Traditional Chinese Cuisine
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Sichuan Cuisine
Of the eight major schools of China's
culinary art, Sichuan cuisine is perhaps
the most popular. Originating in Sichuan
Province of westernChina, Sichuan cuisine,
known as Chuan Cai in Chinese, enjoys
an international reputation for beingspicy
and flavorful. Yet the highly distinctive
pungency is not its only characteristic.
In fact, Sichuan cuisine boasts a variety
of flavors and different methods of cooking,
featuring the taste of hot, sweet, sour,
salty, or tongue-numbing.
The origin of Sichuan cuisine can be traced
back to the Qin and Han Dynasties (221BC-220AD),
its recognition as a distinct regional
system took place in the Han Dynasties
(206BC-220AD). As a unique style of food,
Sichuan cuisine was famous more than 800
years ago during the Southern Song Dynasty
(1127-1279) when Sichuan restaurants were
opened in Lin'an, now called Hangzhou,
the capital. The hot pepper was introduced
into China from South America around the
end of the 17th century. Once it came
to Sichuan, it became a favored food flavoring.
In the late Qing Dynasty around 19th century,
Sichuan cuisine became a unique local
flavor, enjoying the same reputation with
Shandong, Guangdong (Canton) and Huaiyang
cuisines.
Sichuan has high humidity and many rainy
or overcast days. Hot pepper helps reduce
internal dampness, so it was used frequently
in dishes, and hot dishes became the norm
in Sichuan cuisine. The region's warm,
humid climate also necessitates sophisticated
food-preservation techniques which include
picking, salting, drying and smoking.
Sichuan has been known as the land of
plenty since ancient times. It produces
abundant domestic animals, poultry, and
freshwater fish and crayfish. Sichuan
cuisine is well known for cooking fish.
The raw materials are delicacies from
land and river, edible wild herbs, and
the meat of domestic animals and birds.
Beef is more common in Sichuan cuisine
than it is in other Chinese cuisines,
perhaps due to the widespread use of oxen
in the region. Stir-fried beef is often
cooked until chewy, while steamed beef
is sometimes coated with rice flour to
produce rich gravy.
Sichuan dishes consist of Chengdu, Chongqing
and vegetarian dishes. Masterly used cooking
techniques are sauteing, stir-frying without
stewing, dry-braising, Pao (soaking in
water) and Hui (frying then braising with
corn flour sauce). Sichuan cuisine is
famous for its distinct and various flavors,
the most outstanding ones are fish flavors,
pepper powder boiled in oil, strange flavor
and sticky-hot.
Statistics show that the number of Sichuan
dishes has surpassed 5,000. Dishes typical
of Sichuan are twice cooked pork, spicy
diced chicken with peanuts, dry-fried
shark fin, and fish-flavored pork shred.
One of the popular dishes is Pockmarked
Woman's bean curd (or Mapo Doufu in Chinese)
which was invented by a Chengdu chef's
pockmarked wife decades ago in the Qing
Dynasty (1644-1911). The cubed bean curd
is cooked over a low flame in a sauce
which contains ground beef, chili, and
pepper. When served, the bean curd is
tender, spicy, and appetizing. Although
many Sichuan dishes live up to their spicy
reputation, often ignored are the large
percentage of recipes that use little
or no spice at all, including recipes
such as "tea smoked duck".
Shandong Cuisine
As an important component of Chinese
culinary art, Shandong cuisine, also known
as Lu Cai for short, boasts a long history
and far-reaching impact. Shandong cuisine
can be traced back to the Spring and Autumn
Period (770-221BC). It was quickly developed
in the South and North Dynasty (960-1279),
and was recognized as an important style
of cooking in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
Shangdong cuisine is representative of
northern China's cooking and its technique
has been widely absorbed in northeast
China.
Shandong is a large peninsula surrounded
by the sea, with the Yellow River meandering
through the center. As a result, seafood
is a major component of Shandong cuisine.
Shandong's most famous dish is the sweet
and sour carp. A truly authentic sweet
and sour carp must come from the Yellow
River.
Shangdong cuisine is famous for its wide
selection of material and use of different
cooking methods. The raw materials are
mainly domestic animals and birds, seafood
and vegetables. The masterly cooking techniques
include Bao (quick frying), Liu (quick
frying with corn flour), Pa (stewing),
roasting, boiling, using sugar to make
fruit, crystallizing with honey.
