In China, the food stuffs are commonly classified as along tracks of fan, staple foods and cai, prepared dishes. The former refers to grains and other staple starch grains; the latter to supplementary vegetable or meat dishes. Fan is the more fundamental. Chinese have the habit of eating more of this food and less of non-staple dishes. Grains make up most of one’s caloric intake, and an adult may consume two of three bowls of rice of a large bowl of noodles. At the daily dining table, everyone has his or her own bowl of fan; but when there are a lot of cai dishes, some may prefer not to have any fan.

In the preparation of cai, the rule is to use multiple ingredients and several flavors. These dishes are usually placed at the center of the table to be shared by all. This is conducive to family togetherness and friendship. In restaurants, “public” chopsticks or spoons are used to take food from the dishes to prevent the spread of disease.

This article by Yang Tianqing and Daniel Kister.