When most people think about China, images of the Great Wall, the Forbidden
City and Tiananmen Square come to mind. Despite all the news we hear today
about the country, it remains mysterious, exotic and distant. Yet an
important part of Chinese culture is very much part of our lives: the
cuisine.
For most, Chinese food is the favourite topic of conversation. It is more
than a passion, it is an obsession, and good eating is believed to be
essential to good living. We have an expression, “Chi fan le mei you
?” (“Have you eaten yet?”), that is used universally as a greeting, just as
one would ask in English, “How are you?” It is also a wish for one’s health
and happiness. The phrase is appropriate since food to the Chinese has
always meant much more than mere sustenance, and the processes of
cultivating, selecting, cooking and consuming it are embedded in the culture.
Like all Chinese children I absorbed a great deal of knowledge about Chinese
cuisine simply by listening to the dinner table conversations of my
relations. My real culinary training, however, took place in my uncle’s
restaurant in Chicago, where I started to work part-time at the age of 11.
In those early days I had all the routine, unpleasant jobs. I remember
peeling hundreds of pounds of prawns, a tedious and painful chore. I also
have memories of cleaning what seemed like mountains of huge sea snails,
which were delivered to the kitchen in enormous burlap bags. All the time I
was thus employed I was surrounded by the wonderful aromas of the
mouth-watering dishes being prepared by the expert chefs. Slowly they taught
me why a particular spice went with a certain meat, why this sauce suited
that vegetable, in short, the essence of Chinese cooking technique.
Although my family was originally from the southern province of Guangdong, my
uncle employed chefs from different parts of China. Many people think that
all Chinese cooking is similar, which is understandable since all Chinese
cooks share a common technique, and since so many restaurants in the West
blur the distinctions between the various regional styles. But China is a
vast country with great variations in climate, agricultural tradition and
available foodstuffs. It is no wonder, then, that there are many variations
in culinary style within China, which can be separated into four key
regional categories.
The Southern School
Guangdong (Cantonese) cuisine is probably the best known in the West, because
in the 19th century many Chinese families emigrated from this area to
Europe, Australia and America. Many deem Cantonese cooking the haute cuisine
of China - some people attribute this to the influence of the brilliant
chefs of the Imperial court who fled to Guangzhou (Canton) when the Ming
dynasty was overthrown in 1644.
The Cantonese are especially interested in delicacies such as dog, snake,
frogs’ legs and turtle. The area is famous for its sweet and sour dishes,
its dim sum - a range of delicious snacks served as a late breakfast or
light lunch - and its widespread use of soy, hoisin and oyster sauces.
The Cantonese like their food slightly undercooked so that the natural
flavours and colours are preserved; thus stir-frying and steaming are two of
the most popular ways of cooking.
They also avoid heavy use of chillis, spices and heavy oils and focus instead
on achieving a subtle yet harmonious blend of colours, textures, aromas and
flavours.
Rice is the main staple of the Cantonese diet - the area is known as one of
the “rice bowls” of China.
The northern school
This area embraces the culinary styles of Shandong, Henan and Beijing. A
distinguishing feature of its cuisine is the use of grains rather than rice
as the staple food, particularly wheat, corn and millet, which are eaten as
bread, noodles, pancakes and dumplings.
Because of the harshness of the climate, fresh vegetables are available only
at certain times of the year, so northerners have learnt how to preserve
foods to see them through the long winter. Vegetables that store well (sweet
potatoes, turnips, onions and cabbages) are widely used, as are preserved
ingredients such as dried mushrooms, dried and smoked meats, and pickled
fruits and vegetables.
Meat is in much shorter supply than elsewhere, though beef, mutton, goat and
pork are available. The area is home to many of China’s four million
Muslims, whose presence has influenced its cuisine.
The Imperial court was based in Beijing, and its influence on the culinary
style of the area is reflected in some spectacular dishes, such as Peking
duck, the subtlety of which contrasts with more strongly flavoured dishes
that characterise the cuisine, which depends heavily on garlic, spring
onions, leeks, sesame seeds/oil and sweet bean sauce.
