TASTES

Tastes:

One country, myriad ?avours

From the delicate ?avours of the ancient east coast to the central Asian grasslands’ cumin-tinged mutton; from the north’s heavy, salty sauces to the sweet, light taste of southern Guangdong – China’s cuisine refuses to be confined to just one restaurant, as DOMINIC FITZSIMMONS reports

Photo: An eclectic spread, Chinese cuisine is as varied as its territory is vast.

WITH DISHES FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY crammed together on a greatest hits menu, many Chinese restaurants in the West offer a distorted view of Chinese cuisine. Martin Aw Yong, executive chef at Grand Hyatt Beijing’s Made in China restaurant, offers an explanation: “Outside of China, it is hard to find skilled chefs who really know Chinese food. It is also difficult to find the proper ingredients, which means recipes start to get modified, short cuts are taken and before you know it the dish just doesn’t taste as it should.”

“Chinese food found abroad is primarily Cantonese or Sichuan in origin,” says Pamela Shookman, food and drink editor of Time Out Beijing, noting how over the centuries, diaspora from the seafaring regions of Fujian and Guangdong, as well as those from Sichuan, have carried the country’s cuisine to the world but left it with an incomplete impression of the full complexity offered on the mainland.

There are said to be eight classic Chinese cuisines, but this only tells half the story. China’s westward spread has introduced new central Asian flavours, while the opening up of once isolated regions in the country’s south-west has brought a whole new range of ethnic eats to those on the heavily populated eastern seaboard.

Noodles are a northern phenomenon as the region’s arid climate is better suited to growing the grain from which they are made, while rice flourishes in the humid south. Due to the availability of different ingredients in areas which were once all but cut off from one another, each region developed its own cuisine. Most have survived for centuries and now form a key part of regional identity within China. Many who live in other parts of the country hanker after hometown dishes and former leader Mao Zedong famously only ate fare from his native Hunan.

However, most Chinese are only too happy to try other delights in their nation’s tapestry of tastes. Just don’t go telling anyone in this very patriotic country that the food is better elsewhere.

GIVE ME THREE OF EACH
Indulge in a cross-section of China’s historic cuisines

BEIJING Once the traditional cuisine of the Imperial court, Beijing bites now reflect locals’ appetite for stodgy north-eastern fare: noodles, heavy sauces, dark soy and sesame pastes, scallions and lots of fermented tofu.

1. Lao Beijing Ma Doufu Fried tofu
2. Jie Mo Dun Cabbage with mustard leaves
3. Chao Hong Guo Fried hawthorn

FUJIAN This largely seafood-based cuisine gave birth to the sweet and sour combination. One of its most popular dishes is the slow-cooked “Buddha jumps over the wall” noodles – sea cucumber, abalone and Shaoxing wine – said to smell so good that even Buddha would vault over your wall for some.

1. Ban Zhi Gan Bei Scallops on an archers’ ring-shaped slice of turnip
2. Wu Cai Xia Song Multicoloured shrimps
3. Fo Tiao Qiang Buddha-jumps-over-the-wall noodles

SHANDONG A long coastline ensures that seafood plays a large part in local recipes; expect fish, noodles, onions and garlic.

1. Cong Shao Hai Shen Braised sea cucumber with scallion
2. You Men Da Xia Braised prawns
3. Rou Mo Xue Cai Sea cucumber with pickled cabbage

JIANG-ZHE Noted for their fresh light taste and use of bamboo shoots and seafood, dishes here are slightly sweet and less salty. Distillers’ grain is used instead of MSG to accentuate natural ?avours.

1. Hui Xiang Dou Lima bean
2. Qing Zheng Dai Yu Steamed fish
3. You Men Jian Sun Bamboo shoots in oil

GUANGDONG Known as Cantonese in the West, this cuisine has the same lofty reputation in China as French fare enjoys across the world. Usually steamed, seasonal ingredients here reveal lighter, fresher flavours in the summer and bolder, stronger notes in the winter.

1. Qing Zheng Dong Xing Ban Steamed grouper
2. Bo Luo Gu Lao Rou Stir-fried sweet and sour pork with pineapple
3. Guangdong Pian Pi Ya Dry, crisp duck skin

SICHUAN The pepper-heavy fare from Sichuan is extremely popular both within China and internationally. Numbing peppercorns and chilli peppers produce a fragrant, spicy, almost citrus ?avour.

1. Shui Zhu Yu Chilli peppers and fish
cooked in oil
2. Kou Shui Ji Mouth-watering steamed or poached chicken
3. Xiang Kou Wa Fragrant mouth frog

HUNAN The liberal use of chilli peppers, onions and garlic produce some of China’s strongest tasting dishes. Too bashful to order a spicy hotpot? Opt for the “lover’s hotpot”, split into spicy and mild halves.

1. Duo Jiao Yu Tou Steamed fish heads in chilli sauce
2. La Rou He Zheng Steamed cured meats
3. Mao Shi Hong Shao Rou Mao’s braised pork

HUBEI Form is everything in Hubei cuisine and particular emphasis is placed on how the ingredients are sliced and complement each other’s colour.

1. Qing Zheng Wu Chang Yu Wuchang steamed fish
2. Shao San He A “triple burn” of braised fishballs, pork meatballs and diced pork
3. Hong Shao Ye Ya Braised duck

HUAI-YANG What post-pub punters know as special fried rice is known as Yangzhou chao fan. Dishes here are traditionally prepared by stewing, braising and steaming over a low heat for an extended amount of time.

1. Mei Zha Mei Juan Pork and chicken liver roll
2. Hui Ji Yu She Tou Braised tongue
3. Bai Shao Si Bao Braised fourtreasures vegetables

XINJIANG The cuisine of this central Asian region bears no relation to the rest of China, and is eaten across the country in the same way that many in the West pop out for, well, a Chinese meal. The food is Halal and mainly mutton-based, served along with carrots, tomatoes, onions and peppers.

1. Yang Rou Chuar Lamb kebabs
2. Kaonan Flatbread
3. Lamian ulled noodles in tomato sauce