The Art of Chinese Food and Drink

Cooking has occupied a lofty position in Chinese culture throughout history. The great Chinese philosopher Lao Zi once said of the art: "Governing a great nation is much like cooking a small fish."

Chinese food can be roughly divided into the Northern and Southern styles of cooking. In general, Northern dishes are relatively oily, and the use of vinegar and garlic tends to be quite popular. Wheat, processed into pasta, also plays an important role in Northern cooking; noodles, ravioli-like dumplings, steamed, stuffed buns, fried meat dumplings, and steamed bread are just a few of the many flour-based treats enjoyed in the North of China. The best known regional variations of Northern Chinese cuisine include those of Beijing, Tianjin, and Shandong.

Representative of the Southern cooking styles are Szechwan and Hunan cuisine, famous for their liberal use of chili peppers. Within the whole of Southern cooking, the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions emphasize freshness and tenderness, while Guangdong cuisine tends to be somewhat sweet and always full of variety. Rice and its bi-products, including noodles, cakes, and congee form the typical foundation for Southern dishes.

In Chinese cooking, color, aroma, and flavor share equal importance in the preparation of every dish. Normally, any one entree will combine three to five colors, selected from ingredients that are light green, dark green, red, yellow, white, black, or caramel-colored. Usually, a meat and vegetable dish are prepared from one main ingredient and two to three secondary ingredients of contrasting colors. They are then cooked appropriately, incorporating the proper seasonings and sauce to create an aesthetically attractive dish.

A dish with a fragrant aroma will most certainly whet the appetite. Ingredients that contribute to a mouthwatering aroma are scallions, fresh ginger root, garlic, and chili peppers. Other include wine, star anise, stick cinnamon, pepper, sesame oil, and dried Chinese black mushrooms. Of foremost importance in cooking any dish is preserving the fresh, natural flavor of its ingredients, and removing any undesirable fishy or gamey odors. In Western cooking, lemon is often used to remove fishy flavors; in Chinese cooking, scallions and ginger serve a similar function. Soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, and other seasonings add richness to a dish without covering up the natural flavor of the ingredients. A well-prepared Chinese dish should taste rich to those who like strong flavors, but not overspiced to those who seek a milder taste. It should seem sweet to anyone who has a sweet-tooth, and hot to those who like a piquant flavor. A dish that is all of these things to all of these people is a truly successful dish.

Color, aroma, and flavor are not the only principles to be followed in Chinese cooking; nutrition is also an important concern. The principle of the þharmonization of foodsþ ( ting nai tþiao ho) can be traced back to the Shang dynasty scholar Yi Yin. He relates the five flavors of sweet, sour bitter, piquant, and salty to the nutritional needs of the five major organ systems of the body (the heart, liver, spleen/pancreas, lungs, and kidneys), and stresses their role in maintaining good physical health. In fact, many of the plants used in Chinese cooking, such as scallions, fresh ginger root, garlic, dried lily buds, tree fungus, and so forth, have properties of preventing and alleviating various illnesses. The Chinese have a traditional belief in the medicinal value of food, and that food and medicine share the same origin. This view could be considered a forerunner of nutritional science in China. Notable in this theory is the concept that correct proportion of meat to vegetable ingredients should be maintained; one-third of meat-based dishes should be vegetable ingredients, and one-third of vegetable dishes should be meat. In preparing soups, the quantity of water used should total seven-tenths the volume of the serving bowl. In short, the correct ingredient proportions must be adhered to in the preparation of each dish or soup in order to ensure full nutritional value.

The Chinese have a number of rules and customs associated with eating. For example, meals must be taken while seated; there is a set order of who may be seated first among men, women, old and young; and the main courses must be eaten with chopsticks, and soup with a spoon. Chinese banquets are arranged on a per table basis, with each table usually seating ten to twelve persons. A typical banquet consists of four appetizer dishes, such as cold cut platters or hot hors d'oeuvres; six to eight main courses; then one savory snack-type dish and a dessert. The methods of preparation include stir-frying, stewing, steaming, deep-frying, flash-frying, pan-frying, and so forth. A dish may be savory, sweet, tart, or piquant. The main colors of a dish may include red, yellow, green, white and caramel color. Food garnishes, such as cut or sculptured tomatoes, Chinese white radishes, cucumbers, and so forth, may be used to add to the visual appeal of a dish. All of these elements contribute to making Chinese food a true feast for the eyes and nostrils as well as the tastebuds.

In this cosmopolitan world, Chinese food is available in practically all major þ and many not-so-major þ cities of the globe. However, experts tends to agree that Taipei is the one place in the world where you can find the þgenuineþ version of just about any kind of the Chinese food imaginable. In fact, in any large city or little village in Taiwan, you do not have to walk very far to find a small restaurant; a few more steps will take you to a large and elaborate one. Even in home cooking, whether for everyday family meals or entertaining guests, food is a prepared with sophistication and variety. Northern style dishes may include Peking duck, smoked chicken, chafing dish with sliced lamb, fish slices in sauce, beef with green pepper, and dried scallops with Chinese white radish balls. Representative of the Southern style of cooking are duck smoked with camphor and tea, chicken baked in salt, honey glazed ham, flash-fried shrimp, eggplant in soy sauce, Szechwan style beancurd ... the variety is endless. With the rapid expansion of industry and commerce, a new twist has been added to traditional Chinese food: Chinese fast food franchises. At the same time, restaurants serving foods from all over the world have been springing up everywhere in Taipei: American hamburgers, Italian pizza, Japanese sashimi, German beer, and Swiss cheese are easily found in practically any part of the city. A visit to Taipei is a culinary experience not easily forgotten!

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