As China is a big and diverse country, Chinese cooking is also rich with variety. Because of its history and geography, there are a lot of different styles of cooking, but when you mention Chinese Food, most people in America think of rice and stir-fry. That's because it is the kind of Chinese food most Americans have experienced and are familiar with. The biggest reason for this is that most Chinese restaurant owners in this country are from southern China. They offer some or very little northern cooking.