川菜
川菜為什麼會成為食者最多的地方菜系？
從地域上說
川菜是中國西部四川這塊地方出現的菜。在秦末漢初就初具規模，唐宋時發展迅速，明清已富有名氣。川菜成了一種影響很大的風味菜系，如今已遍及世界許多國家、地區。川菜它是屬於中國的，也是屬於世界的。
從歷史上說
概括地說川菜發源於古代的巴國和蜀國，它是在巴蜀文化背景下形成的。到兩漢兩晉之時，就已呈現了初期的輪廓。隋唐五代，川菜有較大的發展。兩宋時，川菜已跨越了巴蜀疆界，進入北宋東京、南宋臨安兩都，為川外人所知。明末清初，川菜運用引進種植的辣椒調味，對繼承巴蜀早就形成的“尚滋味”、“好辛香”的調味傳統，進一步有所發展。晚清以後，逐步形成為一個地方風味極其濃郁的體系，與黃河流域的魯菜，嶺南地區的粵菜，長江下游的淮揚菜同列。
從基本特徵來說
川菜發展至今，得天獨厚的自然條件和豐富的物產資源，對川菜的的發展，是一個重要而有利的條件。川菜由成都菜、重慶菜、自貢菜和素食佛齋菜組成。具有用料廣博、味道多樣、菜餚適應面廣三個特徵，其中尤以味型多、變化巧妙而著稱。尤以麻辣、魚香、怪味等味型獨擅其長。“味在四川”，便是世人所公認的。
從烹飪方法來說
川菜擁有4000多個菜餚點心品種。這些菜點是由筵席菜、便餐菜、家常菜、三蒸九扣菜、風味小吃五個大類組成的。當今流行的川菜品種既有對歷代川菜品種的傳承，也有烹飪技術工作者的不斷開拓、創新。
眾多的川菜品種，是用多種烹飪方法製作出來的。川菜常用烹調技法近40種，長於小煎、小炒、乾煸、乾燒、家常燒等技法。小炒不過油，不換鍋；乾煸成菜味厚而不膩；乾燒用湯恰當，味醇而鮮。家常燒先用中火熱油翻炒豆瓣，入湯燒沸去渣，放料再用小火慢燒至成熟入味勾芡而成。川外人熟悉的麻婆豆腐就是用家常燒法烹飪的。
川菜的特產原料：
四川素有“天府之國”之稱，烹飪原料當然是多而廣的。56萬平方公里境內，物產富庶。牛、羊、豬、狗、雞、鴨、鵝、兔，可謂六畜興旺，筍、韭、芹、藕、菠、蕹（weng），堪稱四季常青，淡水魚有江團、岩鯉、雅魚、長江鱘。即便是一些乾雜品，如通江、萬源的銀耳，宜賓、樂山、涪陵、涼山等地出產的竹蓀，青川、廣元等地出產的黑木耳，宜賓、萬縣、涪陵、達川等地出產的香菇，四川多數地方都產的魔芋，均為佼佼者。就連石耳、地耳、綠菜、側耳根、馬齒莧這些生長在田邊地頭、深山河谷中的野菜之品，也成為做川菜的好材料。還有作為中藥冬蟲夏草、川貝母、川杜仲、天麻，亦被作為養生食療的烹飪原料。四川人飲食特別講究滋味，因此，很注意培養優良的種植調味品和生產、釀造高質量的調味品。自貢井鹽、內江白糖、閬中保寧醋、中壩醬油、郫縣豆瓣、清溪花椒、永川豆豉、涪陵榨菜、敘府芽菜、南充冬菜、新繁泡菜、忠州豆腐乳、溫江獨頭蒜、北碚萵姜、成都二金條海椒等等，都是品質優異者。與烹飪和筵宴有密切關係的川茶川酒，其優質品種亦為舉世公認。
著名的菜餚有：
回鍋肉：
紅綠相襯，鹹中帶甜，微辣醇鮮、味濃而香，是四川的傳統菜餚。 魚香肉絲：色紅肉嫩，魚香味突出。因模仿民間烹魚的調料和方法製作，故名魚香。
燈影牛肉：
色澤紅亮，麻辣乾香，回味甘美，味鮮適口，為佐酒佳肴。因其片薄透明，似民間“皮燈影”故稱。
宮寶雞丁：
鮮香細嫩、辣而不燥，略帶酸甜味。
麻婆豆腐：
為四川省的傳統風味菜餚。相傳在清朝同治末年，成都有個姓陳的婦女，她臉上生有麻子，但是她燒得一手好菜，其店經營的豆腐特別有味道，它麻辣味鮮、色澤紅亮，深受民眾喜愛，因而得名。特點是：形整而不爛，具有濃厚的麻辣味，牛肉酥香鮮美。在國內外享有盛名。
怪味雞塊：
肉質鮮嫩，鹹、甜、麻、辣、酸、香、各味俱全，互不壓味，有一種特殊的味道，故名“怪味”。
sichuan cuisine
of the eight major schools of china's culinary art, sichuan cuisine is perhaps the most popular. originating in sichuan province of westernchina, sichuan cuisine, known as chuan cai in chinese, enjoys an international reputation for beingspicy and flavorful. yet the highly distinctive pungency is not its only characteristic. in fact, sichuan cuisine boasts a variety of flavors and different methods of cooking, featuring the taste of hot, sweet, sour, salty, or tongue-numbing.
