Shandong Cuisine

As one of the four major traditional Chinese cuisines, Shandong cuisine can be divided into Jinan dishes, Jiaodong dishes, Kongfu (family of Kong, the descendant of Confucius) dishes and other regional styles, among which the Jinan dishes are the most exemplary, with over 50 cooking methods. It is fair to say Shandong cuisine enjoys the longest history and most diverse and sophisticated techniques among all regional varieties of Chinese cuisine.

It features pure and authentic seasonings, a salty flavor, freshness, tenderness and crispiness, paying attention to light and milky broths, with the former clear and fresh and the latter white and rich.

Shandong cuisine emphasizes quality ingredients, using salt to bring out an umami flavor and soup to reinforce it. As far as seasoning is concerned, the pure, salty and fresh taste is most valued, paying full respect for the original flavors of the ingredients. Most dishes use spring onion, ginger and garlic to highlight the flavors.

This school of cooking is particularly adept at bao (stir-frying with high temperatures) and ba (braising). Bao involves quick stir-frying in hot oil at high temperatures. Braising involves marinating the ingredients, applying batter and frying both sides until golden, then cooking over low heat so that the liquid is reduced to a creamy consistency.