Eight Major Cuisines 八大菜系

川菜
Sichuan Cuisine
川菜是中国四大菜系之一，主要由重庆、成都及川北、川南的地方风味名特菜肴组成，烹制方法有煎、炒、爆、熘、锅贴等近40种3000余种。川菜的味型之多，居各大菜系之首。
One of the eight major cuisines in China, Sichuan cuisine consists of many famous and special dishes with local flavors in Chongqing, Chengdu, north Sichuan and south Sichuan. With more than 3,000 approaches in nearly 40 categories of cooking such as frying, stir-frying, quick-frying, sauté and steaming. Sichuan cuisine is top-ranked for its variety of flavors.
鲁菜
Shandong Cuisine
鲁菜，又叫山东菜。历史悠久，影响广泛。是中国饮食文化的重要组成部分，成为中国四大菜系之一，以其味鲜咸脆嫩，风味独特，制作精细享誉海内外。善于以葱香调味，如“烤鸭”、“烤乳猪”、“锅烧时子”、“炸脂盖”等。
With a long history and wide influence, Shandong cuisine is an important ingredient of China’s dietary culture. Shandong cuisine is salty, crispy and tender—and delicious! All the dishes are precisely made. The cuisine is famous for using shallots in flavoring its signature dishes such as roast duck, roast suckling pig, deep-fried pork hock and deep fried lamb with sesame sauce.
苏菜
Jiangsu Cuisine
江苏菜用料以水鲜为主，刀工精细，注重火候，擅长烛、烟、熄、糯；追求本味，清鲜本和，咸甜醇正。代表菜有“拆烩大鱼头”、 “清蒸鲥鱼”、 “野鸭菜饭”、 “银芽鸡丝”、 “鸡汤煮千丝”、 “清炖蟹粉狮子头”、 “双皮刀鱼"等。
Jiangsu cuisine is famous for its seafood and features fine cutting and slicing skills and cooking duration. Jiangsu chefs employ slow-cooking and smoking to great effect to produce a salty and sweet flavor. The representative dishes include braised fish head, steamed shad, widgeon dish, chicken shreds with bean sprouts, chicken soup, crab meat & minced pork balls in casserole and fried hairtail with ham etc.
浙菜
Zhejiang Cuisines
杭州菜制作精细，变化多，以爆、炒、烩、炸为主，宁波菜鲜咸合一，以蒸、烤、炖为见长，讲究鲜嫩软滑，注重保持原味;绍兴菜擅长烹制河鲜，入口香酥绵糯，汤鲜味浓，富有乡土气息。代表菜有“西湖醋鱼”、“龙井虾仁”、“奉化摇蜡”、“南湖蟹粉”等。
Precisely made, Hangzhou Cuisine boasts great variety, and favors quick-frying, frying, braising, and deep-frying; Ningbo Cuisine is salty and tasty, mainly cooked through steaming, roasting, and braising. The dishes are delicious, tender, soft and smooth; Shaoxing Cuisine is famous for river food. The dishes are tasty, crispy and soft and the soups are delicious and thick with rural flavors. The representative dishes are West Lake fish in vinegar gravy, Longjing prawn, Fenghua small clam and Nanhu crab meat.
粤菜
Guangdong Cuisine
粤菜，是我国四大菜系之一，粤菜即广东地方风味菜，主要由广州、潮州、东江三种风味组成，以广州风味为代表。著名菜肴有：烤乳猪、白灼虾、龙虎斗、太爷鸡、香芋扣肉、五彩炒蛇丝、菊花龙虎凤蛇羹等都是饶有地方风味的广州名菜。
Guangdong cuisine mainly consists of three sub-cuisines from Guangzhou, Chaozhou and Dongjiang. Its famous dishes include: roast suckling pig, boiled white prawns, “Dragon Tiger Phoenix,” family cooked chicken, stewed pork with taro, fried slices of snake with chrysanthemum and snake soup.
湘菜
Hunan Cuisine
湖南菜简称“湘菜”，以品种丰富，味感鲜明而富地方特色，名师辈出，自成一系而闻名于世。诸如“发丝百页”细如银发，“梳子百页”形似梳齿，“溜牛里脊”片同薄纸，更有创新菜“菊花鱿鱼”、“金鱼戏莲”，刀法奇异形态逼真，巧夺天工。
Hunan Cuisine boasts great variety with unique tastes and local characteristics. Many famous cooks have made the cuisine independent from others. Beef omasum is sliced hair-thin, sometimes cut into the shape of a comb, and sauteed beef tenderloin is sliced as thin as a piece of paper. There are some innovative dishes such as chrysanthemum squid and goldfish with lotus flowers, which feature wonderful cutting and slicing skills.
闽菜
Fujian Cuisine
闽菜是中国八大菜系之一，经历了中原汉族文化和当地古越族文化的混合、交流而逐渐形成。闽菜由福州、闽南和闽西三路不同风味的地方菜组合而成。其特点是清爽、鲜嫩、淡雅、偏于酸甜。如“茸汤广肚”、“肉米鱼唇”、“鸡丝燕窝”等菜肴，均具有浓厚的地方色彩。
One of the eight major Chinese cuisines, Fujian Cuisine was formed gradually through integration and exchanges between the Han culture of the central plains and ancient local Yue culture. Consisting of three distinct flavors of Fuzhou, Minnan and Minxi local dishes, Fujian Cuisine features light taste and tenderness, with sour and sweet tastes. Dishes such as ham in Rong soup, chopped meat with fish lips and chicken noodle soup feature thick local characteristics.
徽菜
Anhui Cuisine
皖南菜向以烹制山珍海味而著称，擅长炖、烧，讲究火功。芡大油重，朴素实惠。善于保持原汁原味，不少菜用木炭制成炭基长时间地用小火炖。代表菜有“红烧头尾”、“符离集烧鸡”、“奶汁肥王鱼”、“葡萄鱼”等。
Anhui Cuisine is famous for its delicacies from mountain and sea with cooking methods including braising and boiling, with stress on precise cooking duration. Starch and oil are heavily used. Many of the dishes are slow-roasted over charcoal. Representative dishes include stewed fish head and tail, Fuliji roasted chicken, fat fish in milk and grape fish.