CHINESE CUISINE

GROUP 4
ETYMOLOGY
China (today's Guangdong),
Mangi (inland of Xanton), and Cataio
(inland of China and Chequan, and
including the capital Cambalu,
Xandu, and a marble bridge) are all
shown as separate regions on this
1570 map by Abraham Ortelius
 ETYMOLOGY

• The word "China" has been used in English since the 16th century
• Its origin has been traced through Portuguese, Malay, and Persian
back to the Sanskrit word Chīna, used in ancient India.
• "China" appears in Richard Eden's 1555 translation of the 1516
journal of the Portuguese explorer Duarte Barbosa.
• Barbosa's usage was derived from Persian Chīn (‫)چ<نی‬, which was in
turn derived from Sanskrit Cīna
• In this case, the alternative suggestions includes the name of
Yelang and the Jing or Chu state,
• "People's Republic of China" - official name of Modern state
• The shorter form is "China" Zhōngguó ( 中国 ; 中國 )
from zhōng ("central") and guó ("state").
• It was often used as a cultural concept to distinguish the
Huaxia people from perceived "barbarians".
• The name Zhongguo is also translated as "Middle Kingdom"
in English.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Social classes
Class in Ancient China. According to the traditional
Confucian view, society is made up of four classes:
government officials, farmers, artisans and merchants
Clothing
The ancient Chinese wore tunics like long- and
short-sleeved robes with or without belts. Women
mostly wore long tunics with a belt that touched the
ground and men wore shorter ones that touched their
knees. Initially, there were no buttons, as these were
developed much later on.
Agriculture
Rice and Millet - Ancient Chinese began farming rice
over 9,000 years ago. Farming made life easier because
people no longer had to travel to hunt animals, but
could grow their food where they lived. Rice and millet
were the two main crops grown in Ancient China.
Asia
Ancient China was one of the oldest and longest lasting civilizations in
the history of the world. The history of Ancient China can be traced
back over 4,000 years. Located on the eastern part of the continent of
Asia, today China is the most populous country in the world.
China is the oldest continuous major world civilization, with records
dating back about 3,500 years. Successive dynasties developed a system
of bureaucratic control which gave the agrarian-based Chinese an
advantage over neighboring nomadic and hill cultures.
Brief Overview of the History of China
China's history is rich with art, politics, science, and philosophy. It is
home to the oldest of the major world civilizations. China was ruled by
various dynasties for much of its history. The first dynasty is believed to
be the Xia dynasty which formed somewhere around 2250 BC.
China is arguably the cradle of Asian civilization, as evidence of human
settlements along the Yellow River Valley date back thousands of years.
Early China was dominated by feudal lords and warring areas, including
the Shang and Zhou dynasties, which were among the most famous early
rulers of China.
Here are a few incredibly fascinating facts about China;
• China has the world's largest population. ...
• Chinese is the most popular language worldwide. ...
• China is the fourth largest country in the world, after
Russia, Canada and the United States.
• China has the largest army. ...
• China is home to all pandas.
Here are eight for your list:
• Spring Festival
• Tomb Sweeping Day
• Dragon Boat Festival
• National Day
• Peach Blossom Festival
• Shanghai Longhua Temple Fair
• Lantern Festival
• Laba Festival.
The reason being that China is the oldest civilization,
that have never been invaded and have its culture
replaced with another. With that I mean that even
though China have gone though different dynasties and
empires, they have all in some way been direct
descendants of each other.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF CUISINE
Chinese cuisine is noted for the following characteristics:

• Vegetables are the main ingredients. This explains why most

Chinese women are slim and men free of cardiovascular
diseases. In China, there is a traditional respect for land. As the
old saying goes, “Live on the mountain if you live in one and live
on water if you live by water.” The Chinese are meticulous about
food preparation. Whether the ingredients they use are pastries
or vegetables, they always try to make the dishes tasty. For
example, beans are prepared into bean sprouts and bean curd.
• The Chinese like well-prepared food to facilitate food absorption and
digestion, they are scrupulous about the temperature while cooking.
Undercooked food is unacceptable to them. In addition, warm soup is
very important. Wonton, or dumpling soup and noodles are popular
nationwide. Other soups include jellied bean curd, rice porridge and
corn porridge.
• Chinese like to eat together
• It reflects the Chinese notion of union versus division—round tables,
round dishes, and round bowls all symbolize union and perfection.
FOOD HABITS
1. Chinese use chopsticks to pick up food, not knives and forks.
2. Wheat noodles are the main staple diet in northern China, while rice is
the main staple in the south. Restaurants in southern China also offer
noodles, but they are usually rice noodles.
3. Rice is served separately (in shared meals): in small bowls.
Meat/vegetable dishes are served on plates or in bigger bowls, placed in
the middle for everyone to share. It's not one plate each, like in the West
(unless eating fast food)
4. Chinese cuisine varies across China. There are many regional cuisines with
different flavors: spicy, sweet, sour, hearty, etc. Chinese food has ‘8 Great Cuisines’.
There are many styles of cooking in China. The most popular cooking styles in
China are know as the ‘Eight Great Cuisines’, named according to different regions
of China. The features of the 8 cuisines are as follows:
• - Cantonese cuisine: sweeter, favoring braising and stewing, adding various mild
sauces
• - Sichuan cuisine: spicy and bold, often mouth-numbing, using lots of chili,
garlic, ginger, and peanuts
• - Jiangsu cuisine: fresh, moderately salty, and sweet, with precise cooking
techniques, favoring seafood, soups, and artistic, colorful presentation
• - Zhejiang cuisine: mellow, using fresh seafood, freshwater fish,
and bamboo shoots, and a wide variety of cooking methods
• - Fujian cuisine: lighter, with a mild sweet-and-sour taste, using
ingredients from the sea and the mountains
• - Hunan cuisine: quite spicy, with a hot and sour taste, favoring
sautéing, stir-frying, steaming, and smoking
• - Anhui cuisine: uses many wild plants and animals as ingredients,
favoring stewing and more oil
• - Shandong cuisine: salty and crispy, favoring braising and seafood
5. Chinese began to drink tea over 3,000 years ago.
6. Vegetables and rice are the most
common ingredients in Chinese
food. For most Chinese, it is a
tradition to eat vegetables and rice
for daily meals, especially for lunch
and dinner. Vegetables and rice are
the most common ingredients in
Chinese food. Vegetables are
regarded as healthy food.
7. China’s earliest chopsticks were used for
cooking, not for eating. Chinese people have used
chopsticks for more than 3,000 years. But the
earliest chopsticks were used for cooking when
people cooked in a large pot. To save fuel and
cook quickly, they chopped food into small
pieces. It wasn’t until A.D. 400 that people began
to eat with chopsticks. For some meals, e.g.
noodles, it saves lots of time to eat with
chopsticks.
8. People in Beijing eat scorpions
on a stick. The scorpions sold on
the streets in Beijing are grabbed
live, dipped in boiling oil for a
second or so and skewered on a
stick. You can find a lot of other
insects, mollusks, and tasty sea
things for sale on Beijing's
touristy pedestrian streets.
9. Chinese eat “lucky food” during Chinese New Year.
Chinese people eat certain foods during the Chinese
New Year period for their symbolic meanings.
10. Birthday Noodles (Eating
Noodles) - The noodle
symbolizes longevity. So the
Chinese have made it a tradition
to slurp a bowl of noodles as a
celebration of the many years
ahead. However, it comes with a
proviso: never cut the long strip
of the noodle, as it symbolizes
cutting your life short.
11. Order In Evens - Always order
an even number of dishes. A rule of
thumb is to order dishes equivalent
to the number of people in your
party, plus one, just to ensure you
order enough food, and no one goes
hungry. Also, it is based on the
belief that an odd number of dishes
symbolizes death.
12. Tea Tapping - According to Chinese
eating habits, a teacup should never be
allowed to run dry. Your host, or
members of your dinner party, will
regularly refill the cups of those around
them, who tap the table in response. Go
ahead and follow suit, as it is a show of
thanks.
FACTS ABOUT COUNTRY
1. China has the largest population in the world.
2. Officially China has 56 ethnic groups.
3. There are about 35 million people who live in caves in China.
4. Chinese is the only surviving pictographic writing system.
5. China has a variety of beliefs.
6. Different colors have different meanings in China.
7. China has lucky numbers and unlucky numbers.
8. There are 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac.
9. There were about 600 emperors over the history of China.
10. Ketchup originated in China as a pickled fish sauce called ke-
tsiap
11. Late sunrises- China is a huge country with only one time zone
12. Births restriction (One child policy)
13. Gay shock therapy or Conversion Therapy
COOKING STYLES
Chinese cuisine is well-loved across the world and is bursting with delicious
food, from noodles and rice to spring rolls and dumplings. As the food is so
varied, there are numerous cooking methods used. In this blog, we take a
look at the range of cooking methods used to create Chinese food so that you
can replicate the perfect dishes at home, in the correct way. 
• Boiling
Used throughout many cuisines, boiling is considered the simplest
method to cook Chinese dishes. A quick method, the ingredients are washed
and cut, then submerged into boiling water or broth. Once fully cooked, drain
the ingredients immediately and then serve with seasoning. Vegetables are
the most common ingredient to prepare in this form as you can cook them to
your desired texture, hard or soft.
• Roasting
Many types of meat in Chinese cuisine are roasted, such as chicken and duck. Usually,
the meat is cleaned, seasoned and then basted with cooking oil, to then be hung above a
fire or cooked in a very hot oven. Once roasted, the skin should be crispy, and it can then
be chopped and arranged on a platter in an arty form. Many roasted dishes are served
with a sauce made from the meat drippings for extra flavour. One of the most famous and
familiar roasted Chinese dishes is Peking duck, a meal that is enjoyed across the world.