Condiments such as sauce paste, fistulous
onion and garlic are freely used, so Shangdong
dishes usually taste pungent. Soups are
given much emphasis in Shangdong dishes.
Clear soup (or thin soup) features clear
and fresh while milk soup (or creamy soup)
looks thick and tastes strong, both of
which are often choicely made to add freshness
to the dishes. The dishes are mainly clear,
fresh and fatty, perfect with Shandong's
own famous beer, Qingdao Beer.
In addition to sweet and sour carp, typical
courses in Shandong cuisine include braised
abalone with shells, fried sea cucumber
with fistulous onion, fragrant calamus
in milk soup, quick-fried double fats
(a very traditional Shandong dish consisting
of pork tripe and chicken gizzards), and
Dezhou stewed chicken. Dezhou stewed chicken
is known throughout the country; the chicken
is so well cooked that the meat easily
separates from the bone although the shape
of the chicken is preserved.
Chaozhou Cuisine
Chaozhou is the name of a coastal region
around the Shantou district of eastern
Guangdong Province. One of the major schools
in Guangdong cuisine, Chaozhou cuisine
originated from Chaoshan Plain about one
thousand years ago.
Naturally, as a fishing area, seafood
features prominently in Chaozhou cuisine,
which is often enhanced by piquant sauces,
such as tangerine jam for steamed lobsters
and broad-bean paste for fish. The mouthwatering
prawns, oysters, crabs and eels, combined
with home-made pickles, play a symphony
of traditional cuisine and leave people
with everlasting impression. Such richly
flavored dishes reflect the culinary influence
of the Chaozhou people's northeastern
neighbors, the Fujianese.
Yet Chaozhou cuisine has also been greatly
influenced by its southwestern neighbors,
the Cantonese. Many Chaozhou classic dishes
are light and tasty, with the abundant
use of vegetables. The crisp delicacy
of deep-fried leaf vegetables in Chaozhou
dishes adds a gleaming green, edible garnish
to many dishes.
Chaozhou cuisine stresses unique combinations
of various soy sauces and flavorings:
salty, sweet, sour, spicy, or astringent.
Fish sauce and oyster sauce are favorite
seasonings. Chaozhou dishes are usually
cooked over a slow fire, stewed, deep
fired, steamed, stir-fried or pickled.
The dishes boast the skill of local chefs
in vegetable carving. Magnificent designs
-- flowers, birds, dragons and phoenixes
made from carrots and gingers -- adorn
Chaozhou banquets, especially the cold
dishes. The tasty dishes are not only
yummy but also presentable.
The region's chefs are also acknowledged
masters in the preparation and cooking
of two delicacies, namely, shark's fin
and bird's nest. Chaozhou cuisine is famous,
too, for its shellfish dishes and wide
variety of sweet dishes (with pumpkin
and taro).
Other famous dishes include salt-baked
goose with vinegar juice, steamed shrimp
with orange juice, black-bean chicken,
vegetarian soup and crabs. A tea ceremony
is held during the serving of dishes,
not just for performance but also to aid
digestion.
Zhejiang Cuisine
Zhejiang cuisine, also called Zhe Cai
for short, is one of the eight famous
culinary schools in China. Comprising
the specialties of Hangzhou, Ningbo and
Shaoxing in Zhejiang Province regarded
as land of fish and rice, Zhejiang cuisine,
not greasy, wins its reputation for freshness,
tenderness, softness, and smoothness of
its dishes with mellow fragrance. Hangzhou
cuisine is the most famous one among the
three.
Hangzhou cuisine is characterized by its
elaborate preparation and varying techniques
of cooking, such as sauteing, stewing,
and stir- and deep-frying. Hangzhou food
tastes fresh and crisp, varying with the
change of season. Ningbo food is a bit
salty but delicious. Specializing in steamed,
roasted and braised seafood, Ningbo cuisine
is particular in retaining the original
freshness, tenderness and softness. Shaoxing
cuisine offers fresh aquatic food and
poultry that has a special rural flavor,
sweet in smell, soft and glutinous in
taste, thick in gravy and strong in season.