the origin of sichuan cuisine can be traced back to the qin and han dynasties (221bc-220ad), its recognition as a distinct regional system took place in the han dynasties (206bc-220ad). as a unique style of food, sichuan cuisine was famous more than 800 years ago during the southern song dynasty (1127-1279) when sichuan restaurants were opened in lin'an, now called hangzhou, the capital. the hot pepper was introduced into china from south america around the end of the 17th century. once it came to sichuan, it became a favored food flavoring. in the late qing dynasty around 19th century, sichuan cuisine became a unique local flavor, enjoying the same reputation with shandong, guangdong (canton) and huaiyang cuisines.
sichuan has high humidity and many rainy or overcast days. hot pepper helps reduce internal dampness, so it was used frequently in dishes, and hot dishes became the norm in sichuan cuisine. the region's warm, humid climate also necessitates sophisticated food-preservation techniques which include picking, salting, drying and smoking.
sichuan has been known as the land of plenty since ancient times. it produces abundant domestic animals, poultry, and freshwater fish and crayfish. sichuan cuisine is well known for cooking fish. the raw materials are delicacies from land and river, edible wild herbs, and the meat of domestic animals and birds. beef is more common in sichuan cuisine than it is in other chinese cuisines, perhaps due to the widespread use of oxen in the region. stir-fried beef is often cooked until chewy, while steamed beef is sometimes coated with rice flour to produce rich gravy.
sichuan dishes consist of chengdu, chongqing and vegetarian dishes. masterly used cooking techniques are sauteing, stir-frying without stewing, dry-braising, pao (soaking in water) and hui (frying then braising with corn flour sauce). sichuan cuisine is famous for its distinct and various flavors, the most outstanding ones are fish flavors, pepper powder boiled in oil, strange flavor and sticky-hot.
statistics show that the number of sichuan dishes has surpassed 5,000. dishes typical of sichuan are twice cooked pork, spicy diced chicken with peanuts, dry-fried shark fin, and fish-flavored pork shred. one of the popular dishes is pockmarked woman's bean curd (or mapo doufu in chinese) which was invented by a chengdu chef's pockmarked wife decades ago in the qing dynasty (1644-1911). the cubed bean curd is cooked over a low flame in a sauce which contains ground beef, chili, and pepper. when served, the bean curd is tender, spicy, and appetizing. although many sichuan dishes live up to their spicy reputation, often ignored are the large percentage of recipes that use little or no spice at all, including recipes such as "tea smoked duck".
