Traditionally, a typical Chinese meal includes grains, a large portion of vegetables, soy products, and


a small portion of meat/poultry/seafood. Vegetables or dried ingredients are added to a meat dish to increase the volume. Dishes are served in common bowls or plates so diners can select what and how much they would like to eat. Therefore, no definite portion size is designated for each diner. A typical breakfast could be rice congee or soymilk, mantou (steamed buns), and one egg.


Dinner might be rice, suanrong youcai (stir fried bok choy with garlic), and tangcu paigu (sweet and


sour pork chops). As economic conditions improve, the portion size of animal products is increasing. However, in less developed areas, the portions of grains and vegetables are still large and the portions of animal protein are small. Sometimes tubers replace grains and more soy products are added to provide protein. At banquets, there is an extensive selection of animal product dishes, such as seafood and chicken, but only a small bowl of rice or noodles is served.


Throughout history, dairy was not commonly consumed in most parts of China except for areas where


cows and sheep were raised, such as the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, Xinjiang autonomous region, and the Xizang (Tibet) autonomous region. However, milk and yogurt consumption has been increasing during the last two decades, especially among children. Dairy is now available in most cities in China.


Alcohol is not usually consumed at daily family dinners but is consumed in large quantities at social


gatherings, such as business dinners and weddings. At such events, people drink alcohol as a competition. In many areas of China, refusal of alcohol at such events is considered disrespectful and bad manners. Chinese people are very open-minded when it comes to alcohol. For example, a grandfather may apply a drop of Chinese liquor to the mouth of his infant grandson at a family banquet. The alcohol consumption increased dramatically from 1952 to 2009. In 2012, the average yearly alcohol intake of adults of 18 years and above was 3 liters (2).


Chinese tea is the main beverage in China. There are four types of tea commonly found in China:


unfermented green tea (eg, Longjing tea), semifermented tea (eg, Oolong tea), fermented tea (black tea such as Pu Er tea), and flower-blended tea (eg, jasmine tea and chrysanthemum tea). They are usually served without milk and mostly without sugar. Loose tea leaves are brewed in different containers without a tea bag.


The menu reflects the family’s social and economic status, particularly what animal protein is served,


if any. Wealthy families eat more animal protein and more expensive animal protein (seafood, fish), while poor families eat more soy products and less expensive meat (pork) for protein. Also wealthy families eat fewer vegetables. However, more and more wealthy families (middle class and above) learned the benefits of vegetables and are willing to pay more on healthier and cleaner foods. Organic farms delivering vegetables to consumers’ doors in big cities like Shanghai and Beijing has become much more popular in recent years.


There are many different cooking methods used in Chinese cuisine. A few examples are steaming, stir


frying, roasting, deep frying, poaching, boiling, boiling on low-heat for a long amount of time, boiling with spices, and so on. It’s common for a dish to require more than one cooking method from start to finish. For example, huiguorou, a typical Sichuan meat dish, requires boiling at the beginning and stir frying to finish. Usually, dishes served at restaurants, festival dinners, and banquets involve more cooking methods per dish than daily cooking at home. It is important to note that the extensive steps of cooking may cause some nutrient loss (3).


Traditionally, dried, preserved, and salted foods were eaten during the winter months when fresh food


supplies were scarce. Recent advances in technology allow farmers to produce food year round, and improved transportation systems make foods from all over the world more widely accessible. These


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