The Artistic Tendency of China's Diet Culture

China's food culture, due to its specific economic structure, mode of thinking and cultural environment, has formed its own distinctive characteristics, that is, artistic tendency, which is mainly manifested in the following six aspects.

Excellent material selection

Excellent selection of ingredients is the first skill of China chefs, and it is the basis for making a good Chinese food. It needs rich knowledge and skilled application skills. The raw materials used in various cuisines include main ingredients, ingredients, auxiliary materials and seasonings. There is a lot of pressure and certain rules. In a word, it is the word "essence" and "essence", which is what Confucius said: "Fine food never tires, fine food never tires". The so-called "refined" refers to the selected raw materials, taking into account their varieties, producing areas, seasons, growth periods and other characteristics, with fresh, tender and excellent as the top priority. During the Han and Tang Dynasties, it was customary to call delicious things "eight treasures". Regarding the Song Dynasty, Bazhen refers to eight precious cooking materials. There are many series of "Eight Treasures" in Qing Dynasty, which mainly refer to banquets of eight kinds of precious raw materials. For example, the "four treasures" of the "Manchu-Han banquet" refers to the banquet of four groups of eight treasures. Four treasures or eight treasures, namely, eight treasures of mountain, eight treasures of sea, eight treasures of poultry and eight treasures of grass, each refer to 32 precious raw materials, specifically:

Eight treasures of the mountain: hump, bear's paw, monkey brain, scarlet lips, elephant, leopard fetus, rhinoceros tail and deer tendon.

Eight treasures of the sea: bird's nest, shark's fin, Sichuan aconite, fish belly, fish bone, abalone, seal and pike (giant salamander).

Eight treasures among birds: red swallow, flying dragon, quail, swan, partridge, colorful finch, turtledove and red-headed eagle.

Herb eight treasures: Hericium erinaceus, Tremella, Dictyophora dictyophora, decoction, donkey's nest, Morchella esculenta, flower mushroom, day lily and Yunxiangxin.

Skilled knife worker

Knife work, that is, the chef knife-works the raw materials to make them into a uniform shape for cooking, so as to adapt to the heat, heat evenly, facilitate eating, and maintain a certain beauty, which is one of the keys of cooking technology. As early as ancient times, China attached importance to the use of knife-cutting. After repeated practice by chefs of past dynasties, he created rich knife-cutting methods, such as straight knife-cutting method, slicing knife-cutting method (marking knife marks on raw materials without cutting them off), carving knife-cutting method, etc., and processed raw materials into pieces, strips, silk, blocks, diced, granules, velvet, mud and other forms and pills and balls. In particular, the combination of knife skills and hand waving makes clinker and edible raw materials into artistic and lifelike fancy platters of flowers, birds, insects, fish, flowers and plants, such as "Prosperous Dragon and Phoenix", "Magpie in the Plum", "Lotus Crane" and "Double Phoenix Flower Basket". For example, "Proud as a Peacock" is made of fifteen kinds of raw materials, including duck meat, ham, pig tongue, quail eggs, crab claws, cucumber, etc., and it has been completed through twenty-two fine knife work and assembly processes.

It is not only writers who regard exquisite knife work as a perfect artistic appreciation, but also ordinary people often see it at a glance. In ancient times, in order to broaden their horizons, someone specially organized a fencing performance, which caused a sensation. In the Southern Song Dynasty, Zeng Sanyi said that one year Mount Tai held a unique performance, and "the best art in the world" naturally included people who were good at cooking. "There was a man who asked a man to bow down to the ground with his bare back, carrying a catty of meat on his back as several, and carrying it with a knife. Try to withdraw the meat, the soldier's back is not hurt at all. " Taking a person's back as a chopping block, cutting pork and shredding it without hurting his back, this move cannot but be amazing.

