FOOD

**__Chinese Food and Drinks __** By Gretchen G and Kendall G     

Chinese Tea: The Beverage of China  Tea is  a beverage enjoyed all over the world. Tea is a drink made from the juices of leaves. It has b000 years! The first forms of tea, tea in the 1800's, and tea as it is today are all a part of China's history. Tea has been around for many years. When you think of tea you might think of Snapple but when China started making tea, two thousand years ago, it was much different. Farmers noticed the usefulness of this plant and decided to squeeze the leaves of the tea shrub to create a delicious liquid. Later in time, China was " the source of the world's tea until well after 1839" (Tea's History). China sold this resource all over the world to make money for the country. The income helped the lives of people in China. Tea is still produced in China but the way it appears in our lives has changed. We see the bottles and cans of iced tea in the vending machines but the original tea extract is the same. Tea has affected life in China. From early tea to tea in the 1800's to modern tea, it has all molded China into what it is today.

 __Chinese Food__ Chinese Food is eaten worldwide, including Asia, North America, Australia, Southern Africa, and Western Europe. There are eight types of cuisine, **Anhui, Cantonese, Fujian, Hunan, Jiangzu, Shangdong, Szechuan, and Zhejiang**. The most popular are the Cantonese, Hunan and Szechuan cuisines. One popular cuisine is the Cantonese cuisine.
 * Cantonese** is different from usual Chinese food because it is more spicy.[[image:260px-Upclosedriedscallop.jpg caption="dried scallops"]] One important dish is the conpoy or dried scallops.

It is dipped in a hot, spicy sauce that is different than most Chinese Food. Cantonese foods are more well known outside of China than in China itself. One more popular dish is **salted duck egg**.

It is made by soaking duck eggs in brine and charcoal.

Another popular cuisine is Hunan. Hunan dishes are known mostly for frying their foods. Hunan foods are also eaten a lot in the United States. Have you ever ordered Chinese food? What you order most likely originated in the Hunan Cuisine. One dish that would be found in almost all American Chinese food restaurants is **General Tso's Chicken**  **General Tso's Chicken** is a traditional Hunan dish, which is a combination of sweet & spicy, and it is very greasy. The most popular cuisine throughout the world is **Szechuan**.

**Like most Szechuan foods, It has a bold taste and includes garlic and different types peppers. The preparation involves frying it, then boiling it.
 * Szechuan** cuisine is similar to Hunan by the way it is prepared and its taste, but Szechuan is eaten more worldwide. Most Szechuan foods are sweet & spicy, and have lots of unique sauces. One traditional Szechuan dish is **twice cooked pork** or **Hoikoro

Chinese cuisine is appreciated worldwide not just in China <span style="color: rgb(255,0,0); font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> <span style="font-size: 130%; color: rgb(255,0,107); font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> <span style="font-size: 13pt; color: rgb(38,42,44); font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> "China's tea culture." __Index-China.com__. 19 Feb. 2009 <http://www.index-china- food.com/index-china-food/tea-culture.htm>. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Snapple. [Online image] Available [] <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">March 22, 2009<span style="color: rgb(38,42,44);"> Tea Shrub. [Online image] Available [] 1390002801_cb5b8a6d36.jpg?v=0<span style="color: rgb(38,42,44);"> <span style="font-size: 13pt; color: rgb(38,42,44); font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> "Tea." __China Info__. 19 Feb. 2009 <http://www.chinainfoonline.com/Drinksandsnacks/Tea1.htm>.

"Tea's History." __Tea Revives The World__. 19 Feb. 2009 <http://www.gshaly.com/resources/teashistory.htm>. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">