There is probably no city in the world where there would be no restaurant with chinese food and chinese instant noodles Today it is firmly entered into the life of not only Russian inhabitants. If a Chinese goods by their low quality firmly entered the parable, then to say this about Chinese cuisine will simply be, to put it mildly, wrong. Like Chinese culture itself, Chinese cuisine has centuries-old tradition rooted in the first millennium BC e.
None of the modern national cuisines can argue its traditionality, peculiarity and breadth of tastes, like Chinese kitchen.
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Imagine what a modern person can feel when eating a Chinese dish whose recipe was created in a deep antiquities. Gourmets who have tasted Chinese dishes for a long time remember her taste, and some become her admirers. Agree who doesn’t like to eat dishes that were hardly once the Chinese emperors who built the Great Wall of China, or merchants who discovered the Great Silk Road.
A bit of history
The fact that Chinese cuisine has its own ancient traditions may tell the archaeological finds of bronze plates, clay pots and mugs dating back to the imperial history of China period states of Xiang, Shang-Yin and Zhou, and this is the period of the XV — III centuries. BC e.
There is reliable written evidence that in this period Chinese cooks were considered important and respected government officials. There is even a legend that one of the rulers of the Shan dynasty appointed his cook the prime minister.
The Great Confucius in one of his treatises mentioned that a well-prepared dish is comparable to a state administration, in which, as in the dish, you must take into account the compatibility of all ingredients as a ruler to know about the needs of their subjects. The same ancient written sources say that the first the cookbook was created by Chinese artist Ni Zan, who described both simple and refined dishes of that period.
Over time, during the Ming and Qin dynasty, those traditions developed Chinese cuisine that are still revered. However, when the preparation of certain dishes takes into account regional features. In each province, main courses can be prepared. differently. Nevertheless, there are common canons for all.
Traditional Chinese Features
To begin with, the Chinese cooks when cooking are guided by three principles – food should be:
- tasty
- useful
- medical.
The latter principle is confirmed by the fact that in Chinese the kitchen is used in sufficient quantities in cooking spicy herbs and spices. There is a claim that they possess invaluable healing and beneficial properties, capable of neutralize the harmful effects of toxins, have a healing action against damage to internal organs and help quickly recover the body after an illness.
With the rise and spread of Confucianism food became sacred. The axial idea of Confucianism about Yin and Yang divided the products into those that give energy (Ying) and which, in contrast, soothe (Yang). Combination of different products make up the harmony of yin and yang.
The same balance is observed when eating food. Teaching Confucius predetermines harmony in leisurelyness and concentration, therefore, the Chinese eat slowly, have peaceful conversations, enjoying the taste. Only such a combination of physical and spiritual food give a positive result.
In general, it should be said about the order of eating dishes, for example, on holiday table. The festive table menu may consist of 40 dishes, but in order that they are well acquired, there is a order.
So, before the main meal, guests are first served green tea. This is followed by cold snacks from easily digestible foods: fish, liver, vegetables. All are finely chopped and well seasoned. spices. Then follows the main rice dish, seasoned sauce, or rather it will be said that different types of sauces are set on tables, and each guest can choose according to his taste.
To cheer up and good digestion, guests can serve the wine. The main meal ends with meat broth or ear and ends with green tea. In addition, guests can enjoy the colors and aesthetics beautifully decorated table. The Chinese prefer a light blue tablecloth tones, and salads and dishes should be natural colors. Cutting vegetables and fruits in the form of flowers or figures is welcome. animals.
Cooking Secrets
Despite regional differences, as we said above, with cooks adhere to strict rules that formed in antiquity. Here are a few rules.
All products must be finely chopped. Compliance with this rules allows, firstly, to preserve all the useful properties products and, secondly, significantly save time and fuel when cooking.
Mandatory addition of herbs and spices. amount spices simply amazes with its variety. Almost all traditional spices are used in Chinese cuisine. But the main, it is to choose the right combination that will give a unique taste to any dish.