Unique temperature

Temperature is one of the keys to form the flavor characteristics of dishes. But the temperature changes quickly, and it is difficult to get it right without many years of practical experience. Therefore, mastering the right temperature is the stunt of Chef China. "Chef China" can accurately identify different firepower such as strong fire, medium fire and weak fire, be familiar with the heat resistance of various raw materials, skillfully control the time of using fire, be good at mastering the properties of heat transfer objects (oil, water and gas), and determine the cooking order according to the tenderness, water content, shape and size of raw materials and the thickness of the whole block, and use it flexibly to make the cooked dishes tender, crisp and delicious. As early as ancient times, "Chef China" made a special study on heat, expounding the changing rules and main points of heat: "Five flavors and three ingredients, nine boiling and nine changes, will surely win with it, without losing its reason." Su Shi, a great poet in the Northern Song Dynasty, was not only a gourmet, but also a chef. He created the famous Dongpo meat dishes, which is closely related to his good use of cooking time. He also wrote these experiences into a stew poem: "Slow fire, less water, natural beauty when cooking." Later generations used his experience, with a small sealed fire cook the meat. The meat is original, oily and bright red, rotten but not broken, waxy but not greasy, tender as tofu, good palatability and outstanding flavor.

The heat is the most important and the most difficult to grasp and explain in cooking. It can really be described as "Tao can be Tao, extraordinary Tao", and whether a chef can become a famous chef is the key. Therefore, when cooking in China, chefs accumulate life experience, realize their own spirituality, give full play to their subtle observation experience and rich imagination, and create the art of food. The so-called skillful operation and undivided attention are really "knowing gains and losses".

Different technologies

Cooking is another stunt of chef China. Commonly used techniques are: stir-frying, frying, boiling, boiling, frying, pasting, stewing, roasting, braising, stewing, boiling, dipping, steaming, roasting, mixing, frying, smoking, and painting beets, honey juice and frosting. Different processes have different flavor characteristics. Each technique has several or even dozens of famous dishes. The famous "beggar chicken" is famous for its mud roasting technology. According to legend, a beggar stole a chicken in Changshu, Jiangsu Province in ancient times. Because there was no stove, he slaughtered the chicken, took out its internal organs, put in onion salt, sewed it up, pasted it with yellow mud, roasted it on the fire, and knocked on the ground to eat it when the mud was cooked. The meat is tender and fragrant. After being improved by the chef, it is roasted with a variety of seasonings, which tastes better and becomes a famous dish. Yunnan's "crossing the bridge rice noodles" is a masterpiece of techniques. According to legend, in ancient times, a scholar was studying in his study. His wife created this method in order to make him eat hot soup and rice: the hen was boiled into boiling chicken soup, and then cut into thin chicken slices, fish slices, shrimp slices and rice noodles. Because the oil floating on the surface can keep warm and cook the above food, it can keep warm and tender after crossing the bridge, so this method is created.

Harmony of five flavors

Seasoning is also an important skill in cooking, as the saying goes, "five flavors are mixed, and hundreds of flavors are mixed." Regarding the role of seasonings, according to the research of culinary scholars, there are mainly the following:

Correct the smell of raw materials; Taste is given to people who have no taste; Determine the taste of the dish;

Increase the flavor of food; Colour the dishes; It can be disinfected.

There are also various methods of seasoning, including basic seasoning, stereotyped seasoning and auxiliary seasoning, among which stereotyped seasoning is the most widely used. The so-called stereotyped seasoning refers to the seasoning in the process of heating raw materials to determine the taste of dishes. Basic seasoning is performed before heating, which belongs to pretreatment seasoning. Auxiliary seasoning is carried out after heating, or seasoning when eating.

In this way, the five flavors in the so-called "harmony of five flavors" are a general reference. The dishes we enjoy are generally compound flavors of more than two flavors, and they are changeable. Huangdi Neijing said: "The beauty of five flavors is unparalleled"; "Wen Zi" said: "The beauty of the five flavors can't be tasted", which means that the harmony of the five flavors can bring wonderful enjoyment to people.

In short, whether the seasoning is just right depends on the material conditions such as complete varieties and excellent texture, and the key lies in whether the chef matches it properly. There are strict requirements on seasoning proportion, blanking sequence and seasoning time (pre-cooking, medium-cooking and post-cooking). As long as we are meticulous, we can make the dishes reach the predetermined flavor.

Elegant mood

China's food culture is elegant and artistic, which is mainly manifested in three aspects: beauty, fame and beauty.

Yuan Mei quoted an old saying in Suiyuan Food List: "The ancients said that food is not as good as utensils, which means that eating beautiful utensils is also beautiful, and food should be accompanied by beautiful utensils, so as to add color to beauty.

