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Wednesday, August 17, 2011

THE CHINESE FLAVOR IN FOODS . . .

The history of Chinese cuisine may be traced back to Peking Man and his control of fire and the invention of some form of cooking, some 400,000 years ago. Some accounts of the history of Chinese cuisine takes the beginning to the Chinese stone age, where the cultivation of rice and the production of noodles were found.

Chinese food is extremely diverse. China covers a large territory and has many nationalities; hence there is a wide variety of Chinese foods, each with quite different but fantastic and mouthwatering flavors.  China's local dishes have their own typical characteristic taste.
The Chinese are particular about the color, smell, flavor and shape of food and the "harmony of five flavors".
The salty flavor is the simplest and most important one among the five flavors, the sour flavor is of vinegar in dishes in order to help digestion. Then the spicy flavor is the most pungent and complex one among the five flavors.
The bitter flavor comes from the bitter seasonings used in order to  remove the fishy smell and bring out the flavor of meat.
The sweet flavor can be a neutralizer among the  basic flavors, since excessive salty, sour, spicy or bitter flavor can be balanced.
The Chinese food must look   "fresh and delicious". Chinese cuisine is one of the greatest methods of cooking. The Chinese people enjoy eating good food at all levels of society so cooking has developed into a very sophisticated art.  "Eating is the utmost important part of life."
A delightful and delicious meal creates happiness, harmony, mental and physical well-being.
Prosperity is another element that has influenced Chinese cooking.
Most Chinese dishes are cooked with meat and vegetables together, so the foods contain lower calories and are less rich than Western style food. Vegetables stay bright and crisp by cooking them for a short time over high heat, either in their own juice or in a small amount of water. This Chinese  method retains most of the vitamins and minerals.

2 comments:

  1. wow, that is lot of info on chinese food, loved reading :)

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  2. even if one person likes reading what i have 2 say, it is worth my EFFORTS.

    ReplyDelete