Notes：1）gastronomic烹饪的；2）designation名称；3）boundary界限；4）realm领域；4）specialty特产；5）delta三角洲；9）pre-vailing主要的
6.你对山东菜系知道多少？
How much do you know about Shandong cuisine?
Shandong Province was the birthplace of Confucius, who, twenty-five centuries ago, presided over a rich mixture of philosophy and gastronomy. Shandong cuisine belongs to the Northern cooking style and should be more correctly described as the cooking tradition in kitchen in the North China Plain. Within this realm of northern provinces, Beijing, Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi and other northern areas all have their own unique cooking styles. Wheat buns and pancakes, not rice, are the staff of life here. Shandong cuisine includes the menus of the emperors of the Yuan (1206—1368), Ming (1368—1644) and Qing (1616—1911) dynasties, when the imperial capital was located in Beijing. Popular dishes are noted throughout China, such as Dezhou braised chicken, roast pork and fried pig stomach.
Located on China’s eastern seaboard, one would expect that Shandong cuisine might include many seafood dishes, including shark’s fin, sea cucumbers (not a local product), and scallops. All of them are available in dried form. The coastal areas are also home to such dishes as Swallow’s Nests in Consomme, Fried Oysters, Steamed Porgy, and Conch in Brown Sauce.
Notes：1）birthplace出生地；2）preside管辖；3）gastronomy烹饪法；4）plain平原；5）bun小圆面包；6）pancakes薄煎饼；7）scallop扇贝；9）consomme清炖肉汤；10）oyster牡蛎；11）porgy鲷鱼类；12）conch海螺
7.你对粤菜系知道多少？
How much do you know about Cantonese cuisine?
The Guangdong style of cooking is probably the most familiar to the Western palate, for many Chinese restaurants established outside China are of this type. The name for this cuisine comes from the old name for the southern city now known as Guangzhou. Features of this style are the great variety of dishes and the beauty of their presentation. The abundant fresh vegetables in the area are cooked for the shortest time possible to maintain their natural crispness. The dishes have a slight tendency to be sweet, and spices are used with moderation. Cantonese cuisine draws on an extraordinary range of ingredients, including some dogs, cats, rats, ants, snakes and snails.
Cantonese cuisine covers the southeastern corner of the country. Within the Cantonese cuisine family, there is an enormous range of various local cuisine in Chaozhou, Shantou, Dongjiang, Daliang, as well as the cuisine of the Hakka people.
Some of the flavorings used in Cantonese cuisine are oyster sauce, shrimp paste, plum sauce, and fish extract. Some of the best-known dishes are Roast Suckling Pig, Battle Between the Dragon and the Tiger (a stew of snake and cat), Fried Milk, Salt-Baked Chicken, Dog Meat Casserole, along with roast duck, chicken, goose and pork.
Teahouses in Guangzhou and Hong Kong serve as places for breakfast. Customers drink tea accompanied by the consumption of light food. A variety of boiled, baked, fried and steamed delicacies are offered for customers’ convenience.
Notes：1）presentation呈现；2）crispness酥脆；3）tendency趋势；4）moderation适度；5）extraordinary特别的；6）snail蜗牛；7）enormous巨大的；8）suckling哺乳的；9）casserole砂锅；10）consumption吃，喝，饮用
8.你对扬州菜系知道多少？
How much do you know about Yangzhou cuisine?
Yangzhou is located in China’s agriculturally rich Changjiang River valley. The cuisine of Yangzhou is a true melting pot, and it would be more accurate to label this heritage as the Lower Changjiang Valley cuisine.
The Yangzhou cuisine has a great variety of dishes, borrowed widely from the surrounding delta, notably from the provincial kitchens of Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, where cities such as Suzhou, Hangzhou, Shanghai and Nanjing are located. The rich variety of vegetables available in the region ensure their widespread use in many of the dishes. Shanghai’s position on the coast ensures the area of a rich variety of seafood. Yangzhou cuisine usually takes slightly longer time to prepare so that vegetables and meats can absorb more of the sauces. Much of the food is fried, and there is greater use of sesame oil and vinegar. Spices like garlic, ginger, and small (but very hot) red peppers are used; the seasonings tend to be sweeter with more sugar and dark soy used in their preparation.
Yangzhou cuisine is famous for both exquisitely crafted snacks and main dishes. Famous dishes include Steamed Mandarin Fish in Vinegar Sauce, Lion’s Head meatballs, French-fried White Bait and Boiled Shreds of Pressed Tofu.
Notes：1）agriculturally农用地；2）melting pot大熔炉；3）label 把……称为；4）heritage传统；5）widespread普遍的；6）absorb吸收；7）ginger生姜；8）crafted精巧地制作的；9）bait食物
9.你对川菜系了解多少？
How much do you know about Sichuan cuisine?
In Sichuan Province, some dishes are highly spiced and peppery, so it is often said that numbing, hot spices are the main characteristics of Sichuan cuisine. Nonetheless, popular belief, Sichuan dishes have many other flavors. A popular saying says that,“China has food, and Sichuan has flavor (食在中国，味在四川).”The flavors of Sichuan cuisine can be rather complex. Chefs blend many spices together to create various flavors, including suanla wei (酸辣味， hot and sour sauce), yuxiang wei (鱼香味， tasty fish-flavored sauce), mala wei (麻辣味， numbingly spicy sauce) and yanxun wei (烟熏味， smoked f1avor sauce).
Sichuan cuisine carefully balances color, odor, flavor, shape and nutrition, so dishes not only look pleasant and appealing, but also are nutritious. There are several hundred indigenous dishes, besides some dishes that are intentionally toned down for tourists. So travelers at home and abroad have no difficulty in getting Sichuan food that suits their tastes at a banquet, dinner, lunch or as snacks. Famous dishes include Spicy Chicken Fried with Peanuts, Fish-flavored Sliced Pork, Mapo Tofu and Twice-cooked Pork.
Notes：1）spiced调过味的；2）peppery辛辣的；3）numbness麻木；4）chef主厨；5）blend使混合；6）numbing使麻木的；7）nutrition营养；8）appealing动人的；9）nutritious滋养的；10）tone down使柔和
10.什么是火锅？
What is Hotpot?