CHINESE CUISINE

HISTORY It got famous due to the unique traditions and technology of Chinese cooking ,its appeal and its flavours. Chinese food and cooking has been established in almost every corner of the earth. Trade and cultural change between china and outside the world took place as early at the time of Roman empire Archaeological finds of the bronze age (1800 B.C) indicates that the Chinese had utensils such as Bronze cleaver used for cutting foods into small pieces & cooking them in animal fat using a Bronze pot, similar to the modern usage.

Geographical location Confucius(551-479 B.C.)-greatest sage . It was in his period ,that the importance of heat application and blending of different flavours were emphasized in Chinese cooking & the uses of high, moderate or low heat, the blending of sour, piquant ,salty bitter of sweet flavours where all given their correct application in order to achieve a harmonies whole. This theory of harmony is one of the main characteristics of Chinese cuisine this day.

Main characteristics of Chinese cuisine There exists a certain uniqueness that distinguishes Chinese cooking from other food cultures. There is the Chinese division when preparing and serving food, between FAN (grain and other starch food) and CAI (meat and vegetable dishes) A balanced meal must have an appropriate amount of both FAN and CAI The other distinctive feature of Chinese cuisine is the harmonious blending of colours , aromas, shapes and texture in one single dish The cutting of ingredients is another important element of Chinese cooking in order to achieve the proper effect. Slices are matched with slices, shreds with shreds, cubes with cubes, chunks with chunks and so on. Its not only for the sake of appearance but also ,the ingredients of the same size requires about the same amount of time in cooking. TEXTURE . A dish may have just one , or several textures, such as tenderness, crispiness, crunchiness, smoothness and softness. The textures to be avoided are sogginess, stringiness and hardness. The selection of different textures in single dish is an integral part of blending flavours and colours In all different methods of cooking, the correct degree of heat and duration of cooking time are of vital importance.

REGIONAL COOKING STYLES There is no official classification of the various regional cuisine in china, but it is generally agreed that Sichuan in the west, Shandong in the north, Canton in the south and Jiangsu in the east, represents the four major regional cooking styles of China. Peking- Peking cuisine is quite a different matter it is not a separate regional school, but rather the combination of all chinas regional styles of cooking. Peking cooking in short is the top table of Chinese culinary art, since being the capital of China for many centuries and for its unique position I the development of Chinese culinary art. THE NORTHERN SCHOOL Archaeological evidence shows that in about 5000 B.C. the settlers in the north had begun to farm and to make painted pottery for cooking. Traces of Chinese culture have been found at sites that lie along the valley of yellow river, so they call north as the cradle of Chinese civilization. Two ancient capitals of LOUYANG & KEIFENG are both situated just south of the yellow river in HUNAN province

Since the noblemen and imperial families were living in luxury their chefs invented and perfected many of the Chinese dishes, and it moved to the capital, Peking and beyond The northern school embraces the distinguished cooking styles of SHANDONG , SHANXI & XINJIANG. THE WESTERN SCHOOL The red basin of Sichuan or Szechwan is one of the richest and most popular lands of china. Sichuan province is one of Chinas important rice bowls, the Sichuan province also yields a wealth of subtropical products, including silk, fruit, tea, all which have earned Sichuan the name Land of Abundance Hot chillies are used most often in Sichuan cooking, it also contains a number of different flavours such as sweet, sour, bitter and hot, salty, aromatic and fragrant. Hot chillies are used not to paralyze the tongue but to stimulate the palate.

THE EASTERN SCHOOL Yangtze , chinas longest river flows from this region and making it more fertile. Crops like wheat, rice, barley, corn, sweet potatoes, peanuts and Soya beans. The areas that cover the middle and the lower reaches of the Yangtze are traditionally referred to as Land of Fish & Rice and is collectively known as jiangnan Yangtze river delta has its own cooking styles known as Huaiyang with the culinary style of shanghai. Yang chow fried rice, chow mien, wantons, spring rolls, dumplings and many other Cantonese dishes have originated from here. THE SOUTHERN SCHOOL The pearl river delta, with Canton as a provincial capital of Guangdong, is the home of the most famous of all Chinese cooking styles. Authentic Cantonese food has no rival, and has greater variety of food than any other school, since it was the first Chinese port to open for trade. Fisheries play a major role in the Guangdong economy. Rice is the dominant food grain. The other crops are tea, tobacco, peanut, sugarcane and subtropical fruits such as banana's, pineapples, oranges, tangerines &leeches. The southern school consists of three distinct styles of cooking: Canton, Chaochow (shadow), and Dongjiang (hakka) THE MOSLEM SCHOOL

