粤菜 Cantonese cuisine

   Guangdong has long been a trading port and many imported foods and ingredients are used in Cantonese cuisine. Besides pork, beef and chicken, Cantonese cuisine incorporates almost all edible meats, including offal, chicken feet, duck's tongue, snakes, and snails. However, lamb and goat are rarely eaten, unlike in the cuisines of northern or western China. Many cooking methods are used, with steaming and stir frying being the most favoured due to their convenience and rapidity. Other techniques include shallow frying, double steaming, braising, and deep frying.

   For many traditional Cantonese cooks, the flavours of a finished dish should be well balanced and not greasy. Apart from that, spices should be used in modest amounts to avoid overwhelming the flavours of the primary ingredients, and these ingredients in turn should be at the peak of their freshness and quality. There is no widespread use of fresh herbsin Cantonese cooking, in contrast with their liberal use in other cuisines such as Sichuan, European, Thai orVietnamese. Garlic chives and coriander leaves are notable exceptions, although the latter are usually used as mere garnish in most dishes.

川菜 Szechuan cuisine

   Szechuan cuisine is a style of Chinese Cuisine originating from Sichuan province in southwestern China. It has bold flavours, particularly the pungency and spiciness resulting from liberal use of garlic and chili peppers, as well as the unique flavor of the Sichuan pepper. There are many local variations within Sichuan province and the Chongqing municipality, which was part of Sichuan until 1997. Four sub-styles include Chongqing, Chengdu, Zigong, and Buddhist vegetarian style.

点心 Dim Sum

    A traditional dim sum brunch includes various types of steamed buns such as cha siu baay, dumplings and rice noodle rolls(cheong fun), which contain a range of ingredients, including beef, chicken, pork, prawns and vegetarian options. Many dim sum restaurants also offer plates of steamed green vegetables, roasted meats, congee porridge and other soups. Dessert dim sum is also available and many places offer the customary egg tart.

    Dim sum can be cooked by steaming and frying, among other methods. The serving sizes are usually small and normally served as three or four pieces in one dish. It is customary to order family style, sharing dishes among all members of the dining party. Because of the small portions, people can try a wide variety of food.

烧卖 Siumai

  

  siumai is also referred to as "pork and mushroom dumpling." Its standard filling consisting primarily of ground pork, small whole or chopped shrimp, Chinese black mushroom, green onion (also called scallion) and ginger with seasonings of Chinese rice wine e.g. Shaoxing rice wine, soy sauce, sesame oil and chicken stock. Bamboo shoots,water chestnuts and pepper can also be added. The outer covering is made of a thin sheet of Iye water dough. The center is usually garnished with an orange dot, made of crab roe or diced carrot, although a green dot made with a pea may be used. The decorative presentations vary

小笼包 Chinese buns

  Chinese buns in general may be divided into two types, depending on the degree of leavening of the flour skin. Steamed buns made with raised flour are seen throughout China and are what is usually referred to as baozi. Steamed xiaolongbao made with partially raised flour are more commonly seen in the south. This means that their skin is tender, smoother, and somewhat translucent, rather than being white and fluffy.

  Xiaolongbao are traditionally filled with pork, one popular and common variant is pork with minced crab meat and roe. More modern innovations include other meats, seafood and vegetarian fillings, as well as other possibilities. The characteristic soup-filled kind are created by wrapping solid meat aspic inside the skin alongside the meat filling. Heat from steaming then melts the gelatin-gelled aspic into soup. In modern times, refrigeration has made the process of makingxiaolongbao during hot weather easier, since making gelled aspic is much more difficult at room temperature.

宫保鸡丁 Kung pao chicken

The other dish I am going to introduce this week is kung pao chicken.

Kung Pao chicken, (宫保鸡丁) is a spicy stir-fry dish made with chicken, peanuts, vegetables, and chill peppers. The classic dish in Szechuan cuisine originated in the Sichuan province of south-western China and includes Sichuan peppercorns. Although the dish is found throughout China, there are regional variations that are typically less spicy than the Sichuan serving. Kung Pao chicken is also a staple of westernized Chinese cuisine.

饺子 Dumpling

I forgot to post last week so I am going to introduce 2 dishes this week, the first one is dumpling.

The Jiaozi (饺子) is a common Chinese dumpling which generally consists of minced meat and finely chopped vegetables wrapped into a piece of dough skin. The skin can be either thin and elastic or thicker. Popular meat fillings include ground pork, ground beef, ground chicken, shrimp, and even fish. Popular mixtures include pork with Chinese cabbage, pork with garlic chives, pork and shrimp with vegetables, pork with spring onion, garlic chives with scrambled eggs. Filling mixtures vary depending on personal tastes and region. Jiaozi are usually boiled or steamed and continues to be a traditional dish eaten on Chinese New Year's Eve, the evening before Chinese New Year, and special family reunions. Extended family members may gather together to make dumplings, and it is also eaten for farewell to family members or friends.