Fish Fish – Not Fish
Another great confusion – the first expert, economic, economic and family life of all times and peoples – indicated the 25th centuries ago on the conventionality of the concept "Chinese cuisine". Too big there was always this amazing country, the tastes of its inhabitants too different.
Worldwide, the Sichuan cuisine is most often taken for Chinese, which is famous in particular, with its sharpness. Of the main regional culinary traditions, the most famous Shandunskaya (Confucius, by the way, from there) and Guangdun, although the real patriots of Chinese cuisine with the go will call back with a dozen directions and schools.
And yet, with all the regional manifold, there is some unity in the boundless world of Chinese cuisine.
First of all, this is a cult "Little piece". There are practically no dishes with large pieces of meat or fish that require additional efforts for cutting on a plate. Two-found steak in Chinese cuisine does not fit. The same confusion, which gave and sensible culinary councils, indicated that meat in the finished dish should be no more than a third, the rest – side dishes, sauces, seasonings.
Hence the two main culinary secrets: correctly cut and fry. View of a Chinese chef, lightningly cutting a huge sharp Tesacian onions, fascinates as a unique circus number. But the same knife he can cut a tropical flower from a conventional tomato or beet butterfly.
Small, the same in shape and size pieces are very quickly prepared – on a strong fire in hot oil literally one or two minutes, and they are comfortable to eat cunning for an awkward European chopsticks for food "Kuayitz", who are more familiar to us under the foreign name "Chopstiks". By the way, the Chinese claim that our forks with knives change and taste, and the overall impression of their kitchen – and they, apparently, right.
Another general-day technological reception – a shell of dough or starch. In Klyar, pieces of meat, fish, seafood, vegetables and all edibles are preparing. In such a simple way, the initial product is maintained. On the other hand, there are almost no fresh boiled dishes here – except for those cases when strong brewing broth is consciously prepared.
For Chinese cuisine, a large number of components are characterized by almost any dish, which makes it very thin and accurately affect the final result. Especially important for each recipe for a set of spices that should be applied in a certain order. Violation of this sequence, not to mention the proportions, changes the taste of dishes.
A harmonious combination of source components, flavors and aromas is also noteworthy. The European Cook, who is accustomed to the stereotypical combination of products and predictable to their taste, would never come to mind with a sweet and sweet meat or the same cucumbers – and this is recognized Chinese kitchen hits. Foreigners amuse the terminological rebuses of the Chinese menu, the substitution of the expected result – for example, "Fish fragrance pork", "Beef with fruit flavor". Meanwhile, all these things are not a barustic tricky at all, and following the traditions: properly cooked fish can not have the taste of fish, otherwise it is not clear why it was actually doing something.
With this approach, the defamatory names of many Chinese dishes are becoming clearer. So, "Dragon in the Green Mountains" – These are just peaceful shrimps in sweet pepper, and "grapes" – Oddly enough, in fact fish balls in the batter, really reminiscent of a brush of large grapes on a plate. Hence, the light surrealism of Chinese culinary recipes arising from an unusual combination of quite ordinary words: "Cut vegetables straw" – It is clear for us, and "Cut fish with flocks" – there is something in it.
Proper Chinese cuisine are characterized by extremely carefully selected ingredients. The point is not that all source products must be high quality – it goes by itself. The Chinese require very specific qualities from raw materials. Say, the chicken for some dishes should be a certain age – not older, but not younger. Even the features of water used in the kitchen are taken into account – its rigidity, acidity and other physico-chemical characteristics.
Rice – the basis of the Chinese diet. Not by chance the Chinese concept "eaten" literally meaning "There are Fig". Of course, with a huge number of people and the large rates of its growth, the yield of this grain culture is important, which is cleaned several times a year. Rice strongly influenced the recipe and technology of making a variety of classic Chinese dishes. It is impossible to imagine wonderful Chinese sauces with a garnish of roasted potatoes. Crumbly fresh rice, which is served both by itself and with numerous additives (finely naked shrimps, vegetables, eggs), excellent the taste of the main dishes and absorbs sauces well.