The beauty of China's utensils lies in their quality, shape, decoration and harmony with food. The beauty of ancient tableware in China mainly includes pottery, porcelain, bronze, gold and silver, jade, lacquerware and glassware. The rough beauty of painted pottery, the elegant beauty of porcelain, the solemn beauty of bronze, the transparent beauty of lacquerware, the brilliant beauty of gold and silver, and the bright beauty of glass all give people who use it a kind of beauty enjoyment, which is another kind of beauty enjoyment besides food.

The beauty of exquisite utensils is not only limited to the quality, shape and decoration of the utensils themselves, but also lies in the beauty of their combination and the beauty of their collocation with dishes.

The tripod in the Zhou Dynasty, the cup set in the Han Dynasty, and the silver tableware in the Manchu-Han banquet in Confucius' House all embody a kind of combined beauty. There are 404 pieces of silver tableware specially designed by Confucius for Manchu-Han banquet, which can serve 196 dishes. This set of tableware is partly antique and partly food. The decoration of the utensils is also exquisite, inlaid with jade, jadeite, agate, coral and so on. , engraved with all kinds of flower patterns, and some are also engraved with poems and auspicious words, which is even more elegant and extraordinary.

The tableware of Confucius Manchu-Han banquet is set according to the four-four system pattern, which is divided into small tableware, water tableware, fire tableware and snack box. The harmony between beauty and food is the highest realm of food aesthetics. In Du Fu's "Two Ways", "The red hump is brought to them by jade broilers, and the crystal surface is plain; But the finely crafted Phoenix meat cleaver is rarely used. At the same time, it recites the beauty of food and utensils, and sets off the elegant realm of the beauty of food and utensils.

In China, there is no nameless dish on the dining table. A wonderful dish name is not only a vivid advertising word, but also an organic part of the dish name itself. The name of a dish gives people beautiful enjoyment. Passing it to the brain through auditory or visual perception will produce a series of psychological effects, which can play a role that the color, shape and taste of dishes can't play.

Edit this royal dinner

Qing Dynasty was the last feudal dynasty in China. It summarizes and absorbs the traditional essence of China's food culture, and develops the palace food to the peak. From the historical archives, people can see five characteristics of the royal diet in the Qing Dynasty:

First of all, the Qing emperors only ate two meals a day. Breakfast usually starts at 6: 00 in the morning, and sometimes it is postponed until 8: 00 in the morning.

Dinner is mostly from 12 to 2 pm. In modern terms, this should be regarded as lunch. After two dinners, if you are hungry, add a snack to each.

Secondly, the imperial cuisine of Qing Palace is mainly composed of three local cuisines. Manchu cuisine is a national taste, accustomed to snacks, as well as a variety of meat and game, sticky food, pickles and so on. It's all delicious food that emperors' concubines can't give up; After entering the central plains, the Qing palace followed the characteristics of the Ming court diet, and the diet was gradually dominated by Shandong flavor; During the Qianlong period, Suzhou and Hangzhou cuisine was appreciated and became popular in the palace due to several southern tours.

Third, the Qing emperors had different dietary preferences. For example, Emperor Qianlong's diet is very reasonable. Emperor Guangxu likes seafood dishes, and he must order shark fin, sea cucumber, jellyfish, kelp and other dishes for every meal. Cixi's favorite dishes are roast pig skin, stewed duck tongue and feet, watermelon cups and so on. There are snacks such as steamed buns and fried triangles. Puyi is very interested in western food, and once set up a western food kitchen in the Forbidden City.

Fourth, there are many kinds of banquets in Qing Palace, which are eaten from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. In addition to New Year's Day, Wanshou (the birthday of the emperor) and the winter solstice, there are also triumphal banquets to celebrate the victory of the campaign, grand banquets to win over the subjects, wedding banquets of the emperor, the princess, the North Korean envoy, the Tibetan tribute and Mongolian prince's New Year's Eve banquet, the empress dowager's birthday banquet, the queen's birthday banquet, the concubine's birthday banquet, and the prince's grandson's wedding banquet. In addition, there are various festivals and banquets.

Fifth, pay attention to health preservation and pursue immortality. Emperor Qianlong often drank turtle wine, pine wine for peace and spring, champion wine for strengthening the spleen and tonifying the kidney, and often ate "Bazhen cake" in his later years. Cixi began to drink wishful longevity wine after middle age. This wine can dispel wind and remove dampness, quench thirst, dredge blood vessels, strengthen tendons and bones, and is a good health care product.

