Yiqing Li

Traditional Chinese Dishes Recipes

只屬於中餐的浪漫

The Only Romance in Chinese Food

Yiqing Li
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Traditional Chinese Dishes Recipes Yiqing Li

Introduction
I have selected eight dishes
from traditional Chinese
dishes with their own
characteristics and combined
them with traditional Chinese
patterns and symbols that
have similar meanings, and
presented them in the form
of photographic images, in
order to let the audience who
are interested in Chinese food
culture learn about it and
spread it through the making
of a dish.

This is the first time I have

explored food up close
and personal, using the
relationship between food and
graphic design as my method
of visual experimentation, and
finally presenting it as a recipe,
hoping that the audience will
feel the small romance from
the Chinese allegorical dishes
and experience the emotions
behind the food.

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Traditional Chinese Dishes Recipes Yiqing Li

Content Pork Knuckle in Red Oil 紅油豬手 06–09

Squirrel Fish 鬆鼠魚 10–13

Dumplings 餃子 14–17

Poon Choi 盆菜 18–21

Stir-fried Mixed Vegetables 素炒什錦 22–25

Steamed Prawns 清蒸大蝦 26–29

Scallion Steamed Abalone 蔥油鮑魚 30–33

Soy Sauce Chicken 醬油雞 34–37

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 Pork Knuckle in Red Oil 紅油豬手

Pork Knuckle in Red Oil

紅油豬手

INGREDIENTS

Pork Trotters 2 pcs

Green And Red Peppers 4–5pcs
Spring Onion 20 g
Ginger 20 g
Garlic 30 g
Star Anise 1 tbsp
Yellow Wine 1 tsp
Red Oil And Chillies 1 tbsp
Cooking Oil 1 tsp
Soy Sauce 2 tbsp
Salt 2 tsp
Sugar 2 tsp
Chinese Cooking Wine 1 tsp

STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE

Clean the abalone, separate it minutes; cut some shredded

from the shell, dig out the belly
and intestines, brush the shell
clean and cut the abalone with
a flower cutter.Cut some onion,
ginger, garlic and red pepper
Place the abalone meat in the
abalone shells and place the
abalone shells in a circle on
a plate.Scatter the chopped
onion, ginger, garlic and red
pepper over each abalone meat
Drizzle with the soy sauce;
put into the steamer and press
the steam button, or you can
set it yourself, 100 degrees for
Peking onion for decoration
and fragrance.
After steaming, arrange the
shredded Peking onion in the
middle of the plate and the
abalone jar with small chopped
onion on it, ready to drizzle
with hot oil. Simmer the oil
at 7-8%, about 180 degrees,
and drizzle the oil over the
shredded shallots and abalone,
the dish is ready!
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 Pork Knuckle in Red Oil 紅油豬手

Wealthy in Hand
THE COPPER COIN PATTERN
發財就手
This dish is a traditional dish Since the unification of
from Guangdong Province - currency by the Qin emperor,
Braised Pork Knuckles. The copper coin motifs have become
name suggests that in addition popular as a symbol of wealth,
to its richness and taste, it is signifying the advancement of
also a good luck dish to attract wealth and treasure.
wealth. In ancient times, the pig
was a symbol of wealth, and the The design has an inwardly
pig's trotters mean "attracting curving square in the circle,
wealth", which means that resembling a round square-hole
in the new year, "everything coin, and is therefore called the
will be rich and prosperous". copper coin pattern.
It is also a good symbol of
"prosperity" in the new year.
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 Squirrel Fish 鬆鼠魚

STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE

Remove the guts of the

Mandarin fish, wash it, cut off
the head and cut it down the
Squirrel Fish middle, without cutting off the
tail. Cut horizontally with a
knife to remove the middle fish
鬆鼠魚 bone, then remove the meat
with blood and thorns from the
middle part of the fish belly.

With the fish skin side down,

cut straight cuts diagonally
across the flesh without cutting
the skin, then cut straight cuts
diagonally in the opposite
direction to give the fish a
diamond-shaped pattern, place
in a bowl and set aside. Add
spring onion, ginger, cooking
wine and salt to the bowl and
INGREDIENTS grasp well with your hands.

Mandarin Fish 1 pc Take an appropriate amount of

Sugar 3 tsp cornstarch and place the fish in
Tomato Sauce 1 tbsp a dish and coat evenly with the
Cooking Wine 1 tbsp cornstarch. Coat the fish evenly
Cornstarch 1 tsp with the flour. Heat the oil in
Cooking Oil 1 tsp a wok over medium-high heat
Onion 30 g until 70% hot. Cook the tomato
Ginger 20 g sauce until boiling, then mix in
Diced Corn 50 g the sugar and stir well. Pour the
Peas 30 g corn, peas and diced carrots
Carrots 80 g into the pan. Add the water
Clear Water 1 tbsp starch, stir well and cook until
the soup thickens. Finally, pour
the soup over the fried fish
and serve.

