Dayuan Zhao
WRIT-1133
Prof. Eric Leake
05/29/12
My
own Manifesto of Food: Chinese Food is the Best Food in the Whole World
Admittedly, Chinese food is a very huge and
important part of the whole Chinese culture; like a documentary -- “Ａbite
of China” which is very popular recently says, “China has one of the most
dramatic natural landscapes, plateaus, lakes, and coast lines. This kind of
geographic variance contributes to creating and keeping species. No other
countries have this much potential food materials. For this abundant recourses
sent by god, Chinese people are collecting, hunting, digging throughout the
years.” “China Central Television (CCTV)’s
documentary, “A
Bite of China,”
(舌尖上的中国) has proved the exact
same point. (For a taste of the series, check out its first episode (in
Chinese) on Youtube.) The seven-episode series tells a mesmerizing story of the
Chinese cuisine, introducing different regional varieties and showing the hard
work and profound artistry hidden behind each and every dish.” (Fleur) There
are endless food types in Chinese land waiting to be discovered. Chinese
cuisine belongs to a part of Chinese culture. Just like the tea culture and the
spirits culture, the food culture is also something Chinese people are proud
of. As for me, real Chinese
food is always the best food in the whole world.
First, there is a slang in China, which
is “人以食为天(ren yi shi wei tian).”
That means eating is the first thing people should care about. Like Mary Ann
O’donnell mentions in his article “The Cultural Politics of Eating in
Shenzhen,” “A common Chinese expression, ren yi shi wei tian, can be translated
something like this: ‘People have made eating their heaven.’”. Chinese people
always think a lot about eating. For example, tofu is one of the most popular
foods worldwidely. Tofu’s history is very long which started from B.C. 164; one
of the Han dynasty’s first emperor’s grandson – Huainan King Liu An invented
it. In Song dynasty, tofu became a primary food in China. As eastern and
western cultures coalesce gradually, tofu spread to Europe, Africa and America
at the early nineteenth century. Nowadays, tofu is an important food in most
Asian countries such as Vietnam, Thailand, South Korea, and Japan. Another
example can also illustrate how much attention Chinese people pay on eating is
dumpling. Dumpling was originally from Han dynasty, and its creator Zhongjing
Zhang is one of the most famous doctors in Chinese history. At the beginning,
Chinese dumpling was used to healing patients; Zhongjing Zhang put some
medicinal materials and lamb in the wrapper, and he used them to treat patients.
As time goes on, dumpling became an important dish instead of medical food within
three kingdom period. Both of those examples can illustrate one thing – China
is the most patient nation for food.
The second reason I think Chinese food is
better than what we eat in the U.S. is the regional differences, which means
American foods don’t have so much varieties in different geography areas. In
China, every province has its own cuisine. One best instance is Liao cuisine which is the cooking system in my hometown,
Liaoning province. The material selecting of Liao cuisine is very broad but
detailed, and the using of local special ingredients is especially famous.
Among many recipes of Liao cuisine, lots of local mountain delicacies games are
widely and smartly used. Also, Liao cuisine has developed an abundant
experience in the production of venison-used dishes. Mellow fragrant is a
crucial feature of Liao cuisine, and it is also the
center of the Liao cuisine’s specialists. Based on all the outstanding
features, Liao cuisine has a great proportion in Chinese food culture and has a
very broad market as it is being sold in a large number of restaurants. People
who eat Liao cuisine usually has the mean purpose to experience its mellow
fragrant. The best example of Liao cuisine is sour pickled cabbage stewed pork
spareribs. When I am asked about the most memorable thing about my hometown
after coming to the U.S., I would say Chinese food. Since there are so many
differences between Chinese and American food cultures, I cannot adapt the
eating habits here in a short time. What I want to talk about in this essay is
one of the most emblematic meals in my hometown in northeast China – sour
pickled cabbage stewed pork spareribs. My hometown is located in Liaoning
province, in very high latitude of China; the climate there is similar with Minnesota.
When winters come, the temperature would be extremely low. That leads to a
change of people’s diet habits. Many families will cook some hot soup to keep their
bodies warm. People would buy many Chinese cabbages and make them into sour
pickled cabbages. The way to make this kind of cabbage is very typical as
following: you need to buy a big clay jar, and put some water into the jar to
help cabbages ferment; then put twenty to thirty cabbages in to the jar. It is
somewhat like cheese’s producing method. After one and half month, you can open
the jar and the production is done. Sour pickled cabbage tastes very special.
