Chinese food culture has a long history, traditional Chinese food culture is not only an important part of traditional Chinese culture, but also the traditional culture of this large system of unique characteristics and personality of a branch. Starting from more than 500,000 years ago when the Beijing people grilled food with fire, the Chinese people have begun the history of the evolution of food culture.
1, the popularity of stone grinding
From the Neolithic Age until the Yin and Shang Dynasties, the processing of grains has been relatively primitive and simple. The pioneers through the milling disk, milling rod, pestle and mortar, etc. on the coarse processing of grains, it is difficult to provide a large number of shelled clean rice. To the Zhou Dynasty, the emergence of stone is not, is a leap in the primary processing of cereals. Shiwu, that is, stone mill. The primary processing of grains, from mainly grinding and pounding to mainly grinding. With the popularization of stone grinding, the Zhou people's diet improved greatly.
2, meat processing
Compared with the processing of grains, meat processing in the Zhou Dynasty is more elaborate. Moreover, as the first processing of meat selection and cutting, and later cooking has the same importance. In particular, the Zhou royal nobles in the rituals, banquets enjoyed a variety of meat, the selection of cut and cooking, by the dedicated official office "breakfast" and "breakfast" in charge. Zhou people have fully understood the selection of disease-free, no special smell and odor and healthy animals and birds, and identify the parts of the animal and poultry, and then slaughter. When eating, a variety of dishes have a fixed position, take food according to a certain procedure, these are cut into different shapes by the meat is determined.
3, the emergence of eight treasures
Zhou Dynasty "eight treasures" appeared, marking the formation of cooking as an important art, showing the Zhou people's skill and the scientific nature of food and drink. Cannon dolphin, for example, first of all, the pig will be washed and stripped clean, solid dates in the abdomen, wrapped in wet mud, baked dry, stripped mud out of the pig, and then coated all over the body of the pig with rice flour paste, deep-fried with oil, cut into slices, with good ingredients, and then placed in a small tripod, the tripod and put in a large wok tripod, stewed for three days and three nights over a moderate fire, and then eaten after the pot with soy sauce and vinegar seasoning. This dish has adopted three cooking methods, including baking, deep-frying and stewing, and there are more than ten procedures. "Eight treasures" created a variety of cooking methods to produce dishes precedent, later generations of dazzling variety of dishes, are based on the development of this, and even in the name of the dish is also inherited "eight treasures", and so far there are "eight treasures Cake", "eight precious noodles", "eight treasures congee" and so on.
4, the birth of the four major cuisines
Spring and Autumn and Warring States period, the integration of various ethnic groups, the food culture gradually formed two major flavors of the north and south. In the north, the ancient Qilu food culture has a long history, cooking technology is more developed, the formation of China's earliest local flavors - the prototype of Lu cuisine.
In the south, the Chu people unified the southeast half of the country, occupying today's "land of fish and rice". "Spring has knife crabs, summer has shad, autumn has fat duck, winter has vegetables". In all seasons of the year, aquatic animals, poultry, vegetables and limpets were on the market, which provided superior material conditions for the development of culinary technology. As a result of the integration of the folkways, folklore and eating habits of many southern ethnic groups, gradually formed the prototype of today's Soviet cuisine.
In the west, the Qin Dynasty occupied the ancient countries of Ba and Shu, and then sent Li Bing to transform the flooded countryside into the "Land of Heaven", coupled with the arrival of a large number of immigrants from Hanzhong, combined with the local climate, customs, and the traditional diet of the ancient countries of Ba and Shu, resulting in the predecessor of Sichuan cuisine, which has had a great influence to this day.
The unification of the Qin state was carried out at a later stage, and at the end of the Qin Dynasty, troops were sent to annex the three counties of Guilin, Nanhai and Xiang, establishing the state of South Vietnam. In the eleventh year of Han Gaozu's reign, he was crowned King of South Vietnam. Taking advantage of Guangzhou's location on the southeastern coast, the mild climate of the Pearl River Delta, the abundance of produce, the wide variety of plants and animals available for consumption, and the accessibility of water and land transportation, the political, economic, and cultural center of Lingnan was established. Here the food is more developed, the current food culture of Guangdong, in fact, by Zhao Tuo advanced culinary arts and utensils introduced into the Central Plains Ling, combined with the local dietary resources, so that the "fly, submerged, animals, plants" are good food, and passed down to the present day, the shape of eclectic food culture, resulting in Cantonese cuisine.
So far, later called the "four major cuisines" of Lu Cuisine (including Beijing, Tianjin and other northern regions of the flavor of the dishes), Su Cuisine (including Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui region of the flavor of the dishes), Cantonese Cuisine (including Fujian, Taiwan, Chao, Qiong region of the flavor of the dishes), Sichuan Cuisine (including Hunan, Hubei, Guizhou, Yunnan region of the flavor of the dishes) has begun to take shape.
5, eat in the Han and Tang dynasties
With the complete birth of China's unification, the Emperor of the Han Dynasty had the most complete food management system in the country. Responsible for the emperor's daily affairs of the Shaofu subordinate officials, and dietary activities related to too official, soup official and guide official, they were "the main meal", "the main cake and bait" and "the main selection of rice". This is a huge system of officials. The expenditure on meals for the emperor and the harem was equal to the production of 20,000 households of the middle class people in the Han Dynasty.