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 Squirrel Fish
May You Have
Prosperity Every Year
年年有余
Fish, meaning "surplus for
every year". The Chinese have
had the custom of eating fish
at the Chinese New Year since
ancient times, in order to
have good luck and hope for a
"yearly surplus". "The Chinese
have had the custom of eating
fish for Chinese New Year since
ancient times.
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鬆鼠魚
RUYI PATTERN
Ruyi is the ancient name for a clawed
staff. The name is derived from the
fact that it was a tickling object that
could be used as a human being, and
was commonly used in the Northern
and Southern Dynasties to imitate its
shape. The name is Ruyi. The shape
is similar to that of a ruyi, which is
a metaphor for a person's heart and
mind, and is often combined with a
vase or peony to create a peaceful ruyi
or auspicious ruyi.
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 Dumplings 餃子

Dumplings
餃子

INGREDIENTS STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE

Dumpling Skin 500g Add the minced meat with soy

Black Fungus 50g sauce, soy sauce, oyster sauce,
Corn 1/2 pc oil and salt, and add the pepper
Carrot 1/2 pc water while stirring, stirring
Cabbage 50g well in one direction.
Lean Meat 350g
Pepper 5g Wood ear, carrot and cabbage
Sliced Ginger 3-4 slices chopped, add an egg more
Egg 1 pc tender, mix well with the
Soy Sauce 2 tbsp minced meat.Steam the
Oyster Sauce 1 tbsp dumplings in a pot over high
Oil 2 tbsp heat for about 10 minutes, 13
Sriracha 1 tsp minutes if the dumplings are
Salt 8g large, and they are done.

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 Dumplings 餃子

Let Riches And Treasures

Come Into The House
AUSPICIOUS
招財進寶 CLOUD PATTERN
Dumplings have a cultural It was found in the Chu region
symbolism, as they are a in the mid to late Zhou dynasty,
symbol of time change. In and by the Qin and Han
folklore, when New Year's dynasties, the variation of the
Eve and New Year alternate, auspicious cloud motif had
the family eats dumplings to reached its peak and continues
say goodbye to the old and to be a vital art to this day.
welcome the new, and because
the dumplings are shaped The pattern of auspicious
like silver yuan-boys, they clouds imitates the flowing and
are served in pots, with the sinuous nature of clouds and is
symbolic meaning of "New a symbol of good fortune and
Year's fortune, yuan-boys good fortune.
rolling in". In addition, for luck
and celebration, people will put
something into the dumplings,
such as red dates, meaning
early birth or early fortune;
some put in chestnuts, meaning
great luck; and some put in
coins, whoever eats them,
foretells who will get rich.

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 Poon Choi 盆菜

POON CHOI STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE

Cut the carrot into large
盆菜 pieces, cut the head off the
baby vegetables and break it
into pieces, cut the broccoli
into small pieces. The squid
cut fancy knife, abalone cut
fancy knife, enamel pot with
INGREDIENTS
an appropriate amount of
Baby Vegetables 200 g water, put chicken thighs,
Shiitake Mushrooms 3 pcs carrots, ginger stew for more
Broccoli 100 g than half an hour
Taro 1/2 pc
White Radish 1/2 pc Take a pot of water and boil
Grilled Pork 1/2 pc it separately to blanch the
Grilled Duck 1/2 pc seafood, the time control is 1
White Cut Chicken 1/4 pc minute for abalone, 1 minute
Nine-Sectioned Shrimp 4 pcs for squid and 2 minutes for
Abalone 4 pcs shrimp.Strain out the chicken
Sea Cucumber 2 pcs stock, ladle 5 tablespoons of
Octopuses 4 pcs it into a small pot, add the
Squid 2 pcs abalone juice, soy sauce, rock
Fish Balls 1 tsp sugar, oil and simmer for
Lucky Bag 4 pcs a while, pour in the starch
Chicken Legs 4 pcs water (3g starch + 30ml
Ginger 10 g water) to thicken the sauce,
Carrot 1 pc set aside; use the rest of the
Soy Sauce 3 tbsp chicken stock separately.Put
Abalone Sauce 10 g the prepared roast pork, roast
Rock Sugar 5g duck, white cut chicken and
Oil 3g cut vegetables on the table and
Starch 3 tbsp put them into the pot in turn.
Water 1 tbsp Pour the chicken broth into
the basin dish and drizzle the
abalone sauce over the top.

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 Poon Choi 盆菜

Have a Reunion
團團圓圓
The symbolism and meaning
of Poon Choi is that of reunion
and harmony between the
top and the bottom, without
distinction. It is a combination
of eight kinds of dishes, which
are laid in the basin layer by
layer, so that people can eat
any layer they like, without
distinguishing between the
top and the middle, i.e. without
distinguishing between
each other.