The eastern school
This region stretches from the eastern coast to central China. It contains the
cooking styles of Fujian, Jiangxi, Zhejiang and, most important, Shanghai,
China’s biggest city and its greatest port.
It also boasts some of the most fertile land, which provides a rich variety of
fresh fruit and vegetables, and is noted for its vegetarian cuisine. The
countryside is dominated by the magnificent Yangtze River and the coastline
is very long, so fresh fish and shellfish are plentiful.
Eastern cooks prefer light, delicate seasonings to maximise the natural
flavours of their fresh ingredients. The preferred cooking techniques are
stir-frying, steaming, red-cooking (slow simmering in a dark soy sauce) and
blanching. Soy sauce from this area is said to be the best in China.
The region is also famous for some special ingredients, such as Shaoxing rice
wine and black vinegar (which is used for cooking and as a dipping sauce),
Zhejiang ham, which is rather like raw English smoked bacon; and rice wine.
Sugar is widely used in the cooking of meat and vegetables, as is a great
deal of oil, earning this area a reputation for rich food.
The western school
This area sits entirely inland and includes the provinces of Sichuan and
Hunan, the birthplace of the late Chairman Mao Zedong.
This “land of abundance”, as it is sometimes called, is virtually surrounded
by mountains and was almost cut off from the rest of China until the 20th
century.
Nowadays Sichuan cuisine in particular is popular in the West. The summers in
the region are hot and sultry and the winters mild. Fruit and vegetables are
plentiful, as are pork, poultry and river fish.
The distinguishing aspect of the culinary style is its reliance on very strong
flavourings and hot spices, particularly red chillis, Sichuan peppercorns,
ginger, onions and garlic.
Outsiders used to suggest that such ingredients were used to mask the taste of
the food, which had deteriorated quickly in the area’s muggy heat.
However, regional chefs stand by their cuisine and their command of the art of
seasoning. Dishes from this area are usually artful combinations of many
flavours and can be hot, sour, sweet and salty all at once. How to get the
hang of the yin and the yang
How to get the hang of yin and yang
The Revolution in China in 1949 and its aftermath had consequences for cooking
as well as profound political and social effects. Within the country, the
great cookery tradition became for quite some time almost moribund.
Revolutionaries deemed the art of cooking an elitist and reactionary
enterprise, a reminder of Imperial days, and therefore best repressed.
However, in the 1980s mainland Chinese leaders decided to allow, and indeed
encourage, the reemergence of the grand cuisine, an essential part of the
booming tourism business. Since then there have been dramatic
transformations in culinary matters. The material results of economic
reforms, especially in agriculture and transportation, and the changed
political atmosphere have led to the reopening of traditional cookery
schools and of privately owned restaurants and food stalls.
Ingredients that once were exported or otherwise not available are now in
good supply at affordable prices. People once again celebrate the seasons,
special events and anniversaries with the customary feasts and banquets. In
its attempt to create a new Chinese socialist nationalism, the Communist
regime had banned many traditional and all regional food specialities;
today, all of these favourites have reemerged.
Indeed, with the relatively improved financial circumstances of many urban
Chinese, a vibrant restaurant and street food-stall economy has revived,
wherein entrepreneurs are offering to their patrons the long-suppressed
delights their grandmothers used to prepare in family kitchens.
I myself have witnessed and experienced these transformations during the past
decade. From being a country in which it was next to impossible to find a
decent restaurant or obtain a delectable meal, China has made enormous
strides toward regaining the glories of its wonderful cuisine. There are now
excellent private restaurants in the major cities as well as small villages,
wonderful street-stall offerings throughout the country and marvellous
home-cooked meals everywhere.
