Chinese Food and Eating Customes

Here are a few things you should be aware of when going to dine at a restaurant or home in China.

1. Most Chinese families gather three times a day for meals
2. A basic food in China is fan (rice). This is a food that is generally served at every meal.
3. In the west, people serve their own plates of food, whereas in China, the people put out plates of meat, vegetables, fan and a "common" bowl of soup where everyone can eat from.
4. It is not bad mannered to reach over ther table to fetch things from far away.
5. As a sign of respect, the Chinese wait for the eldest at the table to arrive and give them the " all good " before they all start.
6. People in China tend to over cook when they are hosting a dinner. They do this because they find it embarrassing when all the food is consumed or there is not enough.

Top Eight Traditional Foods of China ( not in order )

1. Sweet and sour pork - consist of rice, pork, vegetables and topped with sweet an sour source.
2. Cong Boa Chicken - diced chick, dried chilies and beans
3. Ma Po Tofu - ground beef, tofu, pepper powder and green onion
4. Wontons - filling of diced pork or shrimp, served in soup
5. Dumplings - filled with minced pork, ground beef, shrimp and vegetables
6. Chow mein - stir fry noodles, meat, celery and onion
7. Peking Roast Duck - served with a pancake, sweet bean sauce and mashed garlic
8. Spring Rolls - filled with vegetables, beef, crab, fish, chicken, cheese or duck

Here are a few tips and tricks on how to use your fork properly! You"ll never need a fork again!

The chinese would serve their food in a bowl, for rice, and a bowl for soup. They do not use knives and forks, instead they use chopsticks. Chopsticks should never lie horizontally on a bowl as is is disrespectful and reminds the Chinese of death if they are standing upright in the bowl. They would serve tea along side the meal. When pouring tea you must hold the lid if the pot then pour. They would tap twice on the table with two fingers to show when to stop pouring.

The Chinese believe that congee is good for their stomachs so they regularly include it in their diets.

People in the north use dumplings and rice as a staple diet instead of people in China who use rice and soup as a staple diet.