At the same time, the Chinese are made from rice and drinks – a strong vodka, which is drinking with small stackers like a thimble, fastening wine and black, although liquid, beer. Toasts are always shaped and flowery, but end in the same expression "Ganbei!", What approximately matches our "bottoms Up!"
Since we spoke about drinks, remember that China is considered to be the birthplace of tea, which was originally used as a medicine in small doses. The Chinese tea familiar to us is mostly shipped to export, drink green with a lot of varied additives. In terms of tea ceremonies, the Japanese, of course, out of competition, the Chinese drink easier, but more. Refreshing jasmine tea is taken to serve at the very beginning of Chinese lunch, he accompanies a slow meal. But the Chinese dinner soups are completed.
The mandatory element of Chinese cuisine – products from soybeans, first of all, the omnipresent soy sauce and pasta on a soy-based, without which very many dishes are unthinkable. Noteworthy soy cottage cheese "Dowfu", which is not only gentle in consistency, but also unexpectedly burning from pepper.
Chinese dumplings are close and understandable to us, which are boiled (and not only in banal water, but also in broths of various compositions), fried, steam, with meat, mushroom, shrimp, vegetable minced, and their combinations. In the New Year’s dumplings, the Chinese laid a coin on happiness – who will get, the whole year will be successful. The popularity of the dumpling genre in China is reflected in the huge number of specialized restaurants.
The standard set of Chinese specialty includes the legendary duck in Beijing, properly shaken on small neat pieces, with constant pancakes, green onions and soy sauce, the famous swallow socket, which must be specifically ordered for three days, also, perhaps, soup of shark fins – Tasty and nutritious. There is still extreme exotic such as aromatic eggs (duck, quail and other), which inexperienced foreigners are prudently called "Tukhlmi". Meanwhile, they were simply kept for a couple of months in lime with the observance of the mass of all precautions. Such dishes often taste much better than the view, especially if you do not know how it is cooked.
In general, the right Chinese food should be not only tasty, but also useful, and sometimes therapeutic. Many South-China dishes are seriously treated as strong aphrodisiacs, improving the mood and men, and women. In this area, culinary-gastronomic aesthetics smoothly and naturally flows into aesthetics of exquisite erotica, which is facilitated by not only mysterious oriental spices, but also classic recipes like popular dishes "Bull Pride". It is also believed that rice tinctures in South-China snakes not only strengthen men’s strength, but also help from many ailments – from cough, for example, or headaches.
Inevitably arises the question of the adequacy of foreign Chinese cuisine. First feature "wrong" Chinese food abroad – it is too fat, or rather, oil. Secondly – too fresh compared to the original. However, some reason in this softness is definitely there – say, some of the most acute Sichuan dishes themselves, the Chinese are trying with caution, to offer them to the European stomach without any adaptation would be frivolously. On the other hand, a simplified, averaged dish of any national cuisine loses its national flavor and, as a result, the meaning of its existence.
Little private family restaurants outside of China, as a rule, offer genuine Chinese cuisine. The reason is very simple: in such institutions, the Chinese cooks are preparing for guests the same thing they used to prepare for their households, and about the same volumes. In large restaurants, there is a completely different case, especially if among the cooks and management a lot of non-receivers – here food is free or involuntarily adapts to traditional culinary and gastronomic values for this country, and well, if this is done with a professional tact.
Everyday food intake for the Chinese is partly the ideological, philosophical act, embodiment and nature, and to other people. Respectful, thoughtful attitude to a submitted dish is respect for yourself. At the same time, the harmony with the surrounding world contributes to both the joyful-fabulous interior (upholstered with silk walls, multicolored lanterns, gentlely picked colorful paper dragons), and a skillful cook, spreading a clean designer composition on a plate, and porcelain dishes itself in the traditional white-blue color scheme (Different sizes of pliowers with the finest drawings – all sorts of bridges, pagodas and junks, small curved soup spoons with flat bottom).