Much remains to be done, and there are still disappointing dining experiences
to be had, but the Chinese people are truly well advanced in the drive to
reclaim their culinary heritage. The grand tradition of Chinese cookery has
not only survived but has been developed to a high degree of excellence in
Taiwan and Hong Kong. Many food critics and gourmets now consider Hong Kong
to be the greatest centre of Chinese cookery in the world. The best and most
traditional ingredients flow over the Chinese border into Hong Kong, and
China is Hong Kong’s chief food supplier. In its eagerness to earn foreign
currency, China has fostered a trade that has ensured the maintenance of
traditional cooking in Hong Kong, and the latter’s economic prosperity has
supported the preservation of the best of this cuisine. In this bustling,
energetic place there are more than 40,000 restaurants and food stalls
competing for customers, many of whom eat most of their meals out. Perhaps
no other people in the world are so food-conscious. Even the smallest stall
sells delicious, quality dishes, and the top restaurants are among the best
in the world.
I have observed the emergence, or crystallisation, of what I call the “new
Hong Kong cuisine”. This is a new style of a lighter, modern, imaginative
Chinese cuisine that combines the best of the ancient Chinese canon with the
most compatible influences from the best of the world’s cuisines. It is a
type of Chinese food that has become the favourite of restaurant-goers
throughout the world.
Thanks to the dizzying pace of improvements in transportation, communication,
marketing, and travel facilities, the peoples and cultures of the world have
been brought into even greater proximity. This process has not always meant
untroubled contacts, but one of the most positive and benign results has
been to make available to people the world over the foods, ingredients,
techniques and styles of what used to be seen as “exotic” cuisines. So it is
with Chinese cookery. Today one may walk into almost any supermarket in
Europe, Australia and America and find, for example, fresh ginger, bok choy,
and many Chinese sauces and condiments.
The Chinese diet is healthy because it depends upon cooking methods that
preserve vitamins and use small quantities of meat and no dairy products.
Underlying all Chinese cooking is the ancient yin-yang theory of food
science which is closely related to Chinese beliefs about health. In China,
all foods are divided into one of three groups: yin, for cooling foods;
yang, for heating foods; and yin-yang for neutral foods. To the foreigner
there is little obvious logic in the way the foodstuffs are assigned to
these categories. Yin foods include items as diverse as beer, crab, duck and
soda water. Yang foods include brandy, beef, coffee and smoked fish. Neutral
foods include bread, steamed rice, carrots, pigeons and peaches.
Not only are all foods subdivided in this way but people are too. A yin person
is quiet and introverted, while a yang person is a more active, outgoing
type. The effect of different foods on an individual will depend upon the
way they conflict with or complement his personality type. The idea is to
construct a meal and one’s whole diet to achieve the right balance or
harmony. Most Chinese have some knowledge of the yin-yang food science as
the idea is instilled into them from a very young age.
The art of Chinese cookery also lies in achieving a harmonious blend of
colour, texture, aroma and flavour. A typical Chinese meal consists of two
parts - the fan, the staple grain, be it rice, noodles or dumplings, and the
cai, which covers the rest of the dishes: meat, poultry, fish and
vegetables. A meal comprises three to four cai dishes, one fan dish and a
soup. The cai dishes should each have a different main ingredient; for
example, one meat, one fish and one vegetable.
A variety of techniques will be used to cook these dishes. Fish may be
steamed, meat braised, vegetables stir-fried. The meal will be designed so
that each dish varies and yet complements the others in terms of appearance,
texture and flavour. One dish will be spicy and another mild; one may be
chewy and another crisp. The effect should appeal to all the senses. All
these dishes will be placed in the centre of the table and shared. Eating
for the Chinese is a communal experience, and a shared meal is regarded as
the visible manifestation of the harmony that should exist between family
and friends.
There is an old Chinese proverb which says: “To the ruler, the people are
heaven; to the people, food is heaven.” Once you have embarked on the
exciting road to discovering the mysteries and pleasures of Chinese cooking
and dining, you will soon find how sublime Chinese food can be.
The time and the conditions are both propitious for the universal enjoyment of
Chinese cookery. It can be done, and should be, as a part of our daily
lives, both East and West. I wish you happy and delicious eating.
Ken Hom is the author of more than 20 bestselling books on Chinese and
Asian cuisine. His latest book is Simple Asian Cookery (BBC Books)
