Shandong Cuisine, also known as Lu Cuisine, is a typical representative of the dietary flavor system in North China. It is also one of the most historically influential and widely popular cuisines in China. As one of the Four Great Traditional Chinese Cuisines and the Eight Great Chinese Cuisines, it is the only spontaneously formed cuisine among the Eight Great Cuisines.
Shandong Cuisine originated in the States of Qi and Lu during the Spring and Autumn Period. The developed culture and economy of the two states boosted the advancement of cooking techniques. Confucius, the great thinker of Lu, advocated the culinary philosophy of “one does not mind how finely food is prepared; one does not mind how finely meat is minced”, which set the development direction of Shandong Cuisine.At the end of the Northern Wei Dynasty, Qi Min Yao Shu (Important Arts for the People’s Welfare) recorded in detail the cooking skills of people in Shandong.After the Tang and Song dynasties, Shandong Cuisine gradually became the representative of northern dishes.The Ming and Qing dynasties witnessed the prosperity of Shandong Cuisine. A large number of Shandong chefs entered the imperial palace, making it the mainstay of imperial cuisine and the dominant culinary style in North and Northeast China.In modern times, Shandong Cuisine has developed into both high‑end banquets for festivals, birthdays and celebrations, and popular home‑style dishes.
Shandong Cuisine mainly consists of four major schools: Jinan Cuisine, Jiaodong Cuisine, Confucius Family Cuisine, and Boshan Cuisine.It features high‑quality ingredients, a predominantly salty and fresh taste, emphasis on heat control, preservation of original flavors, expertise in making soup, skill in cooking seafood, a wide variety of dishes, and great attention to etiquette. Its most distinctive cooking techniques include quick‑stir‑fry, braising, ta‑stewing, and 扒 cooking (pa‑style braising).
Jinan Cuisine
Jinan flavor forms the core of Shandong Cuisine and exerts a profound influence within Shandong Province. Jinan dishes are most famous for soup‑based cuisine, as the saying goes: “Singing lies in the voice; cooking lies in the soup”.The methods for making clear soup and milky soup were recorded in Qi Min Yao Shu. Jinan Cuisine emphasizes techniques such as quick‑stir‑fry, stir‑fry, braise, deep‑fry, roast, and quick‑boil.It stresses practicality, with a strong, full‑bodied style, featuring clear fragrance and tenderness.Jinan Cuisine is further divided into the Lixia School, Ziwei School, and Tai’an Vegetarian School.
Jinan Lixia School
Soup dishes are particularly noted for being clean, fresh and refreshing. Poultry and meat dishes often use sweet wheat paste for seasoning, featuring rich sweet, salty and paste flavors in variations like jiangxiang, jiangzhi, congjiang and tangjiang.Representative dishes include Braised Duck Cubes in Sweet Paste and Braised Mandarin Fish in Soy Sauce.
Quick‑stir‑fry is a signature technique of Shandong Cuisine, practiced in both Jiaodong and Jinan but with differences. Jinan quick‑stir‑fry has a long history.Yuan Mu, a scholar of the Qing Dynasty, described: “Stir‑fry quickly in boiling oil, add seasonings and take out the wok; crispness is the best — this is the northern method.”Famous stir‑fry dishes include Double‑Crisp Quick‑Stir‑Fry, Quick‑Stir‑Fried Pork Tripe Tips, and Quick‑Stir‑Fried Chicken Dice.
Jinan’s Sweet and Sour Yellow River Carp is known as a famous dish of Qi and Lu.Braised Intestines in Nine Turns is a classic Jinan dish. According to legend, during the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty, a wealthy merchant surnamed Du opened the Jiuhualou Restaurant in Jinan. He was fond of the character “nine” and used it in everything.“Nine turns” is a Daoist term meaning repeated refining. The braised intestines made at Jiuhualou were exquisitely prepared, with skill comparable to Daoist alchemy, hence the name Braised Intestines in Nine Turns.
Tai’an Vegetarian School
Tai’an Vegetarian Cuisine refers to vegetarian and temple dishes represented by Tai’an. Many temples stand on Mount Tai, attracting numerous monks and Taoists.Mount Tai is famous for its “three beauties”: tofu, Chinese cabbage, and spring water. Coupled with abundant local fungi and vegetables, Tai’an’s vegetarian dishes are especially delicate.Influenced mainly by Jinan techniques, it excels in braising, deep‑frying, pan‑frying, quick‑stir‑frying and stir‑frying, featuring light colors and a fresh, smooth taste.
Representative dishes include Ta‑Stewed Tofu, Soft‑Braised Tofu, Deep‑Fried Tofu Balls, Deep‑Fried Mint, Braised Winter Bamboo Shoots and Mushrooms, and Three Beauties Tofu.When the patriotic general Feng Yuxiang lived in seclusion on Mount Tai, he often ate tofu, Chinese cabbage and spring water, and even wrote poems and painted in praise of them.
Jiaodong Cuisine
Archaeological findings at the Baishicun Site in Yantai, Jiaodong, prove that ancient Chinese ancestors settled and thrived on the coast as early as six to seven thousand years ago.Fishing has a long history in Jiaodong thanks to its favorable natural conditions.Jiaodong is rich in premium seafood such as sea cucumber, scallop, abalone, conch, large prawns and sea bream, which defines Jiaodong Cuisine’s focus on seafood ingredients.