Each of the three sub-cuisine traditions
is noted for its special flavor and taste,
but they are all characterized by the
careful selection of ingredients, emphasizing
minute preparation, and unique, fresh
and tender tastes.
Zhejiang cuisine specializes in quick-frying,
stir-frying, deep-frying, simmering and
steaming, obtaining the natural flavor
and taste. Special care is taken in the
cooking process to make the food fresh,
crispy and tender. Thanks to exquisite
preparation, the dishes are not only delicious
in taste and but also extremely elegant
in appearance. Zhejiang cuisine is best
represented by Hangzhou dishes, including
Hangzhou roast chicken (commonly known
as Beggar's chicken), Dongpo pork, west
lake fish in vinegar sauce, Songsao Shredded
Fishsoup, etc.
Legend has it that Beggar's chicken was
invented by a Hangzhou thief. The story
goes that because the thief had no stove,
he wrapped the stolen bird in clay and
baked it in a hole in the ground; another
version explains that he was a hungry
thief who found a way to cook his bird
and keep it and its aroma secret!
The famous restaurants in Hangzhou are:
Louwailou Restaurant, Hangzhou Restaurant,
Xizhongxi Restaurant, etc. Louwailou Restaurant
boasts a history of over 100 years and
is noted for west lake fish in vinegar
sauce, fried shrimps with Longjing tea.
Huai-Yang Cuisine
Huai-Yang Cuisine originated from the
Pre-Qin Period (221-206BC), became famous
during the Sui (581-618) and Tang (618-907)
Dynasties, and was recognized as a distinct
regional style during the Ming (1368-1644)
and Qing (1644-1911) Dynasties. This cuisine
includes dishes from Huai'an, Yangzhou,
Suzhou, and Shanghai.
Raw materials of Huai-Yang dishes include
fresh and live aquatic products. The carving
techniques are delicate, of which the
melon carving technique is especially
well-known. The flavor of Huai-Yang cuisine
is light, fresh and sweet. If Shandong
cuisine is characterized by stirring and
frying over a hot fire, Huai-Yang cuisine
is characterized by stewing, braising,
and steaming over a low fire for a long
time. Famous dishes cooked this way are
chicken braised with chestnuts, pork steamed
in lotus leaf, duck stewed with eight
treasures, meatballs with crab meat in
Yangzhou style, and butterfly sea cucumber
(sea cucumber cut into butterfly shapes
and cooked with flavorings). Other famous
dishes include stewed crab with clear
soup, long boiled dry shredded meat, crystal
meat, squirrel with mandarin fish, Sauteed
Eel Shreds and Liangxi crisp eel.
The vegetarian banquet is a special feature
of Huai-Yang cuisine, and the vegetarian
dishes in Beijing cuisine are mostly variants
of Huai-Yang cuisine.
Huai-Yang snacks and refreshments are
exquisite, such as boiled, shredded, dried
bean curd; steamed dumplings with minced
meat and gravy; steamed meat dumplings
with dough gathered at the top.
Fujian Cuisine
Fujian cuisine, also called Min Cai for
short, holds an important position in
China's culinary art. Fujian's economy
and culture began flourishing after the
Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). During
the middle Qing Dynasty around 18th century,
famous Fujian officials and literati promoted
the Fujian cuisine so it gradually spread
to other parts of China.
Fujian cuisine comprises three branches
-- Fuzhou, South Fujian and West Fujian.
There are slight differences among them.
Fuzhou dishes, quite popular in eastern,
central and northern Fujian Province,
are more fresh, delicious, and less salty,
sweet, and sour; South Fujian dishes,
popular in Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou
and the golden triangle of South Fujian,
are sweet and hot and use hot sauces,
custard, and orange juice as flavorings;
West Fujian dishes are salty and hot,
prevailing in Hakka region with strong
local flavor. As Fujian people emigrate
overseas, their cuisine become popular
in Taiwan and abroad. Generally speaking,
Fujian dishes are slightly sweet and sour,
and less salty, and often use the red
distiller's grain for flavoring.
