Rice is the staple food of the Chinese but it is a mistake to think that the Chinese eat nothing but rice. Rice is the centre, the focal point, but ringed with a dozen different dishes, each blending perfectly with it and with each other. According to Chinese food authority Kenneth H. C. Low, an average Chinese meal consists of one or two soups - vegetable soup and a chicken or beef-based soup-one or two meat dishes, an egg or fish dish, and one or two vegetable dishes, served in conjunction with the rice. In wealthier families, when up to a dozen separate dishes are served during each meal, rice merely acts as a ‘buffer’ to the rich and tasty dishes, which may be served course by course or all at the same time.
