heated and paper thin slices of meat are dipped in the bubbling broth then dipped in spicy sauces

 Restaurants are famous for Peking Duck  Duck is fattened for the table, roasted in a special oven, then served with pancakes and a special sauce  Duck can be an all-in- one meal in which the head, tongue, and feet are served as separate courses alongside the more familiar crispy skin and meat

 Includes plains, valleys, and deltas of the mighty Yangtzee River  Climate is hot and humid  Wheat is grown in the winter and rice is cultivated in the summer. Both noodles and rice are common  Spicy food is daily fare because it induces perspiration which has a cooling effect  Common seasonings include hot peppers, garlic, ginger, vinegar, sesame oil, and green onions

 A classic Szechuan dish is Hot and Sour Soup seasoned with vinegar and pepper  If you’re a novice at eating spicy foods, your first taste of Szechuan may be your last! Be careful don’t reach for the water!

 Temperate climate allowing both wheat and rice to be grown  Located near the mouth of the Yangtze River  Access to fresh fish and seafood  Western influences on Shanghai are obvious in the use of tomato sauce and creamed sauce  Soy sauce, sugar, and milk and milk products are popular in Shanghai dishes  Eastern cuisine is is rich, decorative, and sweet

 Shanghai is the least known cuisine outside China  Most popular cooking method is Red Cooking, which consists of a rich red-brown gravy resulting from stewing pork or beef in soy sauce  Lion’s head is a popular dish consisting of meatballs and cabbage arranged to resemble a lion’s head  Meatballs resemble the lion’s head and cabbage its mane

 Mountains, forests, and jungles cover much of southern China which also has a long coastline  Warm most of the year and mild winters  Growing season is year round  Rice is a staple crop, being eaten twice a day  Cantonese were the first to make contact with the western world and also the first to establish Chinese restaurants outide of China

 Cantonese food is not highly seasoned, instead they rely on a blending of different flavors  Cantonese love small appetizers and have created a teatime cuisine called Dim Sum, served in tea houses  Dim Sum are small dumplings stuffed with a mixture of delicacies such as pork, beef, and seafood then steamed, sauteed, or deep fried  Most familiar Cantonese dishes include egg rolls, egg foo yung, roast pork, and shark’s fin soup