:lol: wanna edit it?
i did a edit but we all know how my edits turn out...
Foods and characteristic flavours of China
Being the third largest country in the world by landmass and the largest country in the world by population, China is a country that has a rich and diverse history in cooking. Their skill in using anything and everything that is edible truly makes Chinese food one of the most exciting and unique types of cuisine around the world. In the past, Chinese royalties had the best chiefs and could afford to produce a wide variety of foods that resulted in the most renowned banquets. However, when the monarchs of China were overthrown, the chefs of the royalties fled and the legendary feasts disappeared along with them. Thus, the flavors of the North adapted to regional foods that are less elaborate and simple to the taste. This occurred in other parts of China as well, which led to the development into the four “Schools” of regional cooking; Beijing, Cantonese and Fukienese, Shanghai and Szechwan.
Beijing, or the Northern School of China, is the largest region and it also consists of the largest number provinces. It is often considered the classic Chinese cuisine; it is the most sophisticated, delicate and elegant style of cooking. Due to the harsh weather climate, vegetables are not plentiful and grains products are not as abundant as they are in the South. Dried, seasoned noodles, steamed breads and buns replace the well-known Chinese staple grain: rice. Onion, garlic, leeks, vinegar, coriander and salt are often used for flavoring and due to the close proximity to Mongolia, the Mongolian flavors are incorporated into many meals. The food that defines their relation to Mongolia is the predominance of lamb meat, instead of pork, in meals. Muttons and the Mongolian hot-pot are also seen often. Hot-pot is a steaming pot of broth or water, set in the center of the table and all of the diners dunk thinly sliced meat and vegetable into the broth until they are cooked. The northern school is well known for chicken velvet, spring rolls, and the Yellow River carp with sweet and sour sauce; yet the most famous of them all is the Peking Duck which identifies Beijing cooking.
Cantonese and Fukinesese cooking are from the Southern part of China. Warm mild weather, plenty of rainfall and fertile land makes the area around the Pearl River Delta the most abundant region of plants and fruits. The sub-tropical weather allows for rice to yield two to three times a year, and many temperate fruits such as lychees, plums, tangerines, bananas and pineapples are available to indulge. Cantonese cooking is aimed to preserve the natural flavor, texture and colour of each ingredient, which is why steaming and stir-frying are often used as the method of cooking. The close proximity to the coastline result in the abundance of fish and seafood. Also due to its nearness to the coast, Cantonese cooking is the earliest type of cuisine to be taken overseas by the Chinese migrants. It leaves its imprints on Western cooking by the means of dim sum, sweet-and-sour dishes, and other exotic delicacies including dog, frog's legs, snake, snails, turtle, shark’s fin soup and bird’s nest soup.
Shanghai, the largest city in Mainland China, is a part of the most important agricultural regions of China. Its rich and fertile land allows fruits and vegetables to grow in abundance and like Canton the long coastline provides a large variety of fish and seafood. Wheat and rice both flourish under the climate as well as barley and soybean. The area is well known for their vegetarian dishes. The highly decorative and delicately seasoned dishes are sometimes on the sweet side. Also like Cantonese cooking natural flavors are preferred, which result in cooking by blanching, steaming, stir-frying and red-cooking. The most famous dish is the pickled cabbage which is adapted by the Koreans in the form of kimch’i and by the Germans in the form of sauerkraut. The usage of oil often makes the food seem rich. Dark chinkiang vinegar; shao hsing rice wine and some of the best soy sauces in China are used for flavoring in this region.
The Western Region of China, composed Szechwan, Yunnan and Hunan, is renown for its use of chili and spices in its dishes. Residing in a “great basin ringed by mountains”, Szechwan is very isolated from the rest of China. This is another region of China where the land is fertile and rice can be cropped up to 3 times a year. Wheat, corn, bamboo, mushrooms, citrus fruit and Szechwan pepper, a variety of pepper which leaves the tongue feeling tingling rather than hot, grows here. Fresh watered fish is obtained from the Yangtze River and stir-fried nuts add texture and taste to many dishes. What really makes Szechwan cooking unique, is its use of more than one type of technique to make the dish. Szechwan cooking is well known for its Ma-po bean curd, twice-cooked pork, and hot, sour soup.
Chinese Meal Patterns
A Chinese meal consists of two parts, the fan and the cai. The fan is often rice or another cooked staple gain, and the cai is the accompanying dishes such as meat and vegetables. Usually a family would have fan and three or four cai dishes and one or two soups. The fan is the more dominant part of the meal because without fan there is no meal, the cai is there to flavor the fan so that the meal is more interesting. The cai usually involes a dish that contains meat, a dish with fish or seafood and a fresh vegetable dish.
In the morning, the breakfast is often composed of congee or jook, rice cooked with water with small tasty tidbits or served with pickle and salty side dishes, sometimes even leftovers from the previous dinner. Steaming noodles, wheatcake, or hot steamed dumplings are more likely to be the Northern Chinese breakfast. The noon meal is often a smaller version of the dinner where rice or wheat dish, vegetables, fish or meat and soup, is served. Sometimes dim sum is the preferred form of lunch as it involves a large variety of dishes in small quantities. Other times a bowl of noodles with condiments serves just as well as a fulfilling lunch. Chinese snacks include toasted seeds and nuts of all kinds, fresh fruit, dumpling dishes, and small plain cakes. Snacking makes eating more interesting for the Chinese people because simple meal eating sometimes becomes too mundane. Snacks can be eaten in the morning, in the afternoon or at night after dinner.