Fujian cuisine is characterized by the
following four aspects:
(1)Ingredients of seafood and mountain
delicacies: Fujian cuisine emphasizes
seafood and mountain delicacies. Fujian
Province has a favorable geographical
location with mountains in its north and
sea to its south. Many mountain delicacies
such as mushroom, bamboo shoots and tremella
are often found here. The coastal area
produces 167 varieties of fish and 90
kinds of turtles and shellfish. It also
produces edible bird's nest, cuttlefish,
and sturgeon. These special products are
all used in Fujian cuisine. The local
people are good at cooking seafood, featuring
in methods of stewing, boiling, braising,
quick-boiling, and steaming, etc.
(2) Fine slicing techniques: Fujian cuisine
stresses on fine slicing techniques so
much that it is reputed as sliced ingredients
are as thin as paper and shredded as slim
as hairs. Everything sliced serves its
original aroma. Fine slicing techniques
may better show the aroma and texture
of food. Cutting is important in Fujian
cuisine. Most dishes are made of seafood,
and if the seafood is not cut well, the
dishes will fail to have their true flavor.
(3) Various soup and broth: The most characteristic
aspect of Fujian cuisine is that its dishes
are served in soup.
(4) Exquisite culinary art: Fujian dishes
are tasty because of their emphasis on
a series of delicate procession: selecting
ingredients, mixing flavors, timing the
cooking and controlling the heat. When
a dish is less salty, it tastes more delicious.
Sweetness makes a dish tastier, while
sourness helps remove the seafood smell.
Typical dishes are Buddha-jumping-over-the-wall,
flaked spiral shell lightly pickled in
rice liquor, litchi fish, and mussels
quick-boiled in chicken broth, of which
Buddha-jumping-over-the-wall is the most
famous; the name implies the dish is so
delicious that even the Buddha would jump
over a wall to have a taste once he smelled
it. A mixture of seafood, chicken, duck,
and pork is put into a rice-wine jar and
simmered over a low fire. Sea mussel quick-boiled
in chicken soup is another Fujian delicacy.
Hunan Cuisine
Also known as Xiang Cai, Hunan cuisine
has already developed into a famous culinary
school in China. Hunan dishes consist
of local dishes from the Xiangjiang River
area, Dongting Lake area and Western Hunan
mountain area. Hunan's culinary specialties
are akin to those of the chili-rich Sichuan
dishes. It is also characterized by thick
and pungent flavor. Chili, pepper and
shallot are usually necessaries in this
division. However, Chili, peppers, garlic
(suan) and an unusual sauce, called "strange-flavor"
sauce (guai wei jiang) on some menus,
enliven many dishes, with a somewhat drier
intensity than that of their Sichuan counterparts.
Sweetness, too, is a Hunan culinary passion,
and honey sauces are favored in desserts
such as water chestnut or cassia flower
cakes.
Hunan is known as "the land of fish
and rice". Like the west in latitude,
it has the added bonus of lowlands for
rice cultivation and a rich ocean's edge
for fish.
Hunan food is characterized by its hot
and sour flavor, fresh aroma, greasiness,
deep color, and the prominence of the
main flavor in the dishes. Hunan food
is hot because the climate is very humid,
which makes it difficult for human body
to eliminate moisture. The local people
eat hot peppers to help remove dampness
and cold. The main cooking methods for
Hunan dishes are braising, double-boiling,
steaming and stewing. It is also renowned
for its frequent use of preserved meat
in cooking.
Rice is the staple in Hunan, but northern-style
side dishes and fillers are also popular:
bean curd "bread" rolls or dumplings
and savory buns. They are further signs
that Hunan is one of China's culinary
heartland, incorporating many flavors
and regional influences.
Typical courses include: Dong'an chick;
peppery and hot chick, stir-fried tripe
slivers, tripe in duck's web soup, lotus
seed with rock candy, Xiaoxiang turtle,
steamed pickled meat, and hot and spicy
frog leg.
Flavornosh ζɫС
"When a guest comes to my home from
afar on a cold night, I light bamboo to
boil tea to offer him." Ancient
Chinese poem China is the home country
of tea. Before the Tang Dynasty, Chinese
tea was exported by land and sea, first
to Japan and Korea, then to India and
Central Asia and, in the Ming and Qing
dynasties, to the Arabian Peninsula. In
the early period of the 17th century,
Chinese tea was exported to Europe.