The use of sauces
The taste palette of sauces is diverse: from sugary-sweet to burning bitter. Sauces are served as a must for all dishes: fish, meat, vegetables, rice, soy, beans.
Mixing dishes. Especially gourmet meals can sometimes be prepared. not in sequence, but each element of the dish is prepared separately and already in the final stage all parts are mixed, insisted and served as a whole.
Main Chinese dishes
Fig. This is the most common product, the main the National dish. In China, it began to be cultivated in the era Mesolithic (about 7 thousand years BC). After the glaciers melt in warm climatic zone, rice began to grow rapidly on muddy the banks of the Yellow River and the Yangtze. It is with the beginning of rice cultivation and the emergence of agriculture in China began to take shape statehood and ancient civilization appeared. So, we can say that rice stood at the origins of the emergence of ancient Chinese civilization. Rice is rich in large the content of carbohydrates, proteins, minerals and vitamins of group B. From Rice is prepared all kinds of dishes and even alcoholic drinks.
Soya. Among legumes, soy is the most common in used product. Like soy rice began to be cultivated since ancient times, but somewhat later than pic. Modern Chinese chefs know all about soybean, its beneficial properties and apply this knowledge with making soybean oil, pasta, sauce. According to its properties, soy rich in proteins and minerals. The famous Chinese soya dish is tofu – bean curd.
Vegetables. Few people know that in Russia cabbage and cucumbers came along the Great Silk Road from China. Chinese vegetables prefer Chinese cabbage, broccoli, celery, cucumber bitter, pea stalks and pea itself, bean seedlings, lettuce, leaves mustard.
Meat and fish. Even in the era of empires tradition that only the emperor had the right to eat beef and lamb, ministers and officials only lamb, and ordinary people – pork. But in modern China, mainly pork is consumed.
This is not a tribute to fashion or a worship of tradition, rather here plays a pragmatic factor, as the pig grows faster and gaining weight than, say, cows or small cattle. But still in the western provinces of China, where the Islamic population, eat beef. In addition to meat, the Chinese have long been they also consume fish, especially in places where it is possible catch. To a lesser extent, the Chinese eat poultry and wild meat. animals.
Tea. Like rice and beans, tea in China has been known since ancient times, its they drink both in everyday use and at festivals. Tea – This is a must for hospitality. It all starts with tea and everything ends with tea. More than 30 varieties of tea are known, among which emit black (red), green, white, yellow and herbal.
When they talk about the Chinese tea ceremony, they mean complex of ceremonies of different provinces and mainly in provinces Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan. There are a lot of legends associated with tea and traditions that are carefully preserved from generation to generation. So, for example, there is a legend that Emperor Qianlong from the Qing Dynasty once decided to incognito leave the palace and wander among the people to learn about the attitude of the people to his rule. Logging in one of the taverns, the emperor sat down with two men who drank tea and talked peacefully. The emperor joined their conversation.
Men, realizing that in front of them, perhaps, the emperor was sitting prostrate before him, but at the same time they perfectly understood that according to the laws of the time, they can face the death penalty, if people they learn that they communicated with the emperor on equal terms. Finished tea drinking, the men stood up, and one of them made two gestures. At first he placed his index and middle fingers on the edge of the table, and then bent them.
The surprised emperor asked me to explain what these gestures mean, and then the one who showed these gestures admitted that they guess who is in front of them and therefore the first gesture means people, and the second is an expression of gratitude and humility to his emperor. Since then, in gratitude for the tea service, the Chinese show these gestures.
As we can see, Chinese cuisine has developed from ancient times on the basis of traditions, religion, respect for the history of ancestors has sustainable traditions. Of course, for Europeans who are not used to originality Chinese, it will not always be useful to eat Chinese dishes, as they have a lot of spices, spices and flavoring genetic memory will not be able to absorb such food. To Chinese food you need to get used to, you need to ask in advance of which one dish or another is being prepared with the ingredients.
However, in general, we said above that Chinese food is not only tasty, but also healthy. To understand its unique taste, you must eat just like the Chinese – slowly, stretching pleasure and lead calm and measured conversation.
