Classic Chinese Recipes [antikvár]

ntroduction Vwhinese cuisine was known to and appreciated by a small elite of westerners privileged to travel to the East, but for a long time it was virtually unknown outside China. Chinese settlers in San Francisco first Introduced America to the pleasures of their cuisine, especially during the years of the Gold Rush and the building of the Pacific Railroad. However, it was not until much later in the twentieth century that Chinese cuisine found its way to Britain and other parts of Europe. Once it had found a foothold, however, there was no turning back, as its popularity rocketed across the world. Even then, it remained very much in the realm of restaurants and professionals and it is only comparatively recently that western cooks have started preparing Chinese dishes at home. Chinese Cuisine_ The nature of Chinese cuisine has been shaped by two very different elements - one practical and the other philosophical and religious. For the majority of Chinese peasants, hfe was bitterly harsh. They were at the mercy of natural disasters, from floods to failed harvests. Not only was food often in short supply, but fuel with which to cook it was always a scarce commodity. That a cuisine of international renown should have developed from such an unpromising and uncompromising situation is a remarkable example of ingenuity and imagination. The perennial shortage of fuel brought about the development of fast-cooking techniques, the best known of which is stir-frying. Shcing. chopping, dicing and shredding food into very small pieces meant that It could be cooked more quickly and required less wood for the fire. Filling foods, such as rice and wheat products, depending on what grew best locally, were used to satisfy the appetite or sometimes just to appease hunger. Even when they were available, meat, fish and fresh vegetables had to be used sparingly. Consequently, if only a small portion of a savoury sauce was all there was to flavour a bland bowl of rice, it needed to be packed full of delicious tastes. A careful use of herbs and spices and the development of flavourings, such as soy. hoi-sin and fermented bean sauces, was the practical - and happy - solution to this problem. Of course, not everyone in China was poor and the Influence of the wealthy and aristocratic is also reflected in modern Chinese cooking. One of the first and certainly one of the most important appointments made by a new Emperor of China was the court chef. No mere cook, he was an exalted person with the heavy responsibility of ensuring that food served in the royal household kept its members physically and spiritually fit and healthy. There was also a natural sense of rivalry with his predecessors and each new chef worked to outdo the skills of previous ones and constandy sought new flavours, ingredients and recipes. Consequently, a kind of haute cuisine grew up in Peking. China's one-thousand-year-old capital, and In other parts of the North. The second major influence on Chinese cuisine is connected with the philosophical and religious belief that everything In the universe is balanced and harmonious. As Yin balances Yang, day balances night and man