Almost all Chinese who live in south part of China cannot stand them and feel
terrible about the taste. It tastes very sour, and feels crisper than regular
cabbage. Although, it is a fabulous material to make soup. The most common way to
cook it is to stew it with pork spareribs. The method to make this meal is very
easy, you just need to add some water, condiments and oil into the pot and stew
them together with sour pickled cabbages and pork spareribs. When it is almost
done, you need to add some caraways on the top of soup. In every small
restaurant in Shenyang, you can pay twenty Yuan(RMB) to buy a large bowl of
sour pickled cabbage stewed pork spareribs. It looks like lots of cabbage
strips with some pork spareribs and caraways; because of the ferment, those
leaves on the dish became yellow. As far as I am concerned, sour food fits me
well. I cannot have the soup without vinegar. When I eat this meal, I always
eat it up with two to three bowls of rice. In some way, you can say sour
pickled cabbage stewed pork spareribs is my favorite Chinese food.
Different
with Liao cuisine, there is another Chinese cuisine names Yue cuisine. It is
originated from Guangdong province, which is located in the south east of
China. The essential taste of Yue cuisine is sweet. I think that does not fit
me very well. The most ridiculous meal, in my opinion, is a Yue cuisine dish
which is made by mouse. I think that difference in the material using can reflect
the huge divergence between southern and northern eating habits in China. Maybe
Guangdongers think Liao cuisine is not that good too.
The last reason why I like Chinese food
is that Chinese food is always very tasty. There are so many different cooking
methods in China – I think cooking is one of my hobby; I used to attend a cooking
class when I lived in Shenyang. Cooking Chinese food includes lots of methods: what
Chinese food pays attention to are the taste, the color, and the smell. Taste
means people like the flavor, it is easy to accept; color means appearance, which
means you are supposed to make not only tasty, but also good-looking food; and
smell means every meal needs to have a good smell. There is a very interesting
thing happened around when I took the cooking class in China. My cooking
teacher was an army cook, and almost every recipe of all Chinese dishes is in
his mind. At the first day I went to the class, nobody was in the chair;
everyone was standing in front of the counter and cutting potatoes. My teacher
told us, as a cook, the knowledge in the book is significant, but no boss would
care if you can recite the menu; the only thing you need to do is to cook the
dishes well. Therefore, almost seventy percent of time we were practicing. When
we were learning to cook “Double Cooked Pork Slices” which in Chinese is called
“Guo Bao Meat,” I kept putting too much oil in the pot and the boiling oil
always hurt me. “Chinese cooking system’s soul is not the quantity, what we pay
most attention to is the quality and eater’s feedback.” That’s what my teacher
taught me. After attending that class, my cooking skills became much better.
Chinese cuisine is always the best food
in my heart, even though I have to assimilate with American culture when
studying in U.S. university. I still like to go to some Chinese restaurants
sometimes. The American style Chinese restaurant is more close to southern
Chinese cuisine’s taste, perhaps it is because there are more southern Chinese
in America and southern cuisines fit Americans better. But I still like to try
them frequently, which is about twice a week; because I feel closer to my
motherland that way and I can treat myself for a moment.
All in all, Chinese cuisine is a crucial
and significant part of Chinese culture. As a Chinese student, Chinese cuisine
is my favorite food in the truest sense. I will always be proud of my homeland.
Work
Cited
Fleur
“A Bite of China, A Slice of” May 24, 2012 05/31/12 Tea Leaf Nation Copyright ©
2012. All Rights Reserved. http://tealeafnation.com/2012/05/a-bite-of-china-a-slice-of-life/
Anonymity
“Liao cuisine’s characteristic(辽菜的特色)”
June 9, 2011 05/31/12 http://zhidao.baidu.com/question/277526860.html
Mary
Ann O’donnell “The Cultural Politics of Eating in Shenzhen” The Journal of Food
and Culture, Vol. 10, No. 2 (Spring 2010), pp. 31-39 University of California
Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Gastronomica:
The Journal of Food and Culture. 26/03/2012 03:22
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