Chinese Medicated Diet йҩĻ
General Introduction
Chinese medicated diet is not a simple
combination of food and Chinese drugs,
but a special highly finished diet made
from Chinese drugs, food and condiments
under the theoretical guidance of diet
preparation based on differentiation of
symptoms and signs of traditional Chinese
medicine (TCM)
It has not only the efficiency of medicine
but also the delicacy of food, and can
be used to prevent and cure diseases,
build up one's health and prolong one's
life.
Origin and Development
Chinese medicated diet has a long
history. The ancient legend "Shennong
Tastes a Hundred Grasses "shows that
early in remote antiquity the Chinese
nation began to explore the function of
food and medicaments, hence the saying
"Traditional Chinese medicine and
diet both originate from the practice
and experience in daily life."
In the Zhou Dynasty, one thousand or more
years B. - . , royal doctors were divided
into four kinds. One of them was dietetic
doctors who were in charge of the emperor's
health care and health preservation, preparing
diets for him.
In The Yellow Emperor's Internal Classic,
a medical classic in TCM which appeared
approximately in the Warring States period,
several medicated diet prescriptions were
recorded. In Shennong's Herbal Classic,
which was published approximately in about
the Qin and Han Periods and is the extant
earliest monograph on materia medica,
many sorts of medicaments which are both
drugs and food were recorded, such as
Chinese-date (Fructus Ziziphi Jujubae),sesame
seed (Semen Sesami), Chinese yam (Rhizoma
Dioscoreae), grape (Vitis), walnut kernel
(Semen Fuglandis), lily bulb (Bulbus Lilii)
, fresh ginger (Rhizoma Zingiberis Recens),
Job's-tears seed (Semen Coicis), etc.
In the book Treatise on febrile and Miscellaneous
Diseases written by Zhang Zhongjing, a
noted medical man, in the East Han dynasty,
some noted medicated diet recipes were
recorded, such as Soup of Chinese Angelica
root, Fresh ginger and Mutton (Danggui
Shengjiang Yangrou Tang ), Decoction of
Pig-skin(Zhufu Tang), etc., all of which
now still have important values. Sun simiao,
a well-known doctor in the Tang Dynasty,
listed and discussed such questions as
dietetic treatment, dietetic treatment
for senile health care and health preservation,
etc. in his books Prescriptions Worth
a Thousand Gold for Emergencies and A
Supplement to Essential Prescriptions
Worth a Thousand Gold for Emergencies.
These two books were substantial in medicated
diet prescriptions.
According to history books, up to the
period of the Sui and Tang Dynasties about
more than sixty kinds of books on dietetic
treatment had been published. But unfortunately
most of them are lost. The book Dietotherapy
of Materia Medica by Meng Xian in the
Tang Dynasty has a great influence on
later generations. It is the extant and
earliest monograph on dietetic treatment.
In the Song Dynasty, Wang Huaiyin and
some others wrote Peaceful Holy Benevolent
Prescriptions, in which they discussed
medicated diet treatment for many diseases.
A Book on How to Help the Old to Preserve
Health and Your Kith and Kin to Prolong
their Lives by Chen Zhi is an extant early
monograph on gerontology in China. Of
all the prescriptions recorded in it,
70% are about medicated diet. it is emphasized
in this book that "dietetic therapy
should go first for any senile diseases,
and then followed by medicine if they
are not cured. " In the book Principles
of Correct Diet, a monograph on medicated
diet, by Hu Sihui, a royal doctor in the
Yuan Dynasty, oceans of medicated diet
prescriptions and dietetic drugs were
recorded; in addition, some questions,
such as diet contraindication in pregnancy,
diet contraindication for wet nurse, contraindication
for drinking, etc. were also discussed
in this book. In the Ming Dynasty, Li
Shizhen collected and recorded in his
Compendium of Materia Medica many medicated
diet prescriptions, dozens of which were
about medicated gruel alone, and another
dozens of which touched on nothing other
than medicated wine. InEight Essays on
Life preservation, a monograph on health
preserving in the Ming Dynasty, many medicated
diets on health preserving and health
care were recorded too. Monographs on
medicated diet treatment in the Qing Dynasty
varied in characteristics: in Recipe of
Suixiju by Wang Shixiong, over 300 species
belonging to 7 phyla of medicated food
and drink were introduced; in Analysis
of Food and Drink for Treatment of Diseases
by Zhang Mu, more medicated foods were
touched upon; in Cookbook of Suiyuan cooking
principles and methods were dealt with;
while in Common Saying for Senile Health
Preservation, also known as Jottings on
Health Preservation, by Cao Tingdong,
about 100 medicated gruel prescriptions
for gerocomy were listed.
