Great Variety of Meals in Chinese Cuisine.
Chinese cuisine has a very long history and rich traditions. Like a medicine, culture and all spheres of life in China, it is inextricably linked with the ancient Chinese philosophy. Even in the second millennium BC, sage Yin created a theory of “harmonization of food.” Confucius taught the techniques of the culinary art in the VI-V centuries BC. And today, in Shandong Province his recipes are the basis of Confucian cuisine.
A variety of geographic and climatic conditions have resulted in many local cuisines: Beijing, Shanghai, Szechuan and Hunan (Southern cuisine with very sharp and exotic dishes), Harbin (very close to the Russian: black bread, salmon caviar, smoked sturgeon from salmon), Shandong, Canton, Hangzhou, Henan, Fujian, and others.
Chinese cuisine is distinguished by a huge variety of dishes. On the one hand, the numerous wars and natural disasters throughout history, but on the other – the desire to decorate their tables with variety of exotic dishes, contributed that today in this kitchen it is used almost everything that nature gives, including such exotica for our table, as shark fins, sea turtles, dried jellyfish, swallows’ nests, snakes, frogs, lotus seeds, and more. Chinese cuisine has thousands of dishes.
There are three levels of Chinese cookery: everyday, holiday and ceremonial. In daily cuisine the meals are very available. The Chinese eat three meals a day. Breakfast is very early and light. At noon, during lunch meals of rice, flour, vegetables (especially beans), herbs and different seasonings are popular. Festive dishes are the menu of most restaurants. These dishes are not familiar to Europeans and varied. But the highest achievements of Chinese cooks (which can only be men) are showed in the parade, “Mandarin” cuisine, which you can taste at official receptions or in the restaurants of the highest category.
Balance of products with vegetables, seasonings and spices creates a unique taste, fragrance and color. The harmonious unity of these three elements has always been at the heart of Chinese culinary art.
Those who have no time or cannot afford going to a restaurant still can enjoy their dishes. One needs copycat restaurant recipes, ingredients depending on the dish one is going to cook, and time. Of course, it’s not like visiting a restaurant but with copykat recipes one have an opportunity to try out many dishes.