China: Where Eating is a Divine Pleasure

A trip to China will inevitably be a trip where many travelers will discover 'real' Chinese food for the first time. Food is an obsession with the Chinese, and many will use the greeting "Ni fi fan le ma?"(Have you eaten yet?) as opposed to "How are you?"

Traveling around China a visitor will enjoy wheat noodles, lamb kobobs and Peking duck of the North, venture east to taste the braised crabs and abolone of Shanghai, west to try the fiery fests of Sichuan and south to "dot the heart' with a thousand different Cantonese dim sum.

There is a traditional saying in China that states "Food is a divine pleasure." The Chinese fascination with food stems from the ancient worship of gods and spirits. Emperors were carried to the temples or sacred peaks to guarantee a good harvest with sacrifices of meat and rice wine. Now, during modern times, any event will prompt a feast where families bond and business deals made. Food to the Chinese is the cornerstone of their culture.

The question can be asked, "How can such a large population feed itself when less than 10% of its land is arable?" The answer can be found by looking back over the centuries of innovation and efficiency in the fields and in the kitchen. The Chinese people have developed a famine cuisine cherishing wild plants such as bamboo shoots, lotus roots, seaweed, fungi and moss and they make use of every part of domesticated and wild animals.

Boiling and steaming dominate Chinese cookery but it is best known for the stir-fry. Restaurants in China tend to follow the less economical tradition of the elite and not the simplicity of everyday fare but the stir-fry still reflects the efficiency of Chinese food.

Way back in the 16^th century BC it is recorded that China's earliest master of gastronomy, Yi Yin, cooked for the first Shang Emperor and one cookery book from the 6^th century Ad still sets the standards for today's chefs. The ancient philosophy of yin and yang not only applies to spiritual matters but also to culinary matters. Yin foods such as most vegetables, crab and bean curd must complement yang foods such as meat and chilies. The culinary arts in China are governed by concepts and philosophies that seem to permeate all of Chinese life.

During the 7^th century B.C., nutritionists were attached to the Zion court as the Chinese have long recognized the medicinal value of food. A Chinese chef will have in his repertoire a dish or an ingredient for every ailment or poorly organ.

Chinese chefs are flexible in their approach to cooking and not necessarily recipe bound. They will finely judge the right quantity of each ingredient required to make the meal complete. They are particular about flavor, color and texture and each of these properties has been elevated to an art form with special vocabulary and sets of rules.

The trained Chinese palate will distinguish 5 different flavors - sweet, sour, bitter, pungent and salty.

The Chinese are obsessed with symbolism, and this also affects their food. There are many foods that have earned special meanings and must be consumed on certain occasions. For example, round mooncakes, dotted with moonlike duck egg yolks, are a must for the family reunion at the mid-autumn festival. Noodles are served for birthdays. And to celebrate the arrival of a baby, parents hand out bundles of eggs painted red for luck - an even number for a boy and an odd number for a girl.

Source - China - Eyewitness travel guides