| Chinese food can be healthy, tasty and exciting to eat. | | | | Fujian is colourful with seafood being a speciality. Wine |
| The magnificent variety of dishes cooked with exotic | | | | and vinegar used for flavours. |
| spices, herbs and produce make it a real favourite for | | | | Hunan dishes are usually steamed or cured and have |
| a special occasion. | | | | a spicy and sour identity |
| Sadly though, most of us struggle with the menu and | | | | Jiangsu food is generally salty and sweet and their |
| tend to stick to the staple dishes such as chicken | | | | soups and sauces are renowned for their wonderful |
| chow mein, chop suey and special fried rice. This | | | | flavours |
| selection in itself represents a delicious meal but | | | | Canton is very popular in the UK and was pioneered |
| Chinese restaurants in Derby have so much more to | | | | into Europe by the Hong Kong chefs. The ingredients |
| offer those who dare to try something different. | | | | used are too varied to list but the dishes are generally |
| To be able to order properly one must have a basic | | | | cooked quickly and are fresh and fragrant tasting. |
| understanding of the different culinary regions in China | | | | Zhejiang Cuisine comes in three types, Shaoxing, |
| and the types of flavours that are most popular within | | | | Ningbo and Hangzhou. Ningbo makes fantastic |
| in them. | | | | seafood that is slightly salty. Shaoxing favours poultry |
| In general Chinese food comes in two categories, | | | | and Hangzhou food is tasty and crisp. |
| Southern and Northern. The tastes that developed in | | | | Sichuan is famous for its spicy and fiery dishes and |
| each region were down to their respective climates. In | | | | makes an excellent accompaniment to a soup or a |
| the North it is cold so dishes that contain oil and garlic | | | | milder dish. |
| and vinegar flourished combined with a preference for | | | | Anhui is quite oily and uses wild game and herbs. |
| dumplings and noodles. In the South fresh grown | | | | Braising and stewing are popular techniques. |
| produce features more heavily and a tendency | | | | So, with this short guide to help you should be able to |
| towards rice is found. | | | | scan through a menu and get a pretty decent idea of |
| To break this down further we need to look at the | | | | what to order. The only concern is that the variety of |
| regional styles. Once you have an idea of the flavours | | | | styles on the menu depends on the restaurant but |
| each uses you will find selecting dishes and combining | | | | most good place will have few dishes from each |
| foods a pleasure. | | | | region. |