Sugar

Sugar is widely used in Chinese cooking, not just one variety or color but several. Sweet is one of the classic Five Flavors of Chinese cooking, and precisely because it is used in balance with the other four, and hence used in moderation, sugar has never been a problem to the health of the average Chinese. A regular diet of sweet desserts and sweet drinks is unknown in the traditional Chinese home. If a sweet and sour dish is served it is more likely to be tart than sweet, or at least such was the case in my northern and central Chinese homes, though a Cantonese taste for sweetness is far more pronounced.