| CUISINES
OF CHINA
If
there's a truly global cuisine, then Chinese food
must surely be a candidate - where in the world can't
one by a Chinese meal?
Few
people in the world have a more passionate relationship
with food than the Chinese. Food shortages over many
centuries have forced the Chinese to be creative in
order to utilize and conserve their relatively scant
food supplies. In addition, the elite have long used
food as a way to display wealth and status, boasting
numerous cooks and elaborate dishes. China's great  geographical variety offers a wealth of different
produce.
The Chinese
preoccupation with food is reflected in
China's philosophy
and literature. Indeed, as depicted in numerous historical,
literary and philosophical writings,
scholars were
also gourmands more often than not. Laozi,
the founder
of Daoism, said, "Handle a large country with
as gentle a touch
as you would cook a small fish." Another Daoist sage, Zhuang Zi, wrote a poem in which
he advises
an emperor to watch his cook: "A good
cook needs a new chopper once a year - he
cuts. A
bad cooks needs a new one every month - he hacks."
Few will dispute the old saying that "appetite
for food and sex
is nature." This recognition
of the importance of food has
helped nurture
cuisines
that are
among the world's best.
INGREDIENTS
Chinese cuisines seek a balance of textures, flavors
and
colors within a meal, and few dishes feature any
one
ingredient exclusively. The harmonious blending
of
ingredients and balance in seasoning is important;
common seasonings are soy sauce, ginger, garlic, vinegar,
sesame oil, soybean paste and spring onions.
Rice is
a staple food for most Chinese, although those living
in the north traditionally eat food created from wheat
flour, including noodles, dumplings and various steamed,
deep-fried or griddle-fried breads. Soybean curd,
both fresh and dried in either sheets or twists, provides
important protein in a country where the majority
of available land is given over to crops rather than
grazing.
Cows and
sheep, which require pasture lands, are not as common
as poultry and the ubiquitous pig. Without doubt,
pig is the most popular meat. In addition, both fresh
and saltwater fish are highly prized and usually well
prepared.
Vegetables
are of supreme importance, but are rarely eaten raw.
This stems partly from hygienic considerations, as
the traditional fertilizer was human waste. The range
of vegetables cultivated in China is vast, particularly
in the warmer south, and includes not only those known
in the West, but other delights such as a huge rage
of leafy greens, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, taro
and lotus root. Some common vegetables such as cabbage
and white radish are also salted or dried and used
as seasoning, especially during the bitter winter
months in the frozen north.
The
use of monosodium glutamate (MSG) has had a significant
effect on Chinese cooking. Called wei jing in Chinese,
this miracle powder was introduced by the Japanese
in the 1940s. Cooks discovered that it instantly added
a meaty sweetness to the food, which could otherwise
only be achieved by simmering stock for hour.
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