In certain historical periods, the development of global navigation and the opening of Chinese coastal ports such as Yantai and Qingdao allowed Jiaodong cooking to absorb foreign techniques, contributing greatly to its formation and growth.Jiaodong flavor took shape roughly in the Ming and Qing dynasties and flourished in the late Qing Dynasty.With unique ingredients and skilled techniques, Jiaodong Cuisine is characterized by clean freshness, crispness and tenderness, preserving original soup and flavor. Major cooking methods include deep‑fry, quick‑stir‑fry, stir‑fry, steam, pan‑fry and pa‑style braise.
Jiaodong Cuisine pays attention to ingredient selection and fine knife work, with a refreshing, crisp and tender taste that retains the original flavor of food. It specializes in seafood, especially small seafood.
Since the late Qing Dynasty, Jiaodong Cuisine has developed into three branches:
Beijing‑Tianjin Jiaodong Cuisine, represented by styles in Beijing and Tianjin
Local Jiaodong Cuisine, represented by Fushan in Yantai
Improved Jiaodong Cuisine, represented by QingdaoFamous local Jiaodong dishes include Quick‑Stir‑Fried Fish Slices with Lees, Quick‑Stir‑Fried Shrimp Slices, Deep‑Fried Oysters, Steamed Sea Bream, Scallion Braised Sea Cucumber, Floating Oil Chicken Slices, Quick‑Stir‑Fried Cuttlefish, Braised Large Clams, Quick‑Stir‑Fried Conch Slices, and Hibiscus Scallops.
Confucius Family Cuisine
The Confucius Family Mansion (Kong Fu) is the oldest and largest hereditary family in Chinese history, spanning more than 2,000 years and over 100 generations, with repeated honors and titles from successive emperors.
In daily life, masters of the Confucius Family through the ages followed Confucius’ teaching of “one does not mind how finely food is prepared; one does not mind how finely meat is minced”, pursuing exquisite dining. Their daily life was luxurious, and they frequently hosted imperial visits and officials attending Confucius ceremonies, making their banquets frequent and refined.With continuous enrichment and development by top chefs over generations, Confucius Family Cuisine achieved superb cooking skills, creating abundant, distinctive local dishes and forming a unique “mansion cuisine” that holds an outstanding position in Shandong Cuisine and across China.
Confucius Family Cuisine uses a wide range of ingredients, from rare delicacies to fruits, vegetables and beans. Daily meals mostly use local and rural ingredients. Its countless dishes are the fruit of the diligence and wisdom of Confucius chefs over centuries, forming a precious cultural heritage and exerting a far‑reaching influence on the formation and development of Shandong Cuisine.
It emphasizes exquisite preparation, careful seasoning and precise heat control. The taste is mainly fresh and salty, with dishes cooked until tender and soft. It excels in steaming, roasting, pa‑style braising, braising, deep‑frying and stir‑frying.
Famous dishes include Imperial Supreme Pot, Imperial Brush Mushroom, Imperial Belt Shrimp, Carrying Son to Court, Hugging Carp, Immortal Duck, and Sprinkled Bean Stalks.
Boshan Cuisine
Boshan Cuisine is an important branch of Shandong Cuisine, originating in Boshan, Zibo. It is typified by the “Four‑Four Banquet” system.In 1919, Wang Guangyong and Luan Yuzhuo, founders of the Julecun Restaurant, integrated techniques from Beijing mansion cuisine and Jinan restaurant cuisine, improving the traditional three‑table banquet into a structure of four cold plates, four small dishes, and four grand dishes.
The cuisine took shape in the mid‑19th century, when Boshan enjoyed industrial and commercial prosperity, evolving under the influence of bird‑nest‑shark‑fin banquets and whole‑sheep banquets.The Four‑Four Banquet includes four dried fruits and four pastries as starters, following the tradition of serving salty dishes before mild ones, with seating arranged according to social hierarchy.Dishes vary by occasion with symbolic meanings — for example, eight‑treasure rice is served at weddings to symbolize “may you soon be blessed with a son”.
The Four‑Four Banquet is elaborate in both content and serving order. Before the main dishes, each course is paired with a matching drink:
Tea with four small plates or four dried fruits
Almond tea with four pastries (to fill the stomach before drinking)
Red wine with four fresh fruits (as a prelude to the banquet)Tables are then cleared and reset, with tableware replaced and white wine poured, marking the official start of the banquet.
The first main dish defines the banquet’s name — e.g., shark fin banquet if shark fin is served first, sea cucumber banquet if sea cucumber is first.Each main dish is followed by a supporting dish and then a hot dish. Precious dishes are served early, with lighter, less expensive dishes later, in line with dining customs.
Representative Dishes of Shandong Cuisine
Classic dishes include:Supreme Tofu, Sweet and Sour Carp, Braised Intestines in Nine Turns, Scallion Braised Sea Cucumber, Braised Prawns in Oil, Jinan Pork Cubes, Zaozhuang Spicy Chicken, and Steamed Sea Bream.