Those foreign learners who come to learn Chinese in China may have heard about the four major Chinese cuisines. Shandong cuisine is one of the four major cuisines in China with a very long history. Confucius is a Shandong people. His idea about the cuisine had a profound influence on Shandong cuisine. When foreigners study Chinese in China should know that Shandong cuisine is the most famous one in the rich and colorful food culture and all kinds of cuisines in China.
First of all, you should know something about Shandong province before you learn more about Shandong cuisine when you study Mandarin in China. Shandong is a birthplace of the ancient Chinese culture. With a temperate climate, it is located at the downstream of the Yellow River. The Jiaodong Peninsular lies between the Bohai River and Huanghai River.
In Shandong Province, there are a lot of mountains and rivers and lakes. The resource is rich, the transportation is convenient and the culture is well-developed. There are plenty of seafood, grain, fruits and vegetables. Those who learn Chinese in China should realize that it is the rich resource that provides perfect condition for the development of Shandong cuisine.
A piece of news comes from the foreign learners who study Chinese in China that Shandong province is famous for the various and high-quality vegetables and fruits. It enjoys the fame of one of the “three world vegetable gardens”. The cabbage in Jiaozhou, the green onion in Zhangqiu, the garlic in Cangshan and the ginger in Penglai are famous all around the world.
When foreign learners attend to Chinese school to study Mandarin in China, they may be told by the teachers that the fruit production in Shandong ranks the first in China. Only the production of apple takes a proportion of more than 40% in the whole apple production in China. The volume of production like pork, mutton and egg is also impressive.
As it located in the coastal areas, the seafood is also very rich. Some of the students who learn Chinese in China may know that the production of the aquatic products ranks the third in China. Another prominent one is the brewing industry with a very long history. All of these abundant food resources provide rich ingredient resources and enrich the development of the Shandong cuisine.
The Shandong cuisine has a long history which can dates back to the Spring and Autumn period. Confucius proposed to eat the nutritious food and not eat the food that goes bad. When it came to the Qin and Han dynasties, the economy in Shandong was in peak prosperity. Therefore, the Shandong cuisine began to take shape. Those learners who study Chinese in China should know that the Shandong cuisine became well-developed in the period of the Northern and Southern Dynasties.
In the periods of Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, the cooking styles and flavoring styles gradually became popular in the North China, Northeastern China and Beijing and Tianjin. During the period when foreign learners study Mandarin in China, they should know that it was even spread to the imperial palace and the Shandong cuisine became the imperial meals.
One more piece of important information that the students who learn Chinese in China should know is the branches of the Shandong cuisine. There are totally three branches, namely, Jinan branch, Jiaodong branch and Kongfu branch. All of them have their own characteristics and styles. besides, there are some various local delicacies are formed on the basis of the three branches.
The ingredients used in the Shandong cuisine are very wide. Most foreigners who study Chinese in China know that the Shandong cuisine attaches much importance to the soup. That is the reason that we can find various types of soups in the Shandong cuisine. Besides, the soup cooking skills are also special because the importance of soup in the Shandong cuisine.
Each cuisine has many representative dishes. There are also some famous dishes in Shandong cuisine with long history. One of the traditional dishes is named “jiu zhuan da chang(Braised Intestines in Brown Sauce)” which foreigners who study Mandarin in China may be familiar with. In the Kongfu branch of the Shandong cuisine, the dish named “shi li yin xing(Boiled Gingkgo)” is one of the earliest and most famous dishes.
What mentioned above are just some basic introduction on the Shandong cuisine. There is much to be learned if you want to know clearly about it. But one important thing you should do is to taste the famous dishes in Shandong cuisine.