The main meal of the day is the dinner where Fan and cai are served along with soups. When friends come over on the weekends or for special occasions, dinner could be easily turned into a banquet. Soups could be served at the very end or at the beginning but sometimes they may be proceeded by a cold selection of small appetizers that could include a variety of smoked or marinated fish and salted meat. The cai of the meal could include an array of fish and seafood, meat and fresh vegetables. There is no “main course” and no dessert, however fresh fruits are sometimes served after the meal is done.
Chinese Fodd Customs and Traditions
During a Chinese meal each diner has a pair of chopstick, a bowl, a flat-bottomed spoon for soup and sometimes a saucer. Rice is served to everyone from the main pot and into every individual’s bowl. The cai dishes and the soup is put in bowls and plates in the center of the table within everyone’s reach. Seasoning and cutting should be previously done in the kitchen. The diners are allowed to enjoy food from any plate and eat them in any order and dip them in any sauce or condiments. Each person is to transfer the cai with chopstick to their bowl of rice and the rice is scooped into the mouth with the chopstick.
Chopstick are always used for eating but sometimes they are used to stir or fold certain types of foods such as a rich sauce while on the stove or noodles while cooking. It is not polite to waste rice or eat too much cai. It is also considered rude to pick the best pieces for yourself or even bite or suck your chopstick. It is not an unusual habit for someone elder or a host or hostess to pick up a special piece for you with the square end of their chopstick. Sometimes extra long chopsticks are used for these kinds of occasions.
Chinese people are also aware of the link between the food that is consumed and a person’s health. Everything that is eaten has an effect on the person’s “qi”. Foods have been classified as “heating” or “cooling” someone’s “qi”. “Heating” foods include fatty meat, heavily spiced food, strong alcohol and some fruits such as lychee. While vegetable, watery or citrus fruits, and non-greasy soups are considered “cooling”. Eating too much of either types of food can cause “illnesses” such as hangover, or anaemic and lacking in energy.
There are also several sayings derived from food in the Chinese culture. “Having grains to chew” means that the person has a job. “Having an iron rice bowl” means a person has a job with a secure income. “Having a porcelain rice bowl” means a person with an insecure job and the “The rice bowl is broken” means the person is unemployed. Also foods are used as good luck symbols on special occasions. Noodles are often eaten on a birthday because their length represents “long life”. “Cake” has the same sound as the word “gao”, which means high, symbolizing high prosperity or luck. A small child would offer the new bride a tangerine, which puns with a word meaning lucky, while a couple, should not share a pear, fun-li, because it means separation.
Use of food in celebration in religious practices
The people of china put their faith in four religions: Taoism, Buddhism, Muslim, and Christianity. However, only Taoism and Buddhism are widely celebrated. A long time ago, around New Years, palace dignitaries were presented with purses embroidered with eight Buddhist symbols called “Eight Treasure”. They wore these purses around their necks with pride. Now, this is recalled by eating a fruit filled rice pudding called: Eight Treasures Rice Pudding. It is a custom for Buddhists to serve the pudding after dinner around New Years as a dessert or later in the evening as a late snack. It is also a custom to set small bowls of lychees and longans around the room. Sticky sweets should also be offered to the “Kitchen God” around this time so that he doesn’t give a bad report on the family.
The Moon Festival is another well-known Chinese religious holiday. It is believed that an old man lived on the moon and he is the one who arranges all of the marriages on earth. In other places it is believed that a rabbit inhabited the moon and is “forever busy pounding out the elixir of life”. During the times around the Moon Festival a special dessert called moon cakes are served. Moon cakes are pastries filled with sugar, sesame, walnut, yolk of preserved eggs, ground lotus seeds or other fillings. The festival celebrates fertility, but it was also known as the Mid-Autumn Festival or Chung Chiu.
In the Chinese culture, food is also offered to the dead. During Ching Ming, or Grave sweeping day, families come together to make offering of food and wine to their dead relatives in front of their tomb. It is hoped that their relatives would offer assistance and give luck to the living. Roasted suckling pigs, steamed chicken, fruits and wines are offered during the ceremony. After proper respect has been paid to the dead the food is then eaten as a feast.
Chinese impact on Canadian culture
After the 1840s, living conditions in China became difficult, so many looked beyond their borders to seek a new life in North America. It is estimated that more than twenty-five million Chinese have gone overseas. As the Chinese people moved, so did their food and culture. Chinese restaurants can be found in almost all Canadian towns and cities. The earliest of these settlers are the people from the Canton area, so many of the food abroad carried their flavor.
Many different recipes have also been adapted or derived from old traditional Chinese recipe. Chop-suey for example was not a recipe that originated in China, instead it was developed in the US. Fried rice, and sweet and sour pork are recipes that have been adapted so they are easy and quick to cook. It is often a misconception by a lot of western people that this is real Chinese food. This caused by the fact that there have been many early restaurant establishments that offered “take-away” food, which serve these types of cuisine. However, it does not matter whether it is real Chinese food or not, people simply like them for their taste.
Chinese immigrants have come so far and in such large numbers that it is hard to go to large cities in North America and miss their Chinatowns. Many Chinese Canadians go to shops in the Chinatowns of Vancouver, London or Toronto to get authentic Chinese food. It is also where they can go to find the restaurants that serve familiar Chinese dishes. Overall, the Chinese people have opened up a new market in Canada that consists of delicacies from the Far East and quick stir-fry in a small restaurant. However, to savor the real taste of Chinese food it requires a long trip all the way to the other side of the world!
--Mandy
