Chinese food culture

       Many aspects of China’s spiritual culture are inextricably linked with the diet, large governance, small  to inter-personal exchanges like this. Chinese people are good at eating in a very ordinary life, the beauty and significance of chewing life. Ancient books say, “Eat Drink Man Woman who want Cunyan large”, if the standard theory: the Western culture (especially the modern American culture) can be said that men and women culture, while China is   food culture.

     Food is actually the content of our daily lives, why does it culture? This is because the food in Chinese culture has a special status, which in China and the West have a greater differenceTaiwan, Mr. Zhang Qijun philosophy professor, wrote a book “Principles of Cooking,” is very popular in the Mainland. Book, “Preface,” said: “The ancient books say, ‘Eat Great For Cunyan person’, if the standard theory: the Western culture (especially the modern American culture) can be said that men and women culture, while Chinese have one kind of  food culture. We set up the Chinese sages taught to dumping of life-oriented diet, and therefore the formation of this high level of development. “In other words, the two desires in life: One is eating and drinking, so that their own survival; first male and female sexuality make human to continue the family line, multiply the development. Both China pay more attention towards the former, the West is inclined to the latter. This also affected the cultural direction.
        Gu Sheng Xian so this argument, mortal beings also follow it. So, New Year, friends gathering, happy condolence, comings and goings, and even do some people participate in all things, whether happy or sad, rich or poor, something which seems inseparable from the food. Throughout the ages there are so many parties under various pretexts, are to coordinate international or interpersonal relationships, in order to achieve the purpose of joy and cooperation. Therefore, “Book of Rites,” saying: “A good ceremony at the beginning, before all food.” Because “Man” is one of the principles emphasized that “let”, but there are groups in the diet in life, such as “drinking rituals”, etc. have to give way first. People can meet fellow or relatives can learn to feast in the ceremony.

       Famous for its abundance and exquisite, Chinese food culture has occupied an important part in the nation’s tradition cultures. China is of long history with a vast territory. Due to the diversity of the climate, products and customs, there are widely different food styles and taste in local regions. Through creation by past dynasties, the long standing cooking art has formed rich and colorful local dishes. Among them, “the eight major dishes” enjoys the upper reputation, which consists of Shangdong, Chekiang, Sichuan, Jiangshu, Guangdong, Hunan, Fujian and Anhwei. 　

   
Shandong dishes are divided into two factions as Tsinan and Jiaodong dishes. They are good at clear dishes, pure but not greasy. Sichuan dishes have enjoyed the fame that every dish has its own characteristic and none two share the same taste. They are also famous for pocked, peppery and savor taste. Chengdu and Chongqing dishes are two mail branches. 　

    Jiangsu dishes lay stress on the original taste with proper sweetness and salty. They consist of Yangzhou, Suzhou and Nanking branches. Chekiang dishes are both delicious and sweet smelling, both soft and slide, clean and not greasy. They consist of Hangzhou, Ningbo and Shaoxing branches. Guangdong dishes have Guangzhou, Chaozhou and Dongjiang three styles of dishes. They are good at choice seafood and pay more attention to the cooking skills. They act carefully at light food with tender and slide taste, from which they earn the praise of ” It has a best taste in only in Guangzhou.” Hunan dishes consist of Xiangjian, Dongting Lake and Xiangxi coteau three local dishes. Their tastes lay stress on thick, arid and peppery food, mostly using seasoning like hot peppery, shallot and capsicum. Minghou, Fuzhou Ximen and Quanzhou dishes are the representatives of Fujian dishes. They use choice seafood as the main material with elaborately cooks beautiful color and delicious taste of oil. They are good at frying, gliding, decocting and pay attention to the dishes’ sweetness, salty, and the appearance. The most distinct features are their “pickled taste”. Anhwui dishes pay more attention to the taste, color of dishes and the temperature to cook them. They are expert in cooking delicacies from mountains and sea. In addition to the eight major dishes, there are Beijing dishes, shanghai dishes, Hubei dishes, liangning dishes, Henan dishes which also enjoy great reputation. What’s more, the steamed dishes and vegetable dishes have their own charms. Actually, Chinese dishes have earned world’s fame. The Chinese eateries could be found everywhere throughout the world. Many foreigners regard having a Chinese meal as a high honor.　

