China is a multi-ethnic(多民族的) nation larger than all Europe in size and population. There is tremendous(巨大的) variation in cuisine.
China's ethnic minorities make up less than 10 percent the population, but have some very interesting food.
Tibetans and Mongols were herdsmen(放牧者), often nomadic(游牧的), so they eat a lot of meat. Mongolian hotpot is very popular in Beijing, eapecially in the cold months.
Most of the poeple in Xinjiang are Muslim, and do not eat pork.Shashlik(kebab)(烤肉串) stands can be found on many street corners in Beijing. Bread, which they call nan, is like the bread in Afghanistan.
In the province of Yunnan, which is about the size of Germany, there is a range of food, from the Dai in the south, Whose cuisine is similar to Thai, to the Naxi, famous for their dried liver and fried milk.
The food of the Korean people from the Northeast is a altogether different. Hot spicy kimchee(泡菜), cold noodles, raw beef and barbecues(烤肉) are delicious and fun to eat.
With over 50 ethnic minorities, I cannot hope to go into each. The above are a few I like best.
As for the Han, who alone make up about 1/5 of the world's population, some say they have four major flavors--Lu, Chuan, Yue, Huaiyang, and eight major cuisines(八大菜系)-- and that is not including Dongbei cai or Hainan food! I shall need to write a separate piece about these! |