REGIMENTAL PATTERN
It is a combination of various plants, animals
and auspicious characters in a circular shape
that is often used on various objects and has
a deep cultural connotation.

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 Stir-fried Mixed Vegetables 素炒什錦

Stir-Fried
Mixed Vegetables STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE

Cut the broccoli into small

素炒什錦 pieces, remove the leaves and
cut the celery into small pieces,
peel and slice the lotus root and
slice the carrots. Cut off the
roots of the white mushrooms
and wash well. Bring a pot
of water to the boil, add 4g
salt and 10g oil. Add the lotus
root, carrot, peas, yellow bean
sprouts, broccoli, celery and
fungus in order and blanch for
about 2 minutes.

Remove from the heat, cool

INGREDIENTS in cold water to increase the
crispness of the ingredients,
Oil 25 g then drain and set aside. Peel
Broccoli 1 pc the garlic, slice and set aside.
White jade mushroom 120 g When the oil is hot, add the
Celery 180 g sliced garlic and stir-fry, then
Carrot 100 g add the blanched vegetables
Diced peas 100 g and stir-fry evenly. Add the
Lotus root 100 g mushrooms, add salt and soy
Soya bean sprouts 80 g sauce and stir-fry until
Soaked fungus 100 g cooked through.
Garlic 20 g
Book 8g
Soy sauce 10 g

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 Stir-fried Mixed Vegetables 素炒什錦

Best Wishes For

Your Bright Future
前程似錦
Each ingredient in the assorted
dishes has an auspicious
meaning. The lotus root
has a hole in it and is called
"enlightenment", the shepherd's
purse means wealth, the
bean sprouts are shaped like
ruyi, the carrots are called
"open door" and so on. Mixed
vegetables are usually made
with ten ingredients, ten of
which represent the perfection
of the whole family, and mixed
vegetables, which mean "like a
jin", also represent the family's
vision of a prosperous new year.

HULU PATTERN
The gourd is a symbol of wealth and prosperity. It is considered to be
a spiritual object that brings good fortune and luck to mankind. Since
ancient times it has been a symbol of 'good fortune' and 'long life', and
because of its high seed production and fertility, it also symbolises the
prosperity of future generations.

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 Steamed Prawns 清蒸大蝦

Steamed Prawns STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE

清蒸大蝦 Sand prawns cleaned, cut off

shrimp whiskers, shrimp feet
garlic and ginger chopped
separately.
Boil water in a steamer, put the
prawns in the steamer, after
the water boils put the top of
the steamer and steam for 5-6
minutes on high heat.

In a separate pan, heat the

oil and pop the ginger and
garlic on low heat. Add the
appropriate amount of fresh
sauce, which is very salty and
INGREDIENTS I need to mix in some water. I
recommend using a less salty
Sand prawns 500g and tasty soy sauce such as
Ginger 1 pc steamed fish soya sauce or
Garlic 3-4 pcs seafood soya sauce for dipping.
Fresh Flavour Sauce 2 tbsp Steam over high heat for 5-6
minutes, then turn off the heat
and simmer for 3 minutes
before removing from the pan.

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 Steamed Prawns 清蒸大蝦

The Lucky Star

Shines Bright
吉星高照
The bright red prawns are a
symbol of good fortune, and
eating prawns for New Year's
Eve dinner means that life will
be more and more prosperous,
and that life will be happy THE PLATE LONG PATTERN
and smiling every day. In
Cantonese, prawn means "ha", It is a symbolic representation of the good
wishes for the continuity of the family,
so eating prawns on Chinese the continuity of the descendants and the
New Year's Eve means smiling transmission of wealth and good fortune
and laughing, a good sign of from generation to generation.
happiness for the whole family,
smooth and successful.

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SCALLION
STEAMED ABALONE
蔥油鮑魚
INGREDIENTS
Abalone
Green Onion
Garlic
Chinese Cooking Wine
Soy Sauce
Oil
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE
Clean the abalone, separate it
from the shell, dig out the belly
and intestines, brush the shell
clean and cut the abalone with
a flower cutter.Cut some onion,
ginger, garlic and red pepper
Place the abalone meat in the
abalone shells and place the
abalone shells in a circle on
a plate.Scatter the chopped
onion, ginger, garlic and red
pepper over each abalone meat
Drizzle with the soy sauce;
put into the steamer and press
the steam button, or you can
Scallion Steamed Abalone 蔥油鮑魚
10 pcs
30 g
20 g
1 tsp
2 tbsp
50 g
set it yourself, 100 degrees for
minutes; cut some shredded
Peking onion for decoration
and fragrance.
After steaming, arrange the
shredded Peking onion in the
middle of the plate and the
abalone jar with small chopped
onion on it, ready to drizzle
with hot oil. Simmer the oil
at 7-8%, about 180 degrees,
and drizzle the oil over the
shredded shallots and abalone,
the dish is ready!
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 Scallion Steamed Abalone 蔥油鮑魚

Let Riches And Treasures

Come Into The House
招財進寶
Abalone is eaten on New Year's
Eve not only because it is
nutritious and delicious, but also
because its flesh is golden yellow
and its oval shape resembles
that of a golden treasure.