粵菜
粵菜是中國著名菜系之一，其烹飪技藝精湛，獨特的風味飲譽四方。
廣東省內物產豐富，多奇珍異獸，食料與中原地區迥異。粵菜由廣州菜、潮州菜、東江菜組成，注重清鮮、爽滑、脆嫩的風味特點，講究清而不淡，鮮而不俗，脆嫩不生，油而不膩。
粵菜烹調技藝多樣善變，如煲、泡、烤、炙等；用料奇異廣博，如蚝油、沙茶、咖喱、魚露等，這為粵菜的獨特風味起了舉足輕重的作用。
廣州菜是集南海、番禺、順德、中山等地方風味的特色，兼京、蘇、揚、杭等外省菜及西菜之所長而融為一體、自成一家的烹飪菜式。廣州菜最突出的特點是用料廣泛，選料精細，技藝精良，善於變化。
味道濃郁的地方風味瓦煲類菜式，如瓦煲山瑞、瓦煲蔥油雞、瓦煲炔鯉魚、瓦煲大鱔（鰻魚）、什錦煲、煲仔飯系列等，還有如“杏元鳳爪燉水魚”之類的湯羹，以南杏、元肉，加上雞腳、水魚燉出來的湯汁，十分適合粵人崇尚冬春“滋補身體”的習俗。
夏秋時節，嶺南酷暑炎熱，時令的菜餚如“八寶鮮蓮冬瓜盅”、“百花釀鮮筍”、“蚝油鮮菇”、“白灼鮮魷”、“白灼海蝦”、“油泡鮮蝦仁”、“清蒸海鮮”、“白切雞”、“明爐乳豬”、“掛爐燒鴨”等廣州名菜，最體現南國的風味特色及廣東人喜愛清淡、爽口的食性。
近年來，廣州菜也追求“新派”。但幾千年所形成的選料廣博奇雜，菜餚講究鮮、爽、嫩、滑的南國風味對創新的變化影響頗深。“萬變不離其中”，傳統的美點薄皮鮮蝦餃、乾蒸燒賣、糯米雞、娥姐粉果、荔脯秋芋角、馬蹄糕、叉燒包、蟹黃包、奶油雞蛋卷以及名小吃腸粉、炒粿條、艇仔粉、及第粥、豬紅湯、倫教糕、蘿蔔糕、鹹水角、鳳爪、滷牛雜、薄脆、白糖沙翁、德昌鹹煎餅、大良崩砂等更是歷久不衰。這表明廣州菜系植根的土壤是十分深厚的。
著名的菜餚有：三蛇龍虎鳳大會 五蛇羹 鹽鋦雞 蚝油牛肉 烤乳豬 乾煎大蝦
chaozhou cuisine
chaozhou is the name of a coastal region around the shantou district of eastern guangdong province. one of the major schools in guangdong cuisine, chaozhou cuisine originated from chaoshan plain about one thousand years ago.
naturally, as a fishing area, seafood features prominently in chaozhou cuisine, which is often enhanced by piquant sauces, such as tangerine jam for steamed lobsters and broad-bean paste for fish. the mouthwatering prawns, oysters, crabs and eels, combined with home-made pickles, play a symphony of traditional cuisine and leave people with everlasting impression. such richly flavored dishes reflect the culinary influence of the chaozhou people's northeastern neighbors, the fujianese.
yet chaozhou cuisine has also been greatly influenced by its southwestern neighbors, the cantonese. many chaozhou classic dishes are light and tasty, with the abundant use of vegetables. the crisp delicacy of deep-fried leaf vegetables in chaozhou dishes adds a gleaming green, edible garnish to many dishes.
chaozhou cuisine stresses unique combinations of various soy sauces and flavorings: salty, sweet, sour, spicy, or astringent. fish sauce and oyster sauce are favorite seasonings. chaozhou dishes are usually cooked over a slow fire, stewed, deep fired, steamed, stir-fried or pickled. the dishes boast the skill of local chefs in vegetable carving. magnificent designs -- flowers, birds, dragons and phoenixes made from carrots and gingers -- adorn chaozhou banquets, especially the cold dishes. the tasty dishes are not only yummy but also presentable.
the region's chefs are also acknowledged masters in the preparation and cooking of two delicacies, namely, shark's fin and bird's nest. chaozhou cuisine is famous, too, for its shellfish dishes and wide variety of sweet dishes (with pumpkin and taro).
other famous dishes include salt-baked goose with vinegar juice, steamed shrimp with orange juice, black-bean chicken, vegetarian soup and crabs. a tea ceremony is held during the serving of dishes, not just for performance but also to aid digestion.
