General origins

China is a vast country. At 3,696,100 square miles (9,572,900 square kilometres) it is almost as large as Europe and, with 1.3 billion people, it is home to about 20 percent of the world's population. Historically it has tended to be insular, so apart from a few notable exceptions, Chinese cuisine has evolved at its own pace and on its own terms. Even with China's swift recent economic development, most of population is employed in agriculture. Yet this huge country has a shortage of arable fertile land, frequent periods of drought, a shortage of fuel and a poor transportation network, and these challenges have made a sizeable impact on the cuisine.

Main influences

Frugality is a cornerstone of everyday Chinese cooking. Quick cooking techniques, such as stir-frying and steaming, have the advantage of maximising taste and flavour - they are also essential to a nation with a shortage of fuel. Ovens tend not to feature in home kitchens and consequently roasting is the preserve of professional catering establishments.

This frugality naturally extends to ingredients. The Chinese not only eat many foods other nationalities shy away from, they also ensure that nothing is wasted - hence recipes for ingredients such as jellyfish, and chicken's and duck's feet have evolved over the years. On the other hand, where possible Chinese people will pay a premium for some highly prized ingredients that are considered particularly nutritious, high quality, or auspicious.

The Chinese tradition of preserving foods by drying and other curing techniques such as pickling has several advantages. It minimises waste, allows inexpensive (i.e. non-refrigerated) storage, and provides a source of food during times of shortage. In the case of ingredients such as mushrooms, scallops, abalone and shrimps, however, it also intensifies the flavour and creates an interesting texture that can lend a special dimension to a dish.

Where fresh ingredients are eaten, absolute freshness is considered essential. To this end it is normal for the Chinese to shop for food on a daily basis, if not several times a day.

A typical Chinese meal is based on one starchy dish and one or more accompanying dishes. This is true throughout China, although it differs from region to region as to what the starchy food is most likely to be. Rice and wheat generally considered superior to millet, maize and tubers, which are consumed more often in the poorer rural areas of North and Central China.

Meals are eaten communally, generally from round tables. For the main meal of the day a typical family may have rice and three or four other dishes. Each ingredient is prepared and cooked to make it possible to eat with chopsticks, and to suit the sauce or seasoning of the dish. Balance is important, and is achieved by using a mix of prime ingredients and cooking methods. Tea is traditionally drunk after the meal, rather than throughout it, which has become the norm in Western restaurants serving Chinese food.

Although China has many provinces with their own regional cuisines, it can be fairly neatly divided into four broad areas. Among the lesser-known styles are a Muslim cuisine from the Northeast that excludes pork products, and Buddhist vegetarian cuisine.