Zhongcanpengrenjiyiyushisu
01 · Historical Records
Since the Zhou dynasty, with the prosperity of market commerce and the growth of people's needs for ritual and social interaction, the professional body of cooks steadily expanded, so that the Chinese people's knowledge and practice concerning foodstuffs and cooking gradually changed from simply satisfying the physiological need to fill the stomach into a symbol realizing the cultural identity of the communities and groups concerned, becoming an important expression of traditional culture.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Chinese cooking techniques and food customs are the knowledge, practices and customs concerning the preparation of foodstuffs, cooking and enjoyment that the Chinese people have formed within the cognitive framework that "food is the first necessity of the people". Through acceptance of nature's gifts, observance of the phenological seasons and emphasis on harmonizing the five flavours, as well as health concepts such as reverence for nature, following the seasons and dietary therapy for well-being, together with their care for people's bodies and minds, Chinese cooking techniques and food customs have come to be widely recognized and practised throughout China. Over the course of several thousand years, cooking techniques gradually developed into a cultural expression combining artistry, science and technical skill. Chinese cooking technique suits measures to local conditions, selecting ingredients widely, attaching importance to ingenious combinations and to the harmonizing and layering of flavours, with superb and ingenious knife work and well-judged heat control. Chinese cooking employs diverse techniques, with several dozen methods including stir-frying, deep-frying, quick-frying over high heat, braising in sauce, sautéing with sauce, boiling, quick-boiling, instant-boiling, steaming, stewing, simmering, covered simmering, mixed braising, braising and arranging, covered baking, dry-frying, pan-frying, shallow-frying with a sauce coating, braising in spiced stock, cooking in soy-based sauce, tossing in dressing, quick-tossing in hot oil, pickling, jellied preparation, preparation with distillers' grains, marinating in wine, roasting and smoking. Even the most basic stir-frying has many varieties, such as raw stir-frying, dry stir-frying, plain stir-frying, smooth stir-frying, grab stir-frying, quick stir-frying and dry-fried stir-frying. Chinese cooking techniques and food customs are closely bound up with the daily life of the Chinese people and have a long history.
Raw-fried, dry-fried, silky-fried and gripped-fried
Frying is divided by whether the ingredient is coated, how hot the wok is and how fast the hand moves: raw-frying keeps the flavour, dry-frying drives off moisture, silky-frying locks in tenderness and gripped-frying coats the dish in the tossing.
Blanching and shabu-shabu
Both rely on swift cooking in boiling water but differ in technique: blanching raises the food from the soup at once for freshness, while shabu places thin slices at the table to be swished and dipped.
Knife work in shreds, slices, sections and dice
One fish may be sliced thin for steaming, scored into peony cuts for braising or cut into sections for stewing; shreds must be even, slices translucent, blocks uniform and dice sharp-edged.
Dietary therapy and eating to the season
Ingredients follow the seasons and the sequence and combination of dishes balance cold and heat; practised in everyday cooking, this became a body of knowledge closely allied with medicine.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Chinese cooking techniques and food customs are practised in common throughout the country, while each region has its own emphases according to its products and climate: the south, rich in aquatic products, emphasizes freshness and lightness; the north, rich in livestock products, emphasizes roasting and wheaten foods; the region between the Yangtze and the Huai enjoys both fish and rice, so the Sichuan, Guangdong, Shandong, Anhui and Fujian schools each excel in their own way. Besides taste, the cooking of each household is also influenced by the marketplace, and the same technique often has a simplified version at snack stalls in city lanes. Thus, although Chinese cooking follows a different method in every household, the judgement of ingredient selection, knife work and heat control is still mutually intelligible, and those who can tell northern from southern flavours when away from home mostly rely on these.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
With an inclusive and accommodating attitude, Chinese cooking technique absorbs and transmits the relevant knowledge and practices of people from different culinary traditions, integrating them in a tacitly understood manner of "harmony in diversity" within a cultural system that follows nature and unites heaven and humanity. Alongside the transmission and development of cooking techniques, a series of traditional food customs also took shape, passed down from generation to generation and becoming an important part of Chinese food culture. For a thousand years and more, this item has been passed down from generation to generation through master-to-apprentice transmission, family transmission and community transmission, and has continued to develop. Chinese cooking techniques and food customs are an important part of the broad and profound Chinese food culture; they are knowledge and practice formed by the Chinese people in the course of history, the crystallization of the outstanding creativity and remarkable wisdom of the people of all China's ethnic groups, and an important bond for realizing cultural identity and promoting cultural exchange and dialogue. They have high social and cultural value and also play a positive role in promoting fine traditional Chinese culture and advancing sustainable economic and social development.
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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