     chinese take pride in their food culture just as french do. to taste a dish , what would you care most, the nutrition of the ingredients , the taste of the dish , the atomsphere you enjoy or the fun you may have when you are eating. The way i see it, chiese pay more attention to the atomsphere. it is easy to prove . Just think of how many things do you take during the spring festival dinner. people talk ,laugh ,but seldom eat. They spend most of the time on drinking and toasting. My father say that he cannot eat anthing after several bouts of wine. Can we say dishes made during the Spring Festival not dilicious ? On the contrary , the courses are exquisitely prepared. so chinese enjoy the dining atomsphere most.There has been a heat debate about what kind of cuisine is the best in the world. some say french cuisine, others say italian cuisine, still some say Thai cuisine. As for me, chinese cuisine is the best. i have three points to support my view.

      Firstly, chinese cuisine can be categorize into eight items, namely, Lu Yue , Chuan ,Xiang, Ming , Zhe, Su, Hui. moreover, there are various subtypes under the eight items. Secondly, chinese cuisine is a important communication tool. a good numer of business or deal get done and gratidudes or apology are readily accepted during the dinning . last but not the least , chinese cuisine has a long history which seldom countries have had. There is a popular joke enjoyed by both people from home and abroad. We are know pizza, but where does it come from. You may quickly respose that it originate from Itali. While some say it derives from china. back to Tang dynasty(618-907AD), a italian saw chinese people put the filling into the thin flat dough to make dumplings. when he went back to itali, he tried to make dumplings by himself , but unfortunatly, he forgot how to put the piling in to the dough, thus , he just sprayed them on the surface of the pizza and baked it. Naturally the first pizza came into being.

      There are countless reasons to prove the strengh of chinese cusine, here i just pick three of them to show the advantage of the chinese cusine. Some people may ask why chinese food cannot enjoyed by the people across the world while western food has already penetrating to the heart of chnese dietary habbit. i admit that there is a distavantage right here. however why we don’t see things from anther angle, just the diversity of chinese food make it impossible to be globalized. can we people in differnt only speak a language, lead the same lifestyle and our offerspring be born in the same color. Obviously ,the answer is no. it’s the diversity that makes the world full of wonder . even the western food does a lot change in itself in order to care to the special need of differnt peoples. Above all, chinese food can never be golobalized, if it did , then our world would be ruled by machine.

                 Chinese food culture  breadth of love, has a long history in the world enjoy a high reputation.

       Chinese people talk about eating, not just three meals a day, thirst-quenching hunger, which often contain Chinese people understand things and understand things fold justification of a child born with, like Hong Dan, said relatives and friends happy. “Eggs” that the continuation of life, “Chi Dan,” Ji Yu of the Chinese people’s high expectations of the family line. The age when children have to “eat”, at the age of eighteen to “eat” and marriage to “eat”, by the 60-year-old, but also to celebrate a Gongchoujiaocuo. This “eat”, the surface is a physical meet, but “ulterior motives”, eat it use this form of expression of a rich connotations of psychology. Food culture has gone beyond the “eat” itself, was a more profound social significance. China and the West through the exchange of our food culture and the emergence of new characteristics of the times. Such as in the color, smell and taste, and also pay attention to foreign-based nutrition is an era of progress. Eight of the 10 bowl market has been the practice of reform, which is very encouraging. However, the Chinese food culture in the world and the cultural collision, there should be a strong point, so that it can Bocaizhongchang in the process of improving and developing and maintaining enduring vitality. In my opinion, this is the fulcrum of the fine traditional culture, Chinese food culture that is needed to explore the basic connotation. Therefore, the Chinese food culture, the basic content of the study will not only contribute to deepening the theory of food culture, but also for the Chinese food culture to occupy the world market also has far-reaching positive. I think the Chinese food culture of its connotation to the deep Chan can be summed up into two words: precision, the United States, love, ceremony. Words, reflecting the activities of the diet in the process of food quality, aesthetic experience, emotional, social function, and so by implication that contains the unique culture, but also reflects the Chinese food culture and the fine traditional culture in close contact.

