中国菜系介绍

中国四大菜系和饮食文化

中国悠久的历史、广袤的国土、与世界各国和海外文化的广泛接触，孕育了中餐烹饪的独特艺术。几千年具有鲜明地方特色的区域菜系不断推陈出新，受到越来越多的海外人士的青睐，成了我国对外文化交流的友好使者。既然中餐已经成为中国文化不可或缺的一部分，那么中国到底有多少种地方菜系呢？据有关人士统计，中国有鲁菜、川菜、粤菜和扬州菜等四大地方菜系。福建—台湾菜通常被列为第五种地方菜系。这里必须指出，这种区域划分并无严格的地理界线。例如，北京菜虽属鲁菜，却也融入了一些川菜的特色，同时受到蒙古菜的影响。又如，扬州菜系的范围，覆盖了人口居住密集的整个长江三角洲地区，汇集了无锡、苏州、上海和杭州等菜式。而全国各地的地方风味小吃以及少数民族风味餐，则数以千计，甚至难以数计。

由于地方菜系之间存在着频频交覆现象，以及相互借鉴的情况，人们因而认为，区分地方菜系最为简便的方法是按菜的知名度，而不只是按菜的烹调风格或口味进行辨别。中国四大菜系大致可按以下这些特点区分：

鲁菜通常较咸，汁色普遍较浅。鲁菜注重选料，精于刀功，善于炊技。作为我国北方菜系的代表，鲁菜烹饪技术广泛用于明清两代的宫廷菜。

川菜选料范围大，调味及炊技变化多样。据统计，川菜的品种在五千以上。川菜最大的特点是口味重，以麻辣著称。

最难归类的粤菜强调清炒浅煮，选料似乎不受限制。粤菜源于明清，在发展过程中不仅吸收借鉴了中国北方烹调和西餐烹调的精华，同时也保持了自己的传统特色。

扬州菜以江苏境内的扬州、南京、苏州等地的地方菜式为基础。扬州菜注重选料的原汁原味，在菜的装饰上讲究形态的艺术性和颜色的鲜艳性，扬州菜实际上揉合了南北菜系之精华。

也有人以八个字来归纳这四大菜系的口味特点，即“南淡北咸，东甜西辣”。

评价中餐烹调的优劣可根据中餐的三大要素，即“色、香、味”。“色”作为“色、香、味”三要素中的首要标准，充分体现在宴会菜肴的装盘、摆放和图案上。最能显示色彩的是首先上桌的那道煞费苦心而精心制作的冷盘。“香”不仅是指鼻子对事物的直接感受，它还包括所选材料的新鲜程度以及佐料的合理调配。“味”则体现了恰到好处的调味艺术，当然它也包括食物的质地，以及切菜的刀功。色香味这三大要素的高品质，只有通过选料、调料、适时烹调、把握火候、装盘上桌这些微妙步骤的细心协调，才能取得。

八人一桌的标准晚餐含四道冷盘、四道热炒，外加汤和米饭。外国宾客见之，常常惊叹不已，将其视为一次丰盛的晚宴。但在中国人眼里，以这种规格的晚餐招待宾客，只是一种起码的标准。准备10道分量适中的菜肴并不为过，及时献上16道菜，已不足为奇。在中国，一桌标准宴席包括四至八个事先制作好的冷盘，八道现做的热炒、两道观赏性大菜（如全鱼、乳猪、全鸡等），此外还有汤、米饭和点心。晚宴结束前还有一道水果。来华访问的海外宾客应记住，赴宴不可贪吃，每道菜“浅尝辄止”。从这个角度上来讲，中国宴席犹如西方国家的冷餐招待会。

但是，中国的普通家餐却完全不同于宴席。一个成年人平时在家就餐时，通常只吃两小碗米饭，或一大碗面条，或几只馒头，外加几个荤素炒菜，而非以菜为主，以米饭和面食为辅。对大多数中国人来说，从一餐饭中所摄取的热量有65%来自谷粮。

作为一种世代相袭的传统，中国人就餐时围桌而坐，人人手里都有一碗主食，炒菜放在桌子中央，大家一起食用。这一古老的风俗习惯反映了食物在中华文明史上的重要地位：占据餐桌中心位置的是炒菜而不是鲜花，晚餐的主要话题常常是食物。菜肴的各种色彩和材料搭配，给人以美的享受。共食一碗菜的习俗有助于家庭成员之间的团结和友谊。当然，在一些卫生意识比较强的地方，人们在共食放在餐桌中央的菜肴时，必须使用“公筷”或“公用”汤匙，以防疾病传染。