Edit this tableware culture

Food culture is something that China should be proud of, and it is also the most easily accepted by all countries in the world. Delicious food is very popular. Have you ever studied when China people began to get rid of the life of eating and drinking blood? When did you start cooking on the stove? When did jiaozi and wonton, which you often eat, appear? How did it evolve from a single dining system to eating around the table? ... in the "Gourmet Beauty Appliances-China Dietary Appliances Exhibition in Past Dynasties" held in Hongkong, we can not only get the answer, but also understand the changing relationship between China's diet preference and appliances in a simple way.

The exhibition, provided by the National Museum of China, exhibited more than 65,438+000 precious cultural relics. Hu Hu, an associate researcher in the exhibition department of the museum, said that the museum was specially prepared and organized for this special exhibition. Most of the exhibits are exhibited in Hong Kong for the first time, among which more than 65,438+00 pieces are national first-class cultural relics, such as gray pots and stoves in Neolithic Age, golden feet and cups in Sui Dynasty, and celadon lotus in Northern Wei Dynasty.

The pots and stoves of the ash cans displayed on the spot are known to have been discovered in the early days. Nonsense, the pot with many ash pots in Neolithic Age was a three-legged pot, and the black pot was the earliest steamer. The lower part was filled with water, called Wei, with a hole in the middle and food on it. In the Paleolithic Age, people mainly barbecued, and in the Neolithic Age, they began to cook and steam vegetables, with millet in the north and rice in the south. There is a Neolithic "small ear pointed bottom bottle" at the scene. Ropes are hung on the ear holes on both sides. Put it into the river and the pottery bottle will stand up. It can be seen that the ancestors at that time were also very wise to draw water.

During the Xia, Shang, Zhou, Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period, the famous bronze craft reached its peak, and the combination of retort has developed into a bronze system. Jiaozi appeared in the late Spring and Autumn Period. At that time, our ancestors began to know how to eat pasta, wonton and vermicelli. Due to the emphasis on sacrifice in this period, many wine vessels appeared. For example, the copper belt on horseback is a drinking fountain. F is used to hold wine, and "the first three legs of the raptor?" B "was a wine mixer at that time, and the most special one was" bronze ice guide ",an ice wine appliance with a built-in wine jar. Imitations of lacquerware tableware commonly used in the same period were also exhibited at the scene.

There is a special exhibit in the Han Dynasty, in which a head was paved with a circle of copper sheets, which was a copper furnace at that time. In addition, the funerary pottery stove in the Han Dynasty reflected that people had complete stove equipment at that time. This boat-shaped pottery furnace is very popular in the south, but only simple rectangular furnaces are used in the north.

Sui and Tang Dynasties were a period when China's culture and national strength were strong. The ethnic groups have further exchanged and merged in food culture, the variety of dishes has greatly increased, and different food schools have been established. At that time, high tables and chairs were popular and banquet dishes were rich. As a result, the form of a set of tableware has evolved into the form of multiple people eating around the table. At that time, the emphasis was on gorgeous life, and gold, silver and glassware appeared one after another with exquisite workmanship. The artifacts of Sui and Tang Dynasties exhibited at the scene include golden feet and cups imported from East Rome. In addition, in jiaozi and Dianxin of Tang Dynasty unearthed in Xinjiang, snacks are cakes with flowers on them.

Beautiful shapes and patterns, and there is meat in jiaozi, which reflects that Xinjiang is also influenced by the Central Plains diet.

As for the exhibits of other dynasties, there are also some special ones, such as the acrobatic brick for feasting in the Eastern Han Dynasty, the celadon lotus statue in the Northern Wei Dynasty, the golden cup with lotus petal handle in the Liao Dynasty, the English porcelain warm bowl in the Southern Song Dynasty, and the pastel brocade lychee cover bowl with clear light.

Xianghe summarized the world's three major food cultures as: Turkish cooking, French cooking and China cooking, while China's cooking emphasized swordsmanship, maturity and ambiguity. China regards the choice of ingredients as an important part of food, and China's food culture is a great contribution to the world food culture.

China's food culture has become a treasure house of world cuisine.