• Stir-Fry
Perhaps the most common method of Chinese cooking is stir-frying. A quick and simple
method, all you have to do is chuck the ingredients in a wok and cook on high heat for a
short period of time. Due to the short cooking time, vegetables and other ingredients will
keep most of their nutritional value, and stir-fried meat is often juicy and tasty.
• Braising
A method that is slightly more time-consuming is braising; however, it is certainly worth
putting in the effort. The technique involves adding seasoning and ingredients to a small
amount of water or broth to either a wok or saucepan, then boiling it together at a high
temperature. Afterwards, you simmer at low heat for around one hour or longer. Once
braised, you can cut the ingredients into large cubes and serve. Braised chicken with
mushrooms or braised beef with potatoes are perhaps the most well-known dishes cooked in
this way.

• Deep-Frying
A widespread cooking method that is used across the world, deep-frying is where you fully
submerge the ingredients in oil, to produce a crispy-textured dish. The usual way to deep-fry
is to cut the ingredients into small chunks, soak them in a seasoning of your choice, coat with
corn starch and then fry them in hot oil. The more seasoning and corn starch you use will
determine the crispiness of the dish.
• Steaming
Invented in China, steaming is widely used for buns and dumplings. The
process of this cooking style involves putting ingredients in a steamer basket
which is placed over water in a steamer pot. Steaming can hold more of the
nutrition contained in food compared to boiling because the water doesn’t
absorb them. Furthermore, less seasoning is used, and very little oil is required,
so the foods natural flavour is maintained. Bamboo steamers are commonly used
by the locals, which are stacked upon one another, allowing for an array of food
to be cooked at once. Dishes that require the longest cooking time are placed at
the bottom so that they are near the hottest part. Furthermore, the most well-
known dishes that are steamed are dim sum, dumplings, buns and fish.
FOOD SAMPLES
CHINESE TOMATO EGG DROP SOUP (dànhuātāng)
Chinese cucumber salad (pai huang gua)
General tso's chicken
Chinese fried sesame dessert balls (jian dui)
Bubble Tea
COMMON INGREDIENTS
1. Soy sauce 2. Shaoxing wine (cooking wine / rice wine
 COMMON INGREDIENTS
3. Chinkiang Vinegar 4. Oyster sauce 5. Sesame Oil
COMMON INGREDIENTS
6. Five spice powder 7. Star anise
 COMMON INGREDIENTS
8. Sichuan 9. Doubanjiang (fermented 10. Garlic
peppercorn spicy bean paste)
COOKWARES
1. Cleaver • 2. Cutting board
 COOKWARES
3. Wok • 4. 'Wok Shovel’ Chinese Scoop Strainer
COOKWARES

6. Ladle • Long Chopsticks (and Ordinary

Chopsticks)
 COOKWARES
A Rice Cooker A Pressure Cooker • Steaming Baskets