The cuisine of China or Chinese cuisine is widely regarded as representing one of the richest and most diverse culinary heritages on Earth. It originates in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, and has been developed around the world, South east Asia, North America, and Western Europe.

A meal in Chinese culture is typically seen as consisting of two general components: (1) a carbohydrate source or starch typically rice, noodles, or mantou (steamed buns) and (2) and accompanying dishes of vegetables, fish, meat, or other items. (This cultural conceptualization is some ways in contrast to Western meals where meat or animal protein is often considered the main dish.)

As is well known throughout the world, rice is a critical part of much of Chinese cuisine. However, in many parts of China, particularly North China, wheat-based products including noodles and steamed buns predominate, in contrast to South China where rice is dominant. Despite the importance of rice in Chinese cuisine, at extremely formal occasions, it is sometimes the case that no rice at all will be served; in such a case, rice would only be provided when no other dishes remained. Soup is usually served at the end of a meal to clean the rice bowl and satiate one’s appitite. Due to western influences, serving soup in the beginning of a meal is also quite normal in modern times.

Chopsticks are the primary eating utensil in Chinese culture for solid foods, while soups and other liquids are eaten [1] with a wide, flat-bottomed spoon (traditionally ceramic). It is reported that wooden chopsticks are losing their dominance due to recent logging shortfalls in China and East Asia; many Chinese eating establishments are considering a switch to a more environmentally sustainable eating utensil, such as plastic chopsticks. On the other hand, disposable chopsticks made of wood/bamboo have all but replaced reusable ones in small resturants, an environmentally irresponsible practice that is occasionally targeted by the government’s timid environmental awareness campaigns. In most dishes in Chinese cuisine, foods are prepared in smaller pieces (e.g. vegetable, meat, tofu), ready for direct picking and eating. Traditionally, Chinese culture considered using knives and forks at the table “barbaric” due to fact that these implements are regarded as weapons. Fish are usually cooked and serve whole, with diners directly pulling pieces from the fish to eat, unlike in some other cuisines where they are first filetted.

Spoon and fork are most often used by Malaysian and Singaporean Chinese eating at home, and are provided in many restaurants especially “coffee houses” or kopi tiam. Some Chinese prefer to eat white rice with a spoon, even while eating other dishes with chopsticks. Many school cafeterias (canteens) in China provide only spoons for students eating, not chopsticks, for reusability and ease of washing. At meals in China, each diner is typically given a bowl of white rice, while the dishes are spread out on the table in front of all the diners. Individuals choose the dishes they wish to eat directly, with all people eating out of the same dishes with their chopsticks. This custom provides a certain degree of contrast with some other cultures, where individuals are given a serving on their plate; many non-Chinese are surprised by this eating style, in that individual chopsticks which each diner uses to eat food, are also used for selecting food from common dishes. However, spoons are also frequently used to select food, which is then placed directly in the individual’s rice; this technique is also used when selecting with chopsticks. The food selected is often eaten together with a mouthful of rice.

Vegetarianism is not uncommon or unusual in China, though, as is the case in the West, is still only practiced by a relatively small proportion of the population. Most Chinese vegetarians are Buddhists. Western vegetarians eating Chinese cuisine will note that a large number of vegetable dishes may actually contain meat, as meat chunks or bits have been traditionally used to flavor dishes in Chinese cuisine, to some degree in contrast to the prevalence of meat dishes in Western cuisine or Chinese cuisine in the West, whose main ingredient is meat.

Desserts as such are less typical in Chinese culture as in the West. Chinese meals do not typically end with a dessert or dessert course as is common in Western cuisine. Instead, sweet foods are often introduced during the course of the meal with no firm distinction made. For instead, the basi fruit dishes (sizziling sugar syrup coated fruits such as banana or apple) are eaten alongside other “savoury” dishes that would be considered “main course” items in the West. However, many sweet foods and dessert snacks do exist in Chinese cuisine. Many are fried, and several incorporate sweet bean paste (dousha). (Bean paste is also used in Japanese cuisine). The matuan is filled with dousha and fried; it is often eaten for breakfast. Some steamed bun items are filled with dousha; some of these are in the shape of peaches, an important Chinese cultural symbol. Another dessert is Babao Fan or “Eight Treasure Rice Pudding.”