1、Fujian CuisineThe Fujian Cuisine which is also known as Min Cui- sine ? Min is the short name for Fujian ? is one of the eight main cuisines in China. It was originated from and centered around Fujian with the Fuzhou Cuisine as the basis. During the development of Fujian in the past hundreds of year
2、s， the Fuzhou Cuisine integrated the features of the dishes of the eastern， western， northern， southern parts of Fujian， as well as the flavors of other parts of China and even overseas cuisines. Fujian is geographically close to the sea and interspersed with hills and plains. Therefore， the aquatic
3、 foods like fish， shrimps， crabs and clams. In addition， the hills provide the materials of mushrooms， bamboo shoots， soft-shelled turtle and so on. The plains host vast rice， fruits and vegetables. The cooks specializing in the Fujian Cuisine are good at turning marine food materials into delicious
4、 dishes. They are also good at simmering， boiling， sauting， stir-frying and frying the food. And the Fujian Cuisine features mild taste and tender fried dishes. To be a good cook of the Fujian Cuisine， one must know how to handle a knife. There are possibly no other cuisines in China that require hi
5、gher knife skills than the Fujian Cuisine. The phrases to describe the good knife skill in Fujian are “slicing the food materials into pieces as thin as the paper”，“cutting the food into strips as thin as the hair” and “carving out the decorations as graceful as the patterns of litchis”. The high re
6、quirements for the knife skill is to serve the best exertion of the flavors of the materials as the finely cut materials are more easily to keep their original flavor and nutrition while being cooked. It is worthwhile to mention that the Fujian Cuisines did not pay excessive attention to the knife s
7、kill， leading to the ignorance of the subsequent processes. Natural forms of the materials， as well as the flavor and contents， should be kept intact as much as possible. Another grand feature of the Fujian Cuisine is the importance attached to the soup， which could only be matched in the Guangdong
8、Cuisine. Locals in Fujian believe that the best way to keep the flavors and nutrients of materials is to turn them into the soup. The devotion to soup leads to the multiplicity in the categories. The soups of Fujian Cuisine can be as white as the milk， which taste sweet and cool. They can be as clea
9、n as water but still contain gorgeous and delicious smell. They can also be golden and aromatic like the tulip and even thick and dark as the melted chocolate. Different types bring about different flavors， adding more grace and taste into the Fujian Cuisine. The officially-confirmed start of the Fu
10、jian Cuisine was said to be in the Jin Dynasty and Northern and Southern Dynasties， when the war in the northern and central parts of China have driven a lot of scholars and technicians into Fujian. These people brought about the advanced technologies and culture of the central plain of China， which
11、 were blended with local customs and boosted the economic development there. The foods and eating habits of the central plain of China were also brought there and had impacted local peoples living style. In the late Tang Dynasty， Wang Shenzhi， a former general stationed in Henan， led a group of army
12、 into Fujian and founded the State of Min. This event further accelerated and boosted the formation of the Fujian Cuisine. For example， before the Tang Dynasty， the red sauce was used as a kind of seasoning in the central plains. Wang Shenzhi and his men brought the new sauce into Fujian， which soon
13、 became the main seasoning in the Fujian Cuisine to enrich the color of dishes. Another example was the red sake kasu with special flavor. It became a common seasoning after being introduced into Fujian because of its functions of improving the color and smell. Nowadays， the fish， meat and chickens
14、cooked with this red sake kasu have become the main dishes of Fujian Cuisine. At the end of Qing Dynasty， Fuzhou and Xiamen were forced to open to foreign trade as the treaty required. During the dark period of China， the Fujian Cuisine got unexpected development. Many rich people came to this provi
15、nce， especially to Fuzhou and Xiamen， for trades and they had high requirements for the dishes. Therefore， a lot of high-end restaurants were established， along with which a group of famous cooks from different sectors were invited. The combo brought more outside flavors and cooking method to the Fu
16、jian Cuisine， which was also enhanced by the overseas cuisines， especially the ones from Southeast Asia. By then， the features and types of Fujian Cuisine had been basically formed. The Fujian Cuisine could be divided into three sectors based on their geographic locations. The eastern part of Fujian
17、 hosts the Fuzhou Cuisine， which is the main sector of the entire Fujian Cuisine. It also poses high requirements for the skill of using the knife， the careful selection and combination of seasonings and the mild and tender taste of dishes. The western part of Fujian gives priority to the Hakka Cuis
18、ine， which boasts a lot of weird food materials that are exclusive in the hilly area. Yams and similar food materials are very common in this sector as they are processed into porridges， soups， stuffing and many other things. The northern part of Fujian is where the Nanping Cuisine takes the dominan
19、ce. The rainy climate and the dense forests provide good places for mushrooms as well as a variety of wild animals， which make up the main courses of Nanping Cuisine. On top of the three main sectors， Fujian Cuisine also consists of the Shaxian Snacks， which were quite common ? even more popular tha
20、n the three main sectors ? in China. The foods from this sector are known for being unbelievably cheap and tasty， giving them a high cost performance. There are about 260 kinds of snacks here， forming such a grand industrial chain that the governments of Shaxian and surrounding towns even want to make the Shaxian Snacks go public in China.