MEANDER PATTERN
It is a traditional geometric decorative
pattern that is made up of horizontal
and vertical folds in the shape of the
character "Hui".

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 Soy Sauce Chicken 醬油雞

Soy Sauce Chicken STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE

Heat the oil and sauté the

醬油雞 ginger, shallots and garlic! Fry
the skin side of the chicken to
tighten it up a bit, so that the
chicken tastes better! Fry the
skin a little and then take the
chicken up. Add 3 bowls of
water, 1 bowl of soy sauce, sugar
and rock sugar, and half a bowl
of cooking wine to the pot.
After the base stock has boiled
over a high heat, turn the heat
to medium, put the chicken
down and cook for about ten
minutes, then turn the other
INGREDIENTS side and cook for another ten
minutes or so.
Chicken 500 g
Soy sauce 1 tbsp Then open the lid to take a
Chinese cooking wine 1 tbsp spoon to drizzle the bottom
Ginger 5 pcs soup juice, to keep dripping yo,
Red onion 5 pcs this time slowly colour, juice
Yellow flake sugar 80 g is also slowly thickened, about
rock sugar 5 pcs repeatedly dripping more than
Clear water 3 bowls ten minutes is almost done!
Garlic 5 pcs
After picking up the chicken in
the sauce, don't rush, let it cool
a bit before chopping , chop the
pieces and set them on a plate,
then drizzle a little bit of the
base sauce just now. You can
eat it perfectly.
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 Soy Sauce Chicken 醬油雞

Great Fortune and Great Favor

大吉大利
Chicken, as the saying goes, is
not only delicious, but it also
has an auspicious meaning.
Chicken is an essential dish
for the New Year's Eve dinner,
symbolising "good fortune" in
the coming year.

FIRE PATTERN
Fire is one of the five elements and it is
associated with red, feathered animals,
for example, the poultry that represents
fire is the hen. People often make fire to
wish for wealth and prosperity during
festive events such as the Chinese New
Year. Fire motifs are mostly used in
architecture and furniture.
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 Traditional Chinese Dishes Recipes Yiqing Li

Bibliography
Book

Cartland, B. (1984) The Romance of

Food. Garden City, NY: Doubleday.

Reichl, R. et al. (2022) The gourmand’s

egg: A collection of stories and recipes.
Cologne: Taschen.

Choi, E. (2019) Le Corbuffet: Edible art

and design classics. Munich ; London ;
New York: Prestel.

Wu, S., Lu, Ye and Lu, Yuan (2009)

Zhongguo Wen Yang Quan Ji. Jinan
Shi: Shandong mei shu chu ban she.

Website
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collection of stories & recipes (no
date) Éditions TASCHEN: TASCHEN
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en/books/style-food-travel/08023/
the-gourmand-s-egg-a-collection-of-
stories-and-recipes/?forceCountry=
GB&gclid=CjwKCAjw9J2iBhBPEi
wAErwpeVW0a0rjV7ODJAJRTtnS8M
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May 2023).

Hembakat är bäst" (homemade is

best) by IKEA (2017) Hembakat är
Bäst" (Homemade is Best) by Ikea.
Available at: https://mountainbakery.
co.uk/2013/06/11/todays-inspiration-
comes-from-ikea-and-their/ (Accessed:
22 May 2023).
Colophon
(No date) Barbara Cartland “The Edition and Design:
romance of food” ~ cook books Yiqing Li
[1984]. Available at: https://www. Food design and photography :
ghostofthedoll.co.uk/retromusings/ Yiqing Li
barbara-cartland-the-romance-of- Food Design Assistant:
food/ (Accessed: 22 May 2023). Qianyan Xie

Bawden, J. (2019) Le Corbuffet: Edible Format:

art and design classics., Le Corbuffet: 190 x 235mm
Edible Art and Design Classics. Typeface:
Available at: https://creativecolour. Emilio & DaigoMinteuA
org/2019/10/01/le-corbuffet-edible-art- Paper:
and-design-classics/ (Accessed: 22 May G.F Smith, Cover Colorplan Scarlet
2023). 350gsm & Text 120gsm
Print Company:
F.E.Burman

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Traditional Chinese Dishes Recipes

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