Beijing
Roast Duck
The Beijing roast duck is a dish well-known among gastronomes the
world over.
China is one of the first countries to domesticate ducks for the
table. Cooking methods include steaming, boiling, stewing, roasting,
frying and so on. Historical records show that Beijing Roast Duck
started some 300 years ago, and roasting duck first began in Nanjing,
then known as Jinling capital city of Jiangsu Province. At that
time, Jinling was the capital of the early Ming Dynasty. When the
capital moved to Beijing, the dish was also brought to Beijing as
a delicacy on the imperial menu. In about 1630, a eunuch wrote a
book on the imperial diet and referred to roast goose, pork, chicken
and duck as the most favoured courses in the palace.
Nowadays, the two most famous Restaurants that serve Beijing Roast
Duck are Bianyifang Roast Duck Restaurant and Quanjude Roast Duck
Restaurant, both of which have a history of over one hundred years.
They represent two different schools of roasting duck. Bianyifang,
founded in 1855, makes use of a close oven and straw as the fuel,
which won't make flames go directly onto the duck. Before being
put into the oven, a duck is filled with specially-made soup to
make it possible to roast the duck outside and boil it inside at
the same time. Quanjude, a better known one, founded in 1864, uses
an oven without a door. After a kind of dressing being spread all
over a duck, it will be hooked up in the oven over the flame coming
directly from the burning of the fruit-tree wood and it will be
done in forty minutes.
The ducks (ideally, the duck must be the white Beijing variety)
are raised for the sole purpose of making the food. Force-fed, they
are kept in cages which restrain them from moving about, so as to
fatten them up and make the meat comparably tender. And it should
be 65 days old. Beijing Roast Duck is processed in several steps:
first the ducks are rubbed with spices, salt and sugar, and then
kept hung in the air for some time. Then the ducks are roasted in
an oven, or hung over the fire till they become brown with rich
grease perspiring outside and have a nice odor.
The duck is served in slices. First, the chef will show you the
whole duck. Then, he will slice it into between 100 and 120 slices
in four or five minutes, each slice with an equal portion of both
skin and meat. Usually the duck is served together with special
pancakes, hollowed sesame bun, green onions and sweet sauce. Dinners
can wrap duck slices, onion, and sauce in a pancake or a sesame
bun with their bare hands. Sometimes people would like to put in
mashed garlic and cucumber or carrot strips as well.
The simple eating procedure is as follows: Pick up a pancake in
one hand and, using a section of raw scallion as a brush, paint
a few splashes of bean sauce on the pancake. Next, place the scallion
in the center of the pancake, and with your chopsticks add a few
pieces of duck, finally rolling it up for convenience's sale. Here
then is one of the most unforgettable mouthfuls in all of Chinese
cooking.
A Beijing duck dinner is more than just a meal. It's a ritual. Beginning
with the cold appetizers, using liver, wing, stomach, web and eggs,
and moving on through the four-part duck soup to the hot dishes-fried
duck's heart in salt and pepper, tongue, kidneys --- the whole roast
duck is carried to the table for all to see before the meat is sliced
and served.
Hot-pot
Nothing can be more desirable and pleasant than sitting down with
family and friends to a hot-pot on a cold winter day. Eating hot-pot
has become more than a mere culinary experience for Chinese; it
has become a way of life. The way we say "eating hot-pot"
may sometimes be a little misleading. Actually, a hot pot is not
a kind of food, but a charcoal stove with a central chimney and
an outer riny filled with hot water for boiling the food. Now an
electric stove will also do!
Originally among Chinese northern nomadic tribes, the Mongolian
version of the steaming feast has been called the father of all
hot-pots in China. The hot-pot boasts a history of more than 1,000
years and built its popularity during the Tang Dynasty (618-907).
In the following dynasties, imperial chefs adopted the culinary
style in the mid-17th century, with mutton hot pot becoming a winter
favorite of the Supreme Qing rulers like Emperor Qianlong and Emperor
Jiaqing and the Qing Royal family.
Chinese people, but also many foreigners have not only enjoyed hot-pots.
The Mongolia hot-pot at Beijing's Donglaishun (Success comes from
the East) Restaurant has been savoured by leading statesmen of many
countries.
1. Mongolian-style (Mutton hot-pot)
The main ingredient of the modern Mandarin version of Mongolian-style
hot-pot is prime mutton taken from tiny sheep raised in inner Mongolia.
Chefs cut the iced mutton into paper---thin slices and prepare a
source containing ingredients like sesame butter, soy sauce, chili
oil, chopped chives, glutinous rice wine, shrimp sauce, vinegar
and Chinese parsley. The traditional hot-pot meal is not considered
complete without bean curd, sesame pancakes and Chinese cabbages.
The best Mandarin hot-pot restaurant in Beijing is Donglaishun,
on Wangfujing, the Fifth Avenue in Beijing. The mutton slices here
are finer and thinner than anywhere else. The bubbling stock, into
which the mutton is dipped, is favored with mushrooms and dried
shrimps to create the traditional Mandarin taste.
2. Sichuan-style
Unlike the royal hot pot favored by the Mandarin aristocrats, the
Sichun-style version has always been a food of the common folks.
The Sichuan hot pot, like the rest of that humid and populous province's
cuisine, tastes very spicy. The broth is flavored with chili peppers
and other pungent herbs and spices. The main ingredients include
hot pepper, Chinese crystal sugar and wine. Slices of kidney, chicken
breast, beef tripe, goose intestines, spring onion, soya bean sprouts,
mushrooms eel, duck and sea cucumber form the meat content of the
dish.
And for those who like to cool their palate after the chili shock,
many Sichuan restaurant now serve a hot pot that is divided into
two sections-one containing a spicy broth, the other a milder, white
stock.
3. Cantonese-style
The southern style is sweeter and features the seafood ingredients
that have become popular in most Cantonese eateries. Fresh shrimps,
scallops, crab meat, white eels and scuttle fish form the staples
of this hot pot style. They are served with a sweetish white sauce.
Chinese Dumpling
Jiaozi (Chinese Dumpling) is a traditional Chinese Food, which is
essential during holidays in Northern China. Chinese dumpling is
one of the most widely loved foods in China. This is due to many
reasons. Here is a list of them.
1. New Year's Food
Chinese dumpling is one of the most important foods in the Chinese
New Year. Since the shape of Chinese dumplings is similar to ancient
Chinese gold or silver ingots, they symbolize wealth. Traditionally,
the members of a family get together to make dumplings during the
New Year Eve. They may hide a coin in one of the dumplings. The
person who finds the coin will likely have good fortune ill the
New Year. Chinese dumpling is also popular in other Chinese holidays
and festivals, so it is part of the Chinese culture or tradition.
2. Delicacy
Chinese dumpling is a delicious food. You can make a variety of
Chinese dumplings using different fillings based on your taste and
how various ingredients you mix together.
3. One For All
Usually when you have Chinese dumpling for dinner, you will not
have to cook anything else except for some big occasions. The dumpling
itself is good enough to make an entire dinner. This is one of the
advantages of Chinese dumpling over other foods, though it may take
longer to make them.
4. Family Link
Making dumplings is really a team work. Usually all family members
will join the work. I started to make dumplings, when I was a kid
in my family, so most Chinese like me know how to make dumplings.
I am very good at making dumplings, particularly making skins, which
is the hardest part of making the dumplings.
5. Sending Off Friends
Chinese dumpling is often the food for sending off friends or family
members I guess this is another tradition
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