Shandong cuisine, more commonly known in Chinese as Lu cuisine, is one the Eight Culinary Traditions of Chinese cuisine and is also ranked among the Four Great Traditions. It is derived from the native cooking styles of Shandong, an eastern coastal province of China.
| | This is the local flavor of Jinan City and Jiaodong peninsula derived from the use of shallots and garlic. Both restaurant chefs and those in families are expert in cooking seafood, soups, meat and offal. The recipes are those that once delighted the royal court and were served to the emperor. |
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Styles
Shandong cuisine consists of two major styles:
- Jiaodong style, encompassing dishes from Fushan, Qingdao and Yantai. It is characterised by seafood dishes with light tastes.
- Jinan style, comprising dishes from Jinan, Dezhou and Tai'an. One of its features is the use of soup in its dishes
| | Shandong cuisine is considered one of the most influential in Chinese cuisine, with majority of the culinary styles in China having developed from it. Modern schools of cuisine in northern China - Beijing, Tianjin and the northeastern regions - are all branches of Shandong cuisine. In addition, the typical dishes in most northern Chinese households meals are prepared in simplified Shandong methods. |
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Ingredients
Although modern transport has greatly increased the availability of ingredients throughout China, Shandong cuisine remains rooted in its ancient traditions. Most notable is the staggering array of seafood, including scallops, prawns, clams, sea cucumbers, and squid.
Corn
Beyond the use of seafood, Shandong is somewhat unique for its wide use of corn, a local cash crop that is not widely cultivated in northern China. Unlike the sweet corn of North America, Shandong corn is chewy and starchy, often with a grassy aroma. It is often served simply as steamed or boiled cobs, or removed from the cob and lightly fried.
Peanuts
Shandong is also well known for its peanut crops, which are fragrant and naturally sweet. It is common at meals in Shandong, both formal and casual, to see large platters of peanuts, either roasted in the shell, or shelled and stir-fried with salt. Peanuts are also served raw in a number of cold dishes that hail from the region.
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Foods
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| stir fried pig's kidney | nine-coiled large intestine | pull-out silk sweet potato |
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| deep fried golden cicada | Braised abalone | Sweet-and-sour carp |
Written by Nicolas Yang
