CULINARY FIESTA - 2020
华夏 的 味道 HUAXIA WEIDAO

Cantonese or Yue cuisine originates from Guangdong Province (SE China around Hong Kong), It is the most popular and widely served Chinese cuisine in the world. One reason for its popularity is the immigration of Chinese people from the Guangdong Province. Yue cuisine in other countries is quite different from the original food. Yue cuisine mainly consists lightly cooked vegetables, meat and fish sauces.

Sichuan province is the birthplace of many dishes that are well-received globally. The Sichuan region in the Southwestern China is particularly known for its tongue numbing flavours. The most important ingredients are the Sichuan pepper which is not used extensively in other cuisines. Sichuan food has very deep, rich flavours accomplished mainly by the use of the famous Chinese Five Spice Powder.

Jiangsu cuisine mainly consists of different kinds of seafood, many marine plants & ingredients never seen in Western cuisines are used extensively. Their chefs emphasize the distinct natural flavours in the range of meat and plant ingredients in their dishes. The chefs do not use strong seasonings like chillies, and minimum amount of salt is used. The dishes are delight to ones nose due to their delectable aroma.
Jiangsu cuisine is one of the lesser known of the Eight Great Cuisines of China among foreigners. Jiangsu is a famous destination for gourmands and for this reason, the food is artistically pleasing and refined.

Zhejiang Cuisine originates from the populous and rich eastern province of Zhejiang on the Pacific. Hangzhou, its capital, was the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty, and the city was renowned for their wealth and sophistication. Due to the influence of royalty, the is sophisticated and dainty.
Zhejiang was known as the “land of milk and honey” signifying its wealth and the food from the Province is very refined, pleasing made mainly with the use of fresh, seasonal ingredients.
Zhejiang cuisine also has the use of many rare ingredients like sea cucumber. Many dishes are served raw or minimally cooked with an emphasis on how the food is served similar to Japanese dishes.

Fujian Cuisine originates from the south-eastern province of Fujian on the Pacific. The history of the cuisine dates back 5,000 years. Fujian is mainly known for its various seafood soups and the highly developed use of spices and herbs to produce a variety of flavours in the mouth. The food is also made to be pleasing to the eye with many bright colours present in the dish.
There are three regional styles: Fuzhou style that is a light fare and is often sweet and sour to the taste; Western Fujian style that features a slightly spicy flavouring from mustard and pepper; Southern Fujian style that usually tastes spicy and sweet.

Hunan cuisine uses the wide variety of agricultural products produced in the region. Several varieties of Chilli Peppers are used and Hunan is the epitome of hot food. Citrus fruits are one of the major crops, and it lends the yummy sour flavour to dishes such as the popular Hunan Orange Chicken. Hunan food is actually hotter than Sichuan food. Hunan food uses chilli peppers with vinegar producing a wide explosion of flavours in the mouth helping us in experiencing the variety of flavours produced by the agricultural products. Sichuan causes a tongue numbing sensation which can cause all food to taste the same.

Common saying: 四川人不怕辣，湖南人辣不怕，贵州人怕不辣！ (Sìchuānrén búpà là, Húnánrén là búpà, Guìzhōurén pà búlà!) It means: "Sichuan people don't fear hot food, Hunan people don't fear any degree of spiciness at all, and Guizhou people fear to eat food that isn't spicy."

Anhui food focuses on wild ingredients, the province has mountainous terrain with large forests and lakes. The food incorporates the bounties from these forests. Wild meat is very popular in stews and soups from animals like river shrimps, turtle, wild grouse etc. The herbs harvested from the mountain are featured extensively in their dishes.

Shandong was one of the first civilized regions in China and an early cultural centre, so its cooking tradition set the style for the regions around it, especially to the north in Beijing and north-eastern China. Shandong cuisine focuses on the precise control of heat which lock in the flavours without being too oily. Stir frying is the most common method of cooking dishes. The cuisine mainly focuses on different types of seafood and vegetables and the dishes have a mildly salty taste.