Tom Butler

China is a vast country with huge geographic and cultural variation, which makes the countrys cuisine about as diverse as you can get. Foodies in China can spend years sampling the multitude of dishes on offer and still not scratch the surface. Included here are some of the more famous regional gastronomic styles from all corners of the Middle Kingdom.

Dongbei

Located in Chinas far northeast, near Siberia and Korea, Dongbei has long, harsh winters. Available ingredients are limited to what can be grown in a short season under a northern sky. It is this geographic imperative that will make Dongbei cuisine familiar to those of a North European cultural background. Heavy use is made of pork, raised indoors during the colder months. Pork knuckle in gravy and various kinds of sausage are almost identical to their German and Baltic counterparts. Di san xian is a dish of sauted potato and eggplant in a rich gravy, ideal winter comfort food for those diners who are tired of rice.

One of Dongbeis best known foods is dumplings. The name can be misleading to Westerners, who will find them to be more similar to ravioli. They are handmade in all good Dongbei restaurants and can contain a wide range of meat and vegetables. Eaten dipped in black vinegar or and chilli sauce, they make a good light lunch or form part of a larger feast. Salads of lettuce, tomato, rocket, shallot and coriander drenched in oil and vinegar are also a great choice for homesick westerners.

Sichuan

Sichuan cuisine is well known around the world for its focus on fiery chilly pepper, combined with a natural numbing agent from the prickly ash plant. Used together they make for a unique sensation, tingling, numbing and burning all at once. Other seasonings such as garlic, ginger, pink shallot and star anise make for a rich and varied assault on the taste buds.

Famous dishes include mapo tofu, beancurd in a rich spicy sauce. Kung pao chicken, a sour and spicy stir fry with peanuts, chilli and vegatables is well known in westernized Chinese cuisine. Bang bang chicken is tenderized with a heavy stick and served in thin slices in a rich, pungent and spicy sauce. One exception to the spicy rule is tea smoked duck. The meat is smoked over a fire of tea leaves and camphor twigs for a unique flavour, a true delicacy.

No mention of Sichuan cooking would be complete without hot pot. Its not just a meal, its an event. In the centre of the table a pot of stock simmers away, while the assembled company dunks in an endless range of meats, vegetables and pretty much anything else to cook. The food is fished out when ready for a truly communal eating experience. Soups range from blander chicken stocks to incomprehensibly fiery spice oils. Even seasoned spicehounds have been knocked back by the full strength versions. You have been warned.

Hunan

Another spicy one, Hunan cuisine also makes use of chilli, shallot and garlic and a wide range of fresh, preserved or smoked ingredients. Pickled vegetables are also used. It is often more spicy than Sichuan food, but the best way to gauge the difference is to try it.

Xinjiang

Located in the vast desert country of Chinas Northeast, Xinjiang cuisine is shaped by the Muslim background of its people and the environment. Xinjiangs people were originally herders of sheep and cattle on the plains, and lamb and beef are the cornerstone of their meals. Skewers of meat cooked over charcoal, with cumin and chilli, are perhaps the best known example. Wheat is more common than rice in the areas dry climate, so noodles and naan bread also feature. Famous dishes also include big plate chicken, a stew of chicken, potatoes and peppers in a spicy gravy. Xinjiang noodle shops are ubiquitous in Chinese cities, serving a range of quick served dishes including the famous noodles in lamb soup.

Wuxi is famous for sweet food, sauces are often flavoured with sugar, soy sauce and yellow wine. The Wuxi spare ribs are rightly one of the areas most famous dishes. Coated in a sticky sweet sauce, they may seem familiar to fans of Southern American cuisine. Another summer dish reminiscent of Dixie is longxia C known as crawfish or crawdaddies in America, they were originally imported to the Yangtze Delta from the Mississippi. They thrived so much in the rich delta ecosystem that they have become an integral part of local cuisine. They come in a variety of sauces, so its necessary to put on plastic gloves and an apron before getting down and dirty. In the Yangtze delta, water is everywhere, so the list of dishes made of aquatic life is endless. Carp and bass are eaten widely and there are dozens of shrimp recipes to try. What crawfish are to summer, mitten crabs are to winter. The coming of autumn is often marked by getting together with friends and a basket of these little freshwater crustaceans, before boiling them to death in Tsingtao beer and eating them. Good, messy fun.

Another local feature is hong shao C the so called red cooking style. Meat, usually pork but sometimes chicken, is braised in a combination of soy sauce, sugar and yellow wine C sweet and delicious.

International option

This has just been a brief overview of Chinese food, one of the fun parts of life in China is exploring the fantastic variety of cuisine, everyone will find something they like.

All of these cuisines are available in the restaurant street next to the Wuxi teachers apartment complex. However, familiar western options are available locally and downtown. Additionally, opposite the complex is Holiday Plaza, a haven for Wuxis many Japanese and Korean expats and a great place to try Korean barbecue C beef, pork or seafood, grill it yourself at your table, and dont forget the kimchi - spicy pickled vegetables. A favourite for large parties is Japanese buffet. About 150 RMB buys you unlimited draught Asahi beer and unlimited access to sushi and other dishes from a menu as long as Japan itself. Marking a special occasion eating Japanese food in China with a global group of friends is one of Wuxis special moments.

Man man chi!