The Chinese Moslem known as Hui, though Chinese speaking are distinguished from the Chinese by their affiliation with the Sunni branch of Islam. They are the descendents of Moslems who settled in China in the 13th century. There are nearly 5 million Hui widely distributed throughout every province in china and are mostly found in north-west and areas like Hunan, Shanki, Hubei & Shangdong. Chinese Moslem school join hands with two other groups known as UYGOR group in Xingjian and Mongols, who are traditionally nomadic and dont eat pork. THE VEGETARIAN SCHOOL Chinese vegetarians are not allowed anything remotely associated with animals, apart from egg and milk. They obtain their proteins mainly from Soya beans and its by products such as bean curd tofu) and nuts and fungi. Chinese vegetarians has a long history; its origin can be traced to as far back as around 500 BC, when Taoist school of thought developed the hygienic and nutritional science of fruit and vegetables. even Buddhist influence which made them to follow vegetarian culture. The vegetarian chefs have developed a new art by creating food that is known as imitation foods ,which gives the same resemblance to that of meat.

POPULAR DISHES 1. Spring Rolls-Spring roll wrappers filled with a mix of meats & vegetables, deep-fried. 2. Pickled cucumber or cabbage -Salt, ginger & red chilly are applied to the main ingredient. Sesame oil , peppercorns & dry chilly are heated in a wok & are poured over the vegetable along with vinegar & pinch of sugar . 3. Dimsum-Steamed or fried Dumplings of meat , poultry or vegetables 4. Tomato Egg drop Soup- A slightly thickened tomato flavored stock with egg threads. 5. Hot & Sour Soup-A hearty soup made of a thickened stock, with sliced chicken or seafood along with bamboo shoots, black mushrooms, beancurd, shredded greens & egg threads 6. Sweet and sour prawns with vegetables- Prawns marinated with rice wine, ginger, sesame oil & cornflour are tossed in a wok & then served in a sauce made of spring onions, red & green peppers, tomato ketchup, rice vinegar, sugar, Soya sauce & sesame oil.

7. Scallops with black bean sauce -Stir-fried scallops with a sauce of black beans, Soya & oyster sauces spring onions ginger & garlic. 8. Yunnan Pot Chicken-A Yunnan pot is an earthenware pot with a chimney. The pot cooks food by closed steaming. Here the jointed chicken is cooked along with jujubes, ginger, spring onions & rice wine in the clay pot, which is then steamed. This dish is served directly from the pot 9. Lemon Chicken It is a popular Cantonese dish of fried marinated chicken glazed with a tart lemony sauce. 10. Stir fried Lamb & leeks Marinated sliced lamb cooked with dried mushrooms & leeks in a yellow bean sauce. 11.Peking Duck The Peking duck is a prized delicacy, a highlight of Pekinese cuisine. 12.Stir-fried beancurd in yellow bean sauce Golden brown beancurd tossed with a yellow bean sauce along with garlic & oyster sauce. Garnished with coriander sprigs 13.Stir-fried Chinese cabbage Chinese cabbage stir-fried with light Soya sauces, sesame oil & rice vinegar 14. Stir fried Bokchoy-Stir-fried with garlic, ginger, sugar soya and a little stock 15.Singapore noodles-Thin rice vermicelli tossed with onions, beansprouts, spring onion, chillies, curry powder & Soya sauce. 16.Black mushroom noodles Moist egg noodles strongly flavored with Chinese black mushrooms, carrots, leeks, garlic & ginger, with Soya & oyster sauce. 17.Darsaan Deep-fried flat noodles tossed with honey & sesame. 18. 19.