Regional cooking, tastes, banquets and the customs around a shared meal.
Chinese food is talked about by region and by taste. Each great regional tradition is a 菜系, and a dish is praised for being 地道 or 正宗, the real thing. Note that 清淡, light and plain, is a compliment, while 油腻 is a complaint. At a shared meal the person who invites usually pays: whoever says 我请客 has taken on the bill.
The words
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Verb (4)
敬酒to propose a toast (to someone)Verb4
晚饭的时候，他站起来给老师敬酒。At dinner he stood up and raised his glass to the teacher.
By custom the junior person toasts the senior one, holding their glass a little lower.
讲究to be particular about; refinedVerb4
他喝茶很讲究，水和杯子都要合适。He is very particular about tea — the water and the cup both have to be right.
品尝to taste; to sampleVerb4
在美食节上，你可以品尝到各地的小吃。At the food festival you can sample snacks from all over the country.
More formal than 尝; found on menus and in adverts.
聚餐to have a meal together (as a group)Verb4
毕业十年了，老同学们约好周末聚餐。Ten years after graduating, the old classmates arranged to have dinner together at the weekend.
Noun (29)
菜系regional cuisine; school of cookingNoun4
每个菜系都有自己的特点。Every regional cuisine has its own character.
家常菜home cooking; everyday dishesNoun4
离开家以后，我最想念妈妈做的家常菜。Since leaving home, what I miss most is my mother’s home cooking.
小吃snack; street foodNoun3
这条街有很多有名的小吃。This street has lots of famous street food.
Small dishes sold at stalls and in snack bars rather than a full meal.
口味taste (in food); flavourNoun4
我的口味比较重，喜欢咸一点儿的菜。I like strong flavours — I prefer my food a bit saltier.
口味重 is a liking for salty, strong food; 口味淡 the opposite.
素食vegetarian food; vegetarian dietNoun4
这家餐厅只提供素食。This restaurant serves only vegetarian food.
To be vegetarian is usually 吃素.
海鲜seafoodNoun3
住在海边的人几乎每天都吃海鲜。People who live by the sea eat seafood almost every day.
调料seasoning; condimentNoun4
做这个菜只需要盐和几种简单的调料。This dish needs only salt and a few simple seasonings.
Read 调 here, as in 空调, not diào.
特色distinctive feature; specialityNoun4
服务员给我们推荐了几道特色菜。The waiter recommended a few of the house specialities.
风味local flavour; distinctive tasteNoun4
这家饭馆做的是西北风味的菜。This restaurant cooks food in the north-western style.
美食good food; delicaciesNoun4
我每到一个新城市，一定要去找当地的美食。Whenever I arrive in a new city, I go looking for the local food.
宴会banquet; formal dinnerNoun4
公司为新年举办了一个大宴会。The company held a big banquet for the New Year.
自助餐buffetNoun4
酒店的早饭是自助餐，想吃多少拿多少。Breakfast at the hotel is a buffet — take as much as you want.
外卖takeaway; food deliveryNoun3
今天下雨，我不想出门，就点了外卖。It was raining today and I didn’t want to go out, so I ordered a takeaway.
零食snacks (between meals)Noun4
孩子吃太多零食，吃饭的时候就不饿了。If children eat too many snacks, they are not hungry at mealtimes.
Crisps and sweets eaten between meals; 小吃 is a dish you go out for.
夜宵late-night snackNoun4
加班到十一点，我们一起出去吃了夜宵。After working late until eleven, we all went out for a late-night snack.
火锅hot potNoun3
冬天和朋友一起吃火锅最舒服了。Nothing beats hot pot with friends in winter.
烤鸭roast duckNoun4
来北京的游客大多都想尝尝烤鸭。Most visitors to Beijing want to try roast duck.
A whole duck: 一只烤鸭.
主食staple food (rice, noodles, bread)Noun4
南方人的主食一般是米饭，北方人吃面比较多。In the south the staple is usually rice; in the north people eat more noodles.
素菜vegetable dishNoun4
我们点了两个肉菜和两个素菜。We ordered two meat dishes and two vegetable dishes.
The opposite is 荤菜, a dish with meat or fish.
凉菜cold dish; cold starterNoun4
中国人请客的时候，一般先上凉菜，再上热菜。When Chinese people host a meal, the cold dishes usually come first and the hot ones after.
胃口appetiteNoun4
天气太热，我一点儿胃口也没有。It’s so hot that I have no appetite at all.
白酒Chinese spirit (distilled from grain)Noun4
他不喝白酒，只喝一点儿啤酒。He doesn’t drink spirits, only a little beer.
Not white wine: a strong clear spirit. Wine is 葡萄酒.
食材ingredients (for cooking)Noun4
好菜要用新鲜的食材。A good dish needs fresh ingredients.
餐桌dining tableNoun4
在中国，很多生意是在餐桌上谈成的。In China, a lot of business is settled over the dinner table.
荤菜meat or fish dishNoun4
他最近在减肥，荤菜吃得很少。He’s on a diet at the moment and eats very few meat dishes.
点心pastries; light refreshments; dim sumNoun4
广东人喜欢早上去茶楼喝茶吃点心。Cantonese people like going to a teahouse in the morning for tea and dim sum.
口感texture (of food); mouthfeelNoun4
这种面包口感很软，孩子们都喜欢。This bread has a soft texture that children love.
How food feels in the mouth — chewy, crisp, smooth — which Chinese cooking cares about as much as taste.
饭局dinner engagement (often for business)Noun4
他这个星期有三个饭局，每天都很晚回家。He has three dinner engagements this week and gets home late every day.
面食food made from wheat flour (noodles, buns, dumplings)Noun4
我是北方人，从小就爱吃面食。I’m from the north and have loved noodles, buns and dumplings since I was little.
Adjective (6)
清淡light (not oily or heavily seasoned)Adjective4
医生让他这几天吃得清淡一点儿。The doctor told him to eat light food for the next few days.
油腻greasy; oilyAdjective4
这道菜太油腻了，我吃了两口就不想吃了。This dish is too greasy; after two mouthfuls I’d had enough.
鲜fresh; savoury, full of flavourAdjective4
这鱼汤真鲜，一定是今天早上买的鱼。This fish soup is so full of flavour — the fish must have been bought this morning.
Said of soup and seafood, it is the taste English calls savoury or umami.
麻numbing (the tingle of Sichuan pepper)Adjective4
四川菜又麻又辣，第一次吃的人常常受不了。Sichuan food is numbing and hot; people trying it for the first time often can’t take it.
地道authentic; genuineAdjective4
这家店的北京菜很地道。The Beijing food in this place is very authentic.
With a neutral second syllable; dìdào is an underground tunnel.
正宗authentic; the real thingAdjective4
听说这儿的兰州拉面是最正宗的。I’ve heard the Lanzhou noodles here are the most authentic.
Phrase (1)
吃不惯not to be used to (a food)Phrase4
刚来的时候，我吃不惯这么辣的菜。When I first arrived, I wasn’t used to food this spicy.
The positive is 吃得惯.
This list belongs to Food and drink — six lists and 240 words that can also be practised as a whole.
Practise this list
Multiple choice and gaps, drawn from exactly these 40 words. Whatever you get wrong comes back tomorrow.
