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No one can understand the culture of a country
without first experiencing its food and drink.
Chinese culinary traditions have adapted freely and
changed fluidly with time. Over the course of 5000
years, these culinary traditions have been devised
and perfected and have withstood the test of time.
For example,
steaming, the basic
kitchen technique,
was used extensively long before the foundation of the first dynasty.
Through trade, foreign ingredients made their way to the kitchens of
the court mingling with the homegrown bounty to produce exceptional,
unusual and marvelous dishes. Under the last truly Chinese Imperial
Dynasty, (Ming 1368-1644 A.D.), the modern cuisine developed. Next,
came the Manchus, who brought with them well earned peace and
prosperity. They are said to have become more Chinese than the natives
and enjoyed a life of luxury and leisure. Since the Manchus became
decadent and feasted on three day imperial banquets, the food consumed
everyday by gourmets was developing into what is now considered
authentic Chinese cuisine. A combination of many centuries of love of
good food, a tradition of open hospitality and endless experimentation
with nature's bounty has gone into making the rich and vibrant feast
that is the colorful culinary heritage of China.
Throughout the years, the Chinese learned the
importance of creatively treating food with respect.
Also, they learned how to make anything edible taste
good (even the most meager offerings were worthy of
both careful seasoning and saucing). The chefs were
constantly challenged to create dishes with
harmonious exciting combinations of flavors,
textures and colors that centered on a love and
respect for food.
A well prepared Chinese dish is expected to appeal
to more senses than just 0the one of taste. Its
colors should be pleasing to the eye, the
ingredients should be of uniform size and it should
be fragrant. There should be contrasting tastes and
textures within the meal; if one dish is crisp, it
should be offset by another one that is smooth. A
bland dish is paired with a spiced one, thereby
always trying to create a balance. It is important
to have this balance of yin and yang.
To the Chinese, food is life but it is also health
and a symbol of other good things such as luck and
prosperity. They say that "heaven loves the man who
eats well" (so does the woman). The Chinese
developed their genius for cooking due to the
antiquity of their civilization and harsh living
conditions which forced them to pay close attention
to everything regarding food. Because of the
difficulties of life, Chinese cooking is superlative
as the cook was compelled to develop his art. The
result has been a triumphant blending of
inventiveness, flavor and economy. The eloquence of
this art has survived time, wars, famine and floods.
Due to antiquity, the Chinese cuisine is generally
considered, along with French, as one of the two
greatest cuisines in the world. There are
similarities in French and Chinese cooking
philosophies as well as methods. Certain ingredients
are even similar in taste, if not in texture. For
example, a fresh black truffle is reminiscent of
fermented black beans.
A noted fundamental difference between the European
and Chinese style of cooking is found in sauce
making. Whereas the preparation of a hollandaise or
a beurre blanc may require several painstaking steps
(and an advanced degree in chemistry), Chinese sauce
making consists of combining prepared sauces and
spices and then splashing them into the
wok. While
the resulting flavors may be complex, the
cooking
technique is simple. What is important to the
Chinese is the usage of quality ingredients, hence
bringing out the natural flavor of the foods that
marry well with the flavors of the sauce while
completing the dish.
Often a gravy is confused with a sauce. The
essential difference between the two is that a gravy
overpowers or dominates the flavor of whatever it is
poured on (or over) while a sauce is more subtle and
does not tend to overwhelm the dish. Sauces are
designed to enhance, to compliment, to offer
contrast and to highlight other flavors. Fine
quality Chinese cuisine always relies on the
subtleness of a sauce verses the heaviness of a
gravy. This is evidenced by the plethora of dishes
that are found at Uncle Tai's - A Chinese Bistro
that feature any one of a number of sublime sauces.
The
cooking style of China is characterized by a
wide diversity of ingredients and cooking methods
unequaled to any other culture. This uniqueness can
be attributed in great part to the Chinese way of
eating. Typically with the cuisines of the West,
starchy foods such as potatoes and breads are side
dishes, whereas with traditional Chinese meals, rice
is always present in the South and wheat products
are present in the North. Vegetables, including
soybeans and soybean products, are major secondary
foods. Meat, poultry and fish are generally regarded
as supplementary foods in daily meals. Thus the
Chinese diet is basically a rice diet, or to be more
exact, a rice and vegetable diet. This is evidenced
by typical Chinese sayings such as Ch'in Fan
(meaning "to have a meal" or literally "eat rice")
and Sha Fan (meaning "to induce one to eat more
rice" or literally "rice sending"). It seems that
without rice, the Chinese would not have a cuisine.
Here in the United States, people generally equate
Oriental cuisine (more specifically Chinese) with
MSG. While MSG is considered (and publicized) as a
flavor enhancer, in reality it is frequently used to
cover poor cooking techniques and to mask foods that
are not very fresh. This can be done deliberately or
quite innocently by inexperienced chefs. If the
ingredients are truly fresh and prepared properly,
MSG is not only unnecessary, it can actually spoil
the dish for the diner.
Tea (the world's most popular beverage) was
originally prescribed as medicinal and interestingly
enough, modern research validates a number of these
claims. Throughout its history (and all through the
land), the national drink of China has been tea, and
in almost every dialect, it is called cha. Tea has
also played a vital role in Chinese history as it
has been used as a national treasure, a state
currency and (in the form of pressed bricks) as
cash. There are a thousand varieties of tea with the
three main types being red, green and black. The red
teas include the Keemun type which is the favorite
of the British breakfast table and is grown all over
East China. The astringent Dragon Well tea from
Hangzhou is the most famous of the green varieties
while the Oolong tea is the most famous of the black
type. Connoisseurs understand that (with all types)
the three leaves on the tip of the bud are the
highest quality and are the most desirable. Tea is
to the Chinese what fine wine is to the French, a
beloved beverage savored for its fine aroma,
distinctive flavor and pleasing aftertaste.
Hunan is a landlocked province of China that has a
hot humid summer and an extremely cold winter. This
region is home to some of the spiciest (and
tastiest) dishes in the Chinese diet. Two reasons
that the Hunan people give for flavoring so many
dishes with chilies is to open the pores and keep
cool in the summer, and to heat the blood in the
cold months. There is an awesome variety of chilies
and peppers that range from the familiar harmless
green bell pepper to the tiny red pepper known as
the "delayed action bomb." Now, while most people
associate spicy seasonings with Hunan cooking, few
are aware that there are also a large number of
delicately seasoned recipes. Remember: spicy does
not necessarily mean "hot," it can also mean "just
flavorful."
This savory and complex cuisine is full of exquisite
flavors as well as fiery and subtle seasonings that
have been perfected over thousands of years. From
China's earliest days, food has been an integral
part of the culture. Hence, there is truth in the
saying "for people, food is heaven!"
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