Shandong Province was the birthplace of Confucius, who, twenty-five centuries ago, presided over a rich mixture of philosophy and gastronomy. Shandong cooking belongs to the Northern cooking style and should be more correctly described as the cooking tradition in kitchen in the North China Plain. Within this realm of northern provinces, Beijing, Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi and other northern areas all have their own unique cooking styles. Wheat buns and pancakes, not rice, are the staff of life here. Shandong cuisine includes the menus of the emperors of the Yuan (1206-1368), Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1616-1911) dynasties, when the imperial capital was located in Beijing. Popular dishes are noted throughout China, such as Dezhou braised chicken, roast pork and fried pig stomach.

Located on China’s eastern seaboard, one would expect that Shandong cuisine include many seafood dishes, including shark’s fin, sea cucumbers (not a local product), and scallops. All of them are available in dried form. The coastal areas are also home to such dishes as swallow’s nests in consommé, fried oysters, steamed porgy, and conch in brown sauce.

This article by Yang Tianqing and Daniel Kister.