以上所介绍的情况对外国客人来说，虽不应是一种离奇的“天方夜谭”，却也说明中国人在饮食方面所持有的价值观与西方人有很大的不同。不过，中国人民与世界各族人民都有一个相同的基本观念，那就是亲朋好友相聚，美酒佳肴相敬，实在是人生之最大的快乐。

China’s long history, vast territory and extensive contact with other nations and cultures have given birth to the distinctive Chinese culinary art. With several thousand years of creative and accumulative efforts, the Chinese cuisine has become increasingly popular among more and more overseas gourmets, virtually functioning as an envoy of friendship in China’s cultural exchanges with foreign countries.

How many cuisines are there in China? According to research, China has four principal culinary regions including Shandong, Sichuan, Canton and Yangzhou, with Fujian-Taiwan most commonly listed as a fifth. It should be pointed out that these designations are not hard and fast geographical boundaries. Beijing food, for instance, falls within the realm of Shandong cooking, but includes some Sichuan dishes and Mongolian-influenced specialties, while the cuisine of the entire densely-populated Yangtze River Delta area, including Wuxi, Suzhou, Shanghai and Hangzhou dishes, falls under the category of Yangzhou cuisine. All over China, local delicacies and foods unique to various ethnic groups are in number of several thousands, or simply numerous.

The frequent overlapping and borrowing that take place among the regional cuisine leads one to the conclusion that they are most conveniently distinguished by their famous dishes, rather than y any prevailing style or taste. The four major cuisine traditions in China can be roughly distinguished by these generalities:

Shandong cuisine is generally salty, with a prevalence of light-colored sauces. The dishes feature choice of materials, adept technique in slicing and perfect cooking skills. Shandong cuisine is representative of northern China’s cooking and its technique has been widely absorbed by the imperial dishes of the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Sichuan cuisine features a wide range of materials, various seasonings and different cooking techniques. Statistics show that the number of Sichuan dishes has surpassed 5,000. With a rich varieties of delicacies, dominated by peppery and chili flavors and best known for being spicy-hot.

Cantonese cuisine, the hardest to categorize, emphasizes light cooking with seemingly limitless range of ingredients. Cantonese cuisine took shape in Ming and Qing dynasties. In the process of its development, it has borrowed the culinary essence of northern China and of the western-style food, while maintaining its traditional local flavor.

Yangzhou cuisine bases itself largely on the three local cooking styles of

Yangzhou, Nanjing, and Suzhou, all within Jiangsu Province. While emphasizing the original flavors of well-chosen materials, it features carefully selected ingredients. Also, the artistic shape and bright colors of the dishes add more and more ornamental value. Yangzhou cuisine is essentially a combination of the best elements of northern and southern cooking.

According to some others, the characteristics flavors of China’s four major cuisines can be summed up in the following expression: “The light southern cuisine, and the salty northern cuisine, the sweet eastern cuisine, and the spicy western cuisine.”

The three essential factors, or key elements, by which Chinese cooking is judged, are known as “color, aroma and taste”. The color of Chinese food, the first of these elements which is so evident in a Chinese banquet, includes the freshness of the raw materials used and the blending of the seasonings. “Taste”is the art of proper seasoning, though it also involves the texture of food and fine slicing techniques. These three essential elements, color, aroma and taste, are achieved by the careful coordination of a series of delicate activities: selecting ingredients, mixing flavors, timing the cooking, controlling the heat and finally, laying out the food on the plate for the table.

Visitors to China are often surprised when a typical dinner for a table of eight people consists of four courses of cold dishes, four courses of hot dishes, coupled with soup and steamed rice; they consider this a lavish spread. But in the Chinese mind, a dinner prepared as above for guests is the minimum requirement. Ten courses of dishes, not necessarily prepared in huge quantities, would not be considered excessive, and few people would blink at sixteen. A standard banquet will consist of four to eight prepared cold dishes, eight hot dishes served one at a time, two to four whole-size showpiece dishes, in addition to soups, steamed rice and pastres. The dinner finishes up with fruit. Overseas visitors should remember that it is often unnecessary to eat more that a single mouthful of a dish at a Chinese banquet. In this way, a Chinese banquet takes on the characteristics of a buffet reception in the west.