True Chinese food has a sense of balance, lightness as well as simplicity that any home cook can master easily.
Different types of courses
A Chinese meal is comprised of two parts- staple food which consists of rice, noodles or steamed buns, ts’ai, vegetables, and also dishes of meat. The primary utensils for eating are chopsticks and ceramic spoons. In every Chinese meal, each and every person has their own bowl of rice but the accompanying dishes is served on communal plates and then shared by all the people. Basically, all the dishes are usually eaten together with all the people with a mouthful of rice. In China, desserts are not the main course instead Chinese consider eating desserts as snacks in between the meals. If desserts are served in a meal then the Chinese will serve them during the course of the meal with no firm distinction made. If they want to serve the dessert at the end of the meal then it is normally fresh fruit.
Cold dishes
In traditional Chinese banquet, these are the first course. To make cold dishes, salt, sugar, chili powder, light soy sauce, sesame oil, and vinegar are used. These can increase people’s appetite.
Hot dishes
Usually, the main course is also known as a hot dish. These are basically cooked using some techniques like deep frying, quick frying, stir-frying, Liu, hui, etc.
Soup and congees
In spite of adding milk or any cream into the soup. The Chinese usually prefer to add refined starches from corn to thicken the soups. There are also some light soups that do not utilize starches.
Congee is a type of porridge or gruel. Meat, fish, and sometimes vegetables and flavorings are used in congee. These are a good option for breakfast. These are very easy to digest so these are good choices for ill people and young infants.
Staple food and Xiaochi
Southern China has rice as its staple food. Whereas in northern china which is a wheat farming area, the Chinese eat flour-based foods like mantou, noodles, and dumplings.
Xiaochi are consumed as snacks. You can get these in street stalls or small kinds of restaurants. Usually, you can get one kind of snack at one stall only. These are usually light food, self-contained, and are easily portable. Different places in china have different kinds of Xiaochi. These are very much loved among tourists and local people of china.