Many self-proclaimed experts in Asian cuisine will insist that there are eight styles of cooking in modern China, based on the eight geographic regions. For Western diners, the differences may be too abstract to be clearly defined. Even the most experienced of American-born “foodies” have trouble separating the cuisine of China into four styles—Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western. So many ingredients and techniques are shared by every region that, to the average American, the styles of Chinese cooking can best be divided roughly into two: Northern, or Mandarin style and Southern, or Szechuan (Sichuan) style.
Even these two basic styles can be hard to pin down. When asked to comment on the differences between the two, Seattle Post-Intelligencer food editor Hsiao-Ching Chou, an expert writer on Chinese cuisine, said, “As there is no region of China called Mandarin, and Szechuan is a province, I could not possibly make a culinary comparison.” Luckily for us, there are a few well-known chefs who can help us define the basic differences between Mandarin cuisine (Northern) and Szechuan cuisine (Southern).