     Fine. Chinese food culture is an intrinsic quality of the general. Confucius said: “not object to fine food, fine kuai patience.” This reflects the diet of our ancestors for awareness. Of course, this may be limited to certain sectors of the aristocracy. However, this awareness as a spiritual culture, but more and more widespread, more and more in-depth penetration, to carry out the activities of the entire diet. Finish cooking, eating and even combined, are reflected in a “precision”.

    The United States, embodies the aesthetic characteristics of the food culture. Chinese restaurants have been able to conquer the world, one of the important reasons, it is the United States. That the United States, refers to the activities of the Chinese diet in the form and content of the perfect unity, it is the people brought about by the spirit of aesthetic pleasure and enjoyment. First of all, taste the United States. Dr. Sun Yat-sen stresses “not identified refined taste, the art of cooking is anything but reassuring” and will “taste” of the aesthetic of cooking as the first prerequisite. “Spring and Autumn Yan Shi,” said: “If the soup and behavior. Xihai salt water and fire to cook fish Mei, Zhuo to the salary, and the Zaifu, Qi to the taste.” Also talked about the meaning of this.

     U.S. food culture as a basic connotation, which is the charm of Chinese restaurants where food activities in the United States and throughout the course of each session.

Love, which is Chinese food culture psychosocial function in general. Eat drink, as it can not simply that it is actually the exchange of feelings between people of the media, is a unique social activities. While eating, chatting on the side, you can do business and exchange information, interview. Clutch friends, Songwangyinglai, people used to say good-bye at the dinner table or a welcome expression of feelings, emotional turmoil, people often drink to calm. This is the diet for the activities of the social and psychological adjustment. In the past the tea house, we sit down and drink tea, listen, chat, or vent their dissatisfaction on the court, it is a great psychological massage.

    The reason why Chinese restaurants have a “lyric” function, because “German food and drink, IMC fun” philosophy, and the resulting emergence of the national characteristics of the diet of the way.

    The diet of emotional and cultural activities, a guide and enhance the taste. We have to promote a healthy beautiful, advance the cultural atmosphere, the pursuit of a noble sentiments.

“Ceremony”, refers to the activities of the etiquette of eating. Chinese restaurants pay attention to “ceremony, which is our traditional culture has a great deal. Sickness and death, Songwangyinglai, King ancestral ritual ceremony are.” Li Yun the Book of Rites, “said:” Cardiff beginning of the ceremony, before all diet . “” Third Man “in a few branches did not did not mention a ritual of wine and food. Refers to a ceremony and standardize the order. Seat of the direction of the spoon and chopsticks are arranged in the order serve … … reflects a” ceremony ” .

     We talk about the “ceremony” and not simply look at it as a kind of ritual, and it should be understood as a kind of spirit, a spirit of the internal ethical. This “ceremony”, runs through the activities of the diet in the process, so as to constitute a Chinese diet logical starting point for civilization.

     Jing, the United States, intelligence, courtesy, from different angles general of the Chinese food culture, the basic content, in other words, these four aspects of organic food culture of the Chinese constitute the overall concept. Refined with the United States focused on the image and quality of food, and the situation with the ceremony, will focus on the diet mentality, customs and social functions. However, they do not exist, but are interdependent and reinforce each other. Only the “elite” in order to complete the “United States”; Only “United States” can give rise to a “situation”; only “love” in order to have a co-section trend of the times “ceremony.” Four were linked with Health, the perfect unity, they formed the Chinese food culture top of the pops. We only have an accurate grasp is “fine, the United States, love, courtesy” to a deeper understanding of Chinese food culture, is also due to better carry forward and promote the Chinese food culture。

If  you want to understand the chinese food cuture,you should be kown  ”Eight vegetarian” .

