The best chinese dishes don't have English names.
[Lecture]
(Mostly Translated from
http://www.food-a.com/caixi/01.htm - Being Multilingual ownz
)
There are 13 kinds of Chinese food in total:
Sichuan, Guangzhou, Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Hunan, Fujian, Anhui, Beijing, Shanghai, Muslim, Vegetarian, and Americanized
Sichuan is centered in the Sichuan province and the Autonomous City-State of Chongqing. It's features are the spicyness of the dishes. It uses a wide array of peppers, garlics, onions, and spicy bean paste as flavourings. The signature dish is Ma-puo Tofu, which is a very hot tofu dish.
Guangzhou is the southern dishes. Around Guangzhou, Hong Kong, and other coastal areas. The traits of these dishes are the plentiful use of seafood. Most of the sea food here are cooked very fresh and some are eaten almost raw. Also, this is where Dim Sum (little carts in restaurants) came from. Most American Chinese places serve a form of this. The signature dishes include Wen-Chang Chicken.
Shandong is north of Jiangsu and south of Beijing. Its food also consist of many sea food picks, but are cooked with more salty and sourness than Guangzhou food. The signature dish here is the red-roasted Oysters and the Steamed Bamboos.
Jiangsu is just to the west of Shanghai. The food here are made with mostly freshwater fishes, in contrast of Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Shandong dishes. There is a wide array of different styles in the Jiangsu dishes, but most are very pleasing to the eye as well as the taste buds. Two very different dishes are the Squirrel Fish (Fish sculptured as a squirrel, then flash-fried) and the Raw Drunken Prawns (Prawns soaked in rice-wine and eaten alive and raw). Also famous in this category are Pastries from Huang-Tian-Yu of Suzhou.
Zhejiang food has been slightly blended into Jiangsu food. Both use some similar materials, but Zhejiang dishes have more of a smooth, tender texture to them. A signature dish would be the Hobo (Jiaohua) chicken, which happens to be popular in Jiangsu also.
Hunan dishes sometimes are even spicier than Sichuan dishes. Its dishes uses very clean knifework and uses a variety of spicy and sour spices. Also this is one of the few Chinese dishes that actually use smoking as a technique. A signature dish would be the roasted dog.
Fujian food are quite varied as well. Encompassing both seafood, freshwater fishes, and mountain animals, these dishes are also quite common in America. Fujian food is famous for its cooking with oil, causing the food to sometimes actually jump in the pans. A signature dish is Fuo tiao qiang which is made with pork.
The Anhui dishes came from the middle of China. The cooking styles are quite different being that they use more of a slow-cooking style. The three key points to Anhui food are "heavy colors, heavy oils, heavy fires". The Anhui dishes are also known to be theraputic. A signature dish would be the Grape fish.
Beijing food has been heavily influenced by Manchu and Mongolian flavors, but with a very unique Chinese touch. It uses meats that other areas of China do not use, like lamb. It uses a lot of roasting and depends very heavily on a even, controlled fire. A signature dish would be the Peking Duck.
Shanghai food is a potpurri of many flavours from all over. It uses some materials that may be looked down upon by other dishes, but still manages to make great dishes out of them. A signature dish would be the roasted pig's feet.
Muslim dishes are from the Western frontiers of China. Instead of Pork and fishes, which are the main stables of Chinese food, they use lamb and beef. It prefers to use onions, carrots, peppers, and almond powder as flavouring, instead of soy sauce. The roasted lamb is the signature dish.
Vegetarian meals in China mostly originated from Buddhist temples. It contains very seasonal dishes and uses various methods of cooking with tofu and nuts as well. A signature dish would be the vegetarian chicken, which is thin tofu strands wound together into the shape of chicken.
Americanized is just that: Americanized. It's seen only in America and is tailored to American tastes. Most Chinese people consider it unrefined and unChinese in general. It uses a lot of flavouring, sauces, and are easily mass produced, but sacrificing most of the visual appear and taste texture in the process. The signature dish is the orange chicken or the sweet-and-sour pork.
Hope that was helpful
[/Lecture]
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