在西方人心目中，和中国联系最为密切的基本食物是大米。长期以来，大米在中国人的饮食中占据很重要的地位，以至于有谚语说“巧妇难为无米之炊”。中国南方大多数种植水稻，人们通常以大米为食；而华北大部分地区因为过于寒冷或过于干燥，无法种植水稻，那里的主要作物是小麦。在中国，有些人用面粉做面包，但大多数人用面粉做馒头和面条。
In the mind of Westerners, Chinese people have the closest connection to rice, basic food for the Chinese. For a long time, rice occupies a very important position in the Chinese diet. There is even a saying that "even a clever housewife cannot cook a meal without rice". People in south China plant and live on rice, while people in the most parts of North China cannot plant rice due to excessively dry and cold weather. The main crop there is wheat. In China, some people use flour to bake bread, while most people make steamed bread and noodles with flour.