If there ever was a food culture, China is it: one is often greeted with “chi fan le ma?” (have you eaten yet?), and invitations to rice-wine and dine are extended at every opportunity, from family feasts to business banquets. Vegetarians and carnivores alike are blessed with an abundance of satiating, healthy and affordable fare.

For the uninitiated, it should be pointed out that the differences between “real” and Chinese-American food are as vast as the oceans that separate them. Panda Express and P.F. Chang's are NOT traditional Chinese food; the Chinese do not serve meals in white takeout cartons; there’s no such thing as fortune cookies here. Unless you’ve ever been to Mainland China, you have yet to know true Chinese cuisine.

The following list offer regional recipes from Sichuan to San Francisco, and authoritative writing and personal narratives on China’s food culture, a culture that veritably lives to eat.