浙菜
浙菜有它自己獨特的烹調方法。除人們的地域性口味偏愛外，富饒的特產也是其中因素之一。
浙江東瀕大海，有千里長的海岸線，盛產海味，如著名的舟山漁場的黃魚、帶魚、石斑魚、錦繡龍蝦及蠣、蛤、蝦、蟹，還有淡菜、象山青蟹、溫州蝤蛑和近年發展的養殖蝦等。又是大米與蠶桑的主要產地，素有“魚米之鄉”的稱號。中部為浙江盆地，即金華大糧倉，聞名中外的金華火腿就是選用全國瘦肉型豬之一的“金華兩頭鳥”製成的。加上舉世聞名的杭州龍井茶葉、紹興老酒，都是烹飪中不可缺少的上乘原料。
浙菜的歷史，可上溯到吳越春秋。越王勾踐為復國，加緊軍備，並在今紹興市的稽山，辦起大型的養雞場，為前線準備作戰糧草用雞。故浙菜中最古的菜要首推紹興名菜“清湯越雞”。其次是杭州的“宋嫂魚羹”，這系典籍中所記載的“因而五嫂魚羹”，它距今至少有880年的歷史。浙菜的烹飪原料在距今四五千年前已相當豐富，東坡肉、鹹件兒、蜜汁火方、叫化童雞等傳統名菜均離不開這些烹飪原料。
浙菜由杭州菜、寧波菜、紹興菜組成。菜式小巧玲瓏，清俊逸秀，菜品鮮美滑嫩，脆軟清爽。運用香糟調味。常用烹調技法有30多種，注重煨、燜、燴、燉等。現在一些傳統菜加創新，紹菜仍占主位。寧波發揮了靠海鮮的優勢，溫州菜發展了許多以海鮮為原料的名菜。
杭州規模較大的有西湖樓外樓，開設於清道光年間，以西湖醋魚、龍井蝦仁聞名。有城內清和坊的王潤興，人稱“皇飯兒”。以魚頭豆腐，人稱木榔豆腐，件兒肉、醃督筍拿手。紹興有蘭香館，蓑衣蝦球、專門烹製頭肚醋魚等標準紹菜。浙東寧波有東福園，鹹菜大湯黃魚、冰糖甲魚等名菜是正宗的寧波地方傳統菜。浙菜以其濃郁的文化特色享譽海內外。
著名的菜餚有：西湖醋魚 生爆蟮片 東坡肉 龍井蝦仁 乾炸響鈴 叫化雞 清湯魚圓 乾菜燜肉
西湖醋魚是源於西湖漁家叔嫂除暴安良的民間故事，又名“叔嫂傳珍”。是杭州歷久不衰的傳統名菜。
此萊採用活魚，烹飪前先將魚餓養過，這樣魚肉變得結實，其體內雜物及泥土氣也排泄除掉，廚師火候掌握嚴格，菜餚燒成後，魚的形態仍保持鮮活，菜色澤紅亮，肉質鮮嫩，酸中藏甜，味美如吃蟹肉。
zhejiang cuisine
zhejiang cuisine, also called zhe cai for short, is one of the eight famous culinary schools in china. comprising the specialties of hangzhou, ningbo and shaoxing in zhejiang province regarded as land of fish and rice, zhejiang cuisine, not greasy, wins its reputation for freshness, tenderness, softness, and smoothness of its dishes with mellow fragrance. hangzhou cuisine is the most famous one among the three.
hangzhou cuisine is characterized by its elaborate preparation and varying techniques of cooking, such as sauteing, stewing, and stir- and deep-frying. hangzhou food tastes fresh and crisp, varying with the change of season. ningbo food is a bit salty but delicious. specializing in steamed, roasted and braised seafood, ningbo cuisine is particular in retaining the original freshness, tenderness and softness. shaoxing cuisine offers fresh aquatic food and poultry that has a special rural flavor, sweet in smell, soft and glutinous in taste, thick in gravy and strong in season.
each of the three sub-cuisine traditions is noted for its special flavor and taste, but they are all characterized by the careful selection of ingredients, emphasizing minute preparation, and unique, fresh and tender tastes.
zhejiang cuisine specializes in quick-frying, stir-frying, deep-frying, simmering and steaming, obtaining the natural flavor and taste. special care is taken in the cooking process to make the food fresh, crispy and tender. thanks to exquisite preparation, the dishes are not only delicious in taste and but also extremely elegant in appearance. zhejiang cuisine is best represented by hangzhou dishes, including hangzhou roast chicken (commonly known as beggar's chicken), dongpo pork, west lake fish in vinegar sauce, songsao shredded fishsoup, etc.
legend has it that beggar's chicken was invented by a hangzhou thief. the story goes that because the thief had no stove, he wrapped the stolen bird in clay and baked it in a hole in the ground; another version explains that he was a hungry thief who found a way to cook his bird and keep it and its aroma secret!
the famous restaurants in hangzhou are: louwailou restaurant, hangzhou restaurant, xizhongxi restaurant, etc. louwailou restaurant boasts a history of over 100 years and is noted for west lake fish in vinegar sauce, fried shrimps with longjing tea.