       ”Eight vegetarian” is the representative of Chaozhou vegetarian dishes, the cuisine has a long history, far between in the Tang and Song, Chao Shan area, it has been cooked like “Eight Treasures Vegetarian” category of the dishes. “Eight vegetarian” with fine materials, it mainly with lotus seeds, mushrooms, dried mushrooms, bamboo shoots, seaweed, Chinese cabbage, rotten branches, eight natural ingredients such as chestnuts, cooked by well spend soup, taste tender smooth, rich flavor. The food title “Eight”, see Chaoshan people love and cherish it.

    “Eight vegetarian” is the Chaozhou cuisines, and in its long-term evolution of the development process, there are many areas in the Chaoshan vivid legends about it. One of the most famous, should be popular in the Kangxi reign of a legend. It was reported that Kaiyuan Temple in Chaozhou city with organizing a great chef and a test of participating in both a test of the area around the temple in the Chaoshan governance, managing kitchen cook. Test of the cook in there, “Eight vegetarian,” this element.

      Many cooks in the competition, there is a river do not care about any chef cook Feng Temple is very smart, he familiar with “Eight Treasures Vegetarian” is a vegetarian, but the vegetables must be dirty to do, that is, the raw materials of these elements must be to stew stew with meat, vegetarian and dirty together, the taste will be extremely strong, otherwise light and tasteless. But this is a test of the test of Buddhist temples, is definitely not portable when a test of the old hens, ribs, pork and the like into the Kaiyuan Temple. How do? The cook long and hard, finally came up with a good solution. The day before a test, first used in his own old mother chicken, ribs, a deep red meat boil a pot of soup, then put a clean towel into the pot boiling, then towel dry. When a test the next day, he put the towel draped over his shoulders, a hand basket, basket of candy in lotus seeds, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, cabbage and other class materials to Kaiyuan Temple. Kaiyuan Temple monk door checked his basket of things, did not find what meat they let him go.

     Start cooking “Eight vegetarian” dish, the the cook Bianba shoulder towel into the pot boil a moment, let the whole towel in the meat to the pot then dissolved out towels. Results of the cook to cook this Road “Eight Treasures Vegetarian” was first.

“Vegetarian dirty to do” is the key to cooking vegetables in Chaozhou, from this legend, we can kown that  chinese people  have mastered the rules to Chiu Chow cooking  long  long years ago .

     Someone say that pork is  the delicious chinese food . It has white fat red thin, closely dependent, but entirely different. Sweet and Sour Pork is one of the most known dishes to the westerners. Chinese food culture  actually have many very tasteful dishes with pork. Barbecue pork is another one. Chinese cooking will do away many fat and retain the taste of the pork. Thus the dish with pork is still very healthy and delicious. 

And now,how to  cook  pork ?

Taste: The meat is tender and refreshing.

Features: Crystal and transparent.

Ingredients:

1 pig’s foot (about 1,200 g or 2.6 lb)

150 grams (1/3 lb) salt

25 grams (1 3/4 tbsp) cooking wine

15 grams (1/2 oz) sliced ginger

10 grams(1/3 oz) cinnamon

5 grains of fennel

10 grains of Chinese prickly ash

Directions:

1. Dress the pig’s foot and remove the bone.

2. Put the foot on a chopping board with the skin side down. Prick several holes in it with an iron chopstick or other pointed utensil. Rub salt on the skin side, but put scallions, ginger, cinnamon, fennel and Chines prickly ash on both sides. Put it in a deep container and cover the lid. Marinate for 2 days in summer, or alternatively 3 days in spring and fall and 1 week in winter.

3. Get rid of the scallions, ginger and other sprices. Wash the pork foot clean and put on a plate. Add 100g (6 tbsp) of water and steam over strong ifre for 2 hours. Take out and put hte pork foot in a bowl. Pour on teh juice resulting from steaming until the meat and the sauce are at the same level. When it totally cools off and solidifies into a jelly form, cut foot into chunks 5 cm (2 inches) long, 3 cm (1.2 inches) wide and 0.7 cm (0.28 inch) thick. Place on a plate and serve.