What Makes

Chinese Cooking

Unique

PENG YOU CHINA KITCHEN AND BAR

Address: Gasworks Plaza, 76 Skyring Tce, Newstead, Queensland, 4006 Contact Number: (07) 3257 7225

E-mail: dine@peng-you.com.au

The Chinese culture has a deep affection for food. Every

celebration has a set of menu that must be followed.

Every dish served contains deep meaning and a spiritual

purpose. Each ingredient – vegetable, spice, meat – hold

meaning. Every method is calculated to get balance

cooking and retaining nutrients. This makes Chinese

cookery distinct from other cuisine, which only plays on

the taste buds.

Basic Ingredients

Chinese cooking is the manipulation of these

ingredients. The process also has something to do with

the ts’ai and fan balancing. Ts’ai refers to the meat and

vegetable while fan encompasses the starch content of the meal. The Chinese try

to place them together in a plate, but never really mix them together to create

as one. On the other hand, they manage to combine these ingredients and

actually come up with varying tastes.

Here are some of the staples in Chinese dishes:

1. Rice means increasing prosperity.

2. Legumes may mean coins and prosperity.

Seeds may mean fertility in women.

3. Garlic symbolizes eternity.

4. Bamboo shoots are a sign of wealth.

5. Citrus fruits mean luck, wealth and

abundance.

6. Noodles are a symbol for longevity.

7. Fish is for prosperity and abundance.

8. Egg is for fertility.

9. Duck is a symbolism of phoenix and dragon, which means

strength, unity, and good marriage.

Cooking Methods

The Chinese cooking system is at best described as

simple. The aim is to make raw food edible without

missing so much time. This is why the favorite Chinese

take-outs are comparable to fast food when it comes to

speed. Here are some simple methods of traditional

Chinese cooking:

1. Stir-frying is

a quick way of

cooking small batches of thinly

sliced vegetable and meat often

with rice. It involves a wok, high

heat, and continuous tossing.

2. Steaming is the method for making dim sum, buns, fish and

meat.

3. Braising is browning food and then simmering it in a small

amount of liquid seasoning.

4. Hong-shao creates the richest, reddish-brown color in meat

dishes. Hong-shao literally means red-cooked.

5. Roasting is a universal cooking method that creates a

favorite dish – the roasted Peking duck.

The Chinese has a saying when it comes to

food: “waste not, want not”. This makes

perfect sense when one realizes that

everything in a Chinese meal is well

planned and well put.

Resources:

http://peng-you.com.au/

http://thewoksoflife.com/how-to/cooking-methods-used-in-

chinese-cuisine/

http://www.globaled.org/issues/149/f.html