The battered nuggets of protein in sweet and sticky sauces found in our Chinese takeaway boxes on a Friday night are a world away from authentic Chinese food. With a 3000-year culinary heritage behind it, there is a lot of diversity in Chinese cuisine just waiting to be explored.

Practical

Chinese cuisine has its own distinct identity and has evolved at its own pace. Ovens do not feature in the average home kitchen so speedy methods of cooking, such as steaming and stir-frying have been retained.

The majority of the population work in agriculture yet this 3,696,000 square mile country has a shortage of arable and fertile landscape. With the addition of frequent drought periods and a shortage of fuel, Chinese cuisine has evolved to be practical and go a long way without compromising texture, colour and flavour.

Preserving foods to make them last longer and save refrigerating. This method is popular with ingredients such as mushrooms, shrimps and scallops because it helps to intensify the flavour and texture of ingredients.

Street delights

Somewhere like Hong Kong is one of the most vibrant places for culinary delights. Contrasted with expensive gourmet restaurants aspiring to be or already on the newly introduced Michelin Guide, there and hundreds of street stalls which scream authenticity on a budget. Here you will find some authentic dishes which you’re unlikely to come across on your local takeaway’s leaflet menu.

Congee

This is a hearty porridge made with rice instead of oats eaten throughout the day. It is the ultimate comfort food and is accompanied with all sorts of ingredients which divert from the usual honey or blueberries you may be used to. They include of fresh crab or fish, eggs, giblets, ginseng, chicken or bean curd.

Wonton Soup

A good soup is made with flavoursome broth using ingredients such as pork bones, dried shrimp and flounder. Noodles are equally as delicious when they are freshly made. Noodles made with duck eggs rather than chicken also have a slightly different flavour. You will probably be familiar with Wonton dumplings, which are a type of dim sum and typically filled with pork, duck, shrimp, oysters, or onions and carrots. Ginger is sometimes added to cater for the Western palette.

Thousand-year-old eggs

You’re always going to come across a dish of Peking duck everywhere, especially in the capital Beijing, but how about a ‘Thousand-year-old egg’? They have been coated in red earth, garden lime, salt, wood, tea and ash and stored in an air tight vessel for 100 days (so you’re not eating a fossil don’t worry!). The egg white turns a brownish shade and the yolk, green. They are eaten with soy and ginger often as a compliment to intestines.

Vegetarian

There is an alternative if you’re not partial to unfamiliar body parts. Despite the tales you may hear of anything and everything being eaten in China, there is a strict vegetarian following amongst the Buddhist population of the 1.3 inhabitants of the country. An oriental vegetarian feast can be enjoyed healthily and may consist of radish pudding, golden mushroom dumplings and even a bean curd alternative to pig’s intestines, so there really is something for everyone when visiting China. The restaurants, small cafes and street vendors are simple a foodie’s dream.