Medicated diet has been developing greatly
in assortment on the basis of traditional
process, for example, medicated can, medicated
sweets and so on. Salutary food and drinks
produced on the basis of achievements
in scientific research and having the
effect of curing diseases have a variety
of sorts and vary in characteristics.
There is medicated food suitable for patients
suffering from diabetes, obesity and angiocardiopathy;
there are health-care food and drinks
suitable for athletes, actors, actresses
and miners; there are also health- care
food or medicated diets suitable for the
promotion of children's health and growth,
or for prolonging life of the aged.
Chinese medicated diet has begun to go
abroad. medicated cans, health-care drinks
and medicated wine made from traditional
Chinese medicine have been sold at the
international market. Medicated diet dining-
halls have been set up in some countries.
Personnel of academic, industrial and
commercial circles abroad have paid close
attention to Chinese medited diet-a special
food, hoping to develop academic exchanges
and technical and economic cooperation
in this respect. Chinese medicated diet
will make contributions to the health
of the people all over the world.
Characteristics
The characteristics of Chinese medicated
diet are as follows:
1. Laying Stress on the Whole and Selecting
Medicated Diet on the Basis of Differential
Diagnosis
By " Laying Stress on the Whole and
Selecting Medicated Diet on the Basis
of Differential Diagnosis ", we mean
that when prescribing medicated diet,
we should first make an overall analysis
of the patient's physical and health condition,
the nature of his illness, the season
he got ill in and the geographical condition,
etc, to form a judgment on the type of
syndrome then decide on corresponding
principles for dietetic therapy and select
suitable medicated diet. Take a patient
with chronic gastritis, as an example.
He should take Galangal and Cyperus Gruel
(Liangfu Zhou) if he suffers from chronic
gastritis of stomach-cold type, but he
can take Drink of Fragrant Solomonseal
Rhizome, Dendrobium, Black Plam and hawthron
Fruit (Yu Shi Mei Zha Yin) if he suffers
from chronic gastritis due to deficiency
of the stomach-yin.
2.Suitable for both Prevention and Treatment,
and Outstanding in Effect
Medicated diet can be used either to treat
diseases or for healthy people to build
up their health and prevent diseases.
This is one of the characteristics in
which medicated diet is different from
treatment by medicine. Although medicated
diet is something mild, it has a notable
effect on the prevention and cure of diseases,
health building -up and health preserving.
Here are some of the achievements in scientific
research of Shandong Traditional Chinese
Medicine College:
Eight-Ingredient Food:It is prepared according
to the experience in ancient dietetic
treatment and health care of imperial
court in the Qing Dynasty from eight dietetic
Chinese drugs including Chinese yam (Rhizoma
Dioscoreae), lotus seed (semen Nelumbinis),
hawthorn fruit (Fructus Crataegi). 997%
of the children who took it for 30 days
have whetted their appetite, and their
growth has been improved too.
Nourishing Extract of laiyang Pear and
mushroom: It is made from the juice of
Laiyang Pear (Malum Piri) and extract
of mushrooms ( Lentinus Edodes) and tremella
(Tremella). If the middle-aged and senile
patients suffering from chronic diseases
take it, not only can the symptoms of
their illness be alleviated, but their
blood-fat can be brought down too when
they are suffering from hyperlipemia,
and their immunologic function can be
improved.
3. Good in Taste and Convenient for Taking
There goes the saying "Good medicine
tastes bitter" among the people,
because most of the decoctions of chinese
drugs are bitter. Some people , especially
children, take an aversion to the bitterness
of Chinese drugs and refuse to take them.
Most of the drugs used in medicated diet
are both edible and medicinal, and retain
the properties of food: colour, sweet-smelling,
flavor, and so on. Even if part of them
are Chinese herbs, their nature and flavor
are taken into consideration so that they
are made into tasty medicated diet by
mixing them with food and by careful cooking.
