The agricultural development of the Chinese food system travels as far back as the existence of Peking Man. However, it is not until the Chou and Han dynasties, did the Chinese food system flourish into cuisine. (Anderson 12) Evidence of soybeans, millet, corn, sorghum, rice, wheat and other meat dishes fron the Han dynasty indicates to us that the Chinese have been creating delicious dishes for a long while.
In general, the Chinese food system is of a scarce one. The art of preserving vegetables and meat are clearly seen in most if not all Chinese dishes. Fresh vegetables and meat are chopped in little pieces so that there is always a sharing culture within the dinner table. Toward the southern seaboard of China where it is warmer, seafood dishes are more frequently seen.(Anderson 54) There is hardly any dairy in most Chinese food, except for the Northern provinces where yak milk is popular, a Mongolian influence.
Inner Mongolia, Hopei, Honan, Shantung, Shansi and Shensi provinces tended to have more meat and wheat dishes than rice and seafood dishes. In view of the cold and less productive environment, Northern cuisine tends to have soup dishes with noodles, and more meat in the Mongolian areas. Eastern dishes contain much oil, and it is in the East that food is more abundant, where agriculture has a better face.
Southern and Western dishes are perhaps the most commonly introduced to the world, as it is toward lower area of China. Southern dishes tends to have much fresh seafood. Western dishes have a more spicy touch, as it is closer to Indochina where dishes are usually spicy.
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