What’s the Difference Between The Types of Asian Cuisine and Cooking?

 

There aren't many places you will go in the world and find that there aren't Asian foods available in the restaurants. Undeniably, this continent has given the world so much when it comes to food and drink.

In some cases, you’ll even find sushi (Japan), nem rán (crunchy fried spring rolls from Vietnam), Peking Duck and bok choy (China), and something stir fried all on the same takeout menu.

Asian recipes tend to focus on bringing five main flavours together: savoury, sweet, bitter, sour, and spicy. This is why each ingredient and the way they're cooked can be hugely important.

You don't need to wait until the Chinese New Year to eat tasty Asian food. Throughout this article, we’re going to take a trip across the different Asian cuisines and hopefully you'll be inspired to find a recipe for your next meal.

Want to try your hand at cooking different types of cuisine? Find cookery courses in London here.

Chinese Cuisine

In a country as big as China, it’s hardly surprising to find out that there’s a huge amount of variety and the Chinese themselves don't cook just one type of food. We should really talk about Chinese cuisines rather than just Chinese cooking in general. If you like to eat Chinese chicken salad, get ready to have your mind blown as there's more than just one way to do anything in a Chinese kitchen.

There are several styles that make up Chinese food, from Sichuan (also known as Szechuan), Shandong and Jiangsu (in the East), and Guangdong (in southern China near Hong Kong and also known as Canton). These styles are different due to the climate, geography, history, and lifestyle of the places they’re from.

Chinese recipes generally include rice, noodles, and vegetables. We often find soy, tofu, and seasoning like garlic, ginger, shallot, white pepper, and sesame oil. Soy sauce and rice vinegar are also frequently used in Chinese food.

If you want to cook Chinese dishes, you should know about the different styles. Heading from north to south, let’s have a look at some of the different types of Chinese food:

• Shandong: This is often known as Lu Cuisine in China. This is where most of the vinegar is produced and you can tell by the food they make.
• Jiangsu: This food relies on seasonal produce. Products need to complement one another in terms of colour and shape and soup is often used to bring more flavour to dishes.
• Sichuan: This is one of the regions in China (in addition to Yunnan) that offers spicy food. The main ingredients used are: garlic, pepper, ginger, peanuts, and sesame.
• Guangdong: This is also known as Cantonese. Given its proximity to the sea, Cantonese cuisine uses a lot of fish and seafood. Cantonese rice with char siu pork is one of the region’s most popular dishes. Dim sum and chow mein (a noodle stir fry) are also from there.

Traditional Chinese medicine has helped create healthy and balanced meals, too. Across the 8 great regional cuisines of China, food is designed to bring together taste and appearance.

So whether for a meal in a Chinese restaurant or at somebody’s house, food is often seen as a way in China for people to socialise, unlike in the UK, where a drink is a more common way for people to hang out.

You should also check out some of the best Asian food blogs for inspiration on what to make next!

Thai Cuisine

Thai cuisine focuses on the balance and precision between a variety of ingredients. Thai cuisine focuses on lighter dishes with strong aromas and a lot of different spices.

They make use of five main flavours: sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and spicy.

According to a CNN Travel’s “World’s 50 Most Delicious Foods (Reader’ Pick)” survey of 35,000 different people, Thai food was the most popular. Thai food made up most of the most popular dishes including: tom yum, pad Thai, Som Tam, Massaman curry, nam tok.