A growing index of schools offering courses in Chinese cooking, primarily in the United States, and also Canada and a few international locations includes cooking schools for both the recreational and professional cook. Taking an evening or weekend cooking class is a great way to sharpen your cooking skills while learning more about a different culture at the same time. Below are tips on choosing a cooking class that best meets your needs.



Check with your city's Parks and Recreation Department - many offer evening and weekend continuing education courses in the spring and fall. Local colleges or trade schools are also a good bet. Catering companies, cookbook stores and professional cooking schools frequently offer evening or weekend classes geared to the non-professional. For Chinese cuisine, don't forget to check out your local Chinese cultural center - many offer classes to help people learn more about Chinese culture.

There are various types of courses available like: evening, weekend, one day course or one offered over several weeks. All have their own advantages. A lengthier course gives you plenty of time to hone your skills and ask the instructor questions. On the other hand, a one day course can be ideal for anyone who just wants to pick up a few tips or whose schedule makes it difficult to commit to several sessions. It's also a great way to find out whether you really want to explore the topic more deeply.

If you are interested in regional cuisine and signature dishes you have to choose from the Four Schools of Chinese Cooking namely: The Northern, Eastern, Western, and Southern schools. The Northern School includes Beijing, the Northern provinces, and Inner Mongolia. Its cuisine is the most eclectic, incorporating the refined cooking of palace kitchens and Shandong province (where classic Chinese cuisine originated), as well as Mongolian and Muslim dishes. The Eastern School encompasses two centers, Shanghai and Fuzhou, along with the eastern provinces. Nicknamed Heaven on Earth and The Land of Fish and Rice, it's renowned for its vegetarian specialties and subtle, refined flavors.

The Western School, acclaimed for its spicy dishes, includes Sichuan, Hunan, and Yunnan provinces. Its sultry, subtropical climate may be one reason it is also known as The Land of Abundance. The Southern School includes Canton-praised by some as the haute-cuisine capital of China-and Hong Kong, known for combining Cantonese cooking with contemporary techniques and ingredients from the West. The Cantonese are considered some of China's most adventurous diners, relishing all sorts of exotica.

Most classic Chinese cuisine is inherently healthful because of its reliance on vegetables, vegetable oils, stir-frying, and fat-free ingredients. All such information about Chinese cooking and cuisine are spread with the help of some renowned Chinese Cooking Classes like: Chinese Cooking Class in Ottawa, Chinese Cooking Classes & Special Programs by Melissa Mei Hsu in Washington State, Harry's Chinese Cooking Classes have been famous in Sydney for more than 25 years.

The main aim of all these cooking classes is to make the devotee of Chinese cooking aware of a dish's origin-and the flavors, ingredients, and techniques that go with it which makes Chinese cuisine famous worldwide.