The spread of Chinese food culture to foreign countries intensified during this period. Zhang Qian and others not only introduced from the western region of the Hu melon, walnut, caraway, carrot, pomegranate and other products, but also the peach, plum, apricot, pear, ginger, tea and other products as well as culinary culture of the Central Plains to the western region. Today, in the original Western region of the Han tomb excavations, there are wooden chopsticks from the Central Plains. China's traditional barbecue technology has a mouthing method, but also early through the Silk Road to Central Asia and West Asia, and eventually formed in the local people like to eat kebabs.
Changan in the Tang Dynasty was the cultural center of the world at that time, which facilitated the exchange and fusion of food cultures of various ethnic groups. The traditional dietary structure of the Hu and Han peoples underwent a major change, and "eating meat and drinking cheese" began to become a ****same dietary feature of the Hu and Han peoples throughout the northern and northwestern regions of the Han and Tang dynasties.
Today, there are more than 160 kinds of vegetables. However, among the more common 100 kinds of vegetables, those native to the Han area and those introduced from outside the region each account for about half. During the Han and Tang dynasties, the central mainland introduced many vegetable and fruit varieties through exchanges with northwestern ethnic minorities, such as vegetables such as alfalfa, spinach, brussels sprouts, hu melon, hu beans, hu garlic, hu coriander and so on, fruits such as grapes, lentils, watermelon, and pomegranate, and condiments such as pepper, sand sugar and so on. At the same time, the cooking methods of the western region were also introduced into the Central Plains.
The various kinds of hu food imported in the Han Dynasty were gradually popularized in the Yellow River valley by the time of the Wei, Jin and Nan Dynasties, and were favored by the majority of Han people, especially boiled or shabu-shabu and roasted whole sheep, which were the most typical.
The Han and Tang dynasties were also a period of gradual change in traditional Chinese foodways. After the Eastern Han Dynasty, the hu bed was introduced to the Central Plains from the Western Regions as a kind of sitting utensil, and gradually came into common use. As sitting on the Hu bed must be two feet down to the ground, which changed the traditional kneeling posture of the Han Chinese. From the Wei, Jin, North and South Dynasties began a new change in furniture, to the Sui and Tang dynasties also towards a climax. On the one hand, this is manifested in the traditional beds and couches continue to increase the height of the case; on the other hand, the new high-footed furniture varieties increased, chairs, tables and so on have begun to use. After the emergence of tables and chairs, people sit around a table to eat is a natural thing.
Tang Dynasty and foreign food culture exchanges are very much, people's material life have a kind of veneration of the West's atmosphere, food flavors, clothing and attire to the West for the beauty of the countries, Chongwai has become a trend of not small. At that time, Chang'an, Hu opened more hotels, and accompanied by flamboyant Hu Ji, Li Bai and other literati often into these hotels, Tang poetry in many poems mentioned these hotels and Hu Ji. Wine family Hu and Hu Ji has become an important feature of food culture in the Tang Dynasty.
6, tea in the Liao Jin
With the trade of tea, tea is also deep into the daily life of the Liao Jin people. Jin people in the life of a major marriage ceremony, are to set up the tea food as a formal. And the so-called tea food, is only advanced like the Han people often eat "cold utensils", that is, fried sesame flowers and other large soft fat, small soft fat food, the second into a plate of honey cake. Only to the end of the banquet, to attend the wedding guests, only served on the "Jianming". Tea has become a drink that only the rich can sip, and the coarse can only drink cheese.
7. Kublai's shabu-shabu
During the Yuan dynasty, the empire's boundaries grew to unprecedented proportions, bringing with them a broader development of food culture. During this period, shabu-shabu was born under Kublai's tutelage; mooncakes, which had become an indispensable mid-autumn snack; the Yuan dynasty became the birthplace of the first ever roast duck restaurant; and the famous dish that many people are still willing to taste - roasted whole goat - was created.
And the western conquest of the Mongols, as well as a large number of Muslims of all races who came to the east in various capacities from Persia, Central Asia and Arabia in various capacities during the Yuan Dynasty, integrated with the local peoples to become a new ethnic group in the Yuan Dynasty, the Hui, and with other Muslim ethnic groups to create and develop the Halal food culture in China.
8, the court's extravagance
The Ming dynasty's court food extravagance. Palace dishes and vegetables are Yunnan's chicken fir, Wutai Mountain's smallpox goat maw vegetables, the East China Sea's stone flower sea cabbages, dragon's beard, kelp, antlers, seaweed and other sea plants; Artemisia shoots in the south, bad bamboo shoots, etc., Liaodong's pinecones, artichoke north of the yellow flowers, golden needles, the middle of the city's yam, potatoes, the south of the city's moss cabbage, Wudang's waring mouth bamboo shoots, yellow essence, black essence. Walnuts, jujube, magnolia, trailing green, ferns, etc. of the northern mountains, and various other vegetables and dried fruits, local specialties, etc., are available.
9, Beijing's court food
Flavors from all over the country, over the years in Beijing, convergence, integration, development, the formation of a unique Beijing cuisine. In the past, there were royals, princes and nobles, dignitaries, merchants and literati in Beijing. Due to the needs of social interaction, etiquette, festivals and daily meals, restaurants of various colors came into being, and chefs were employed in the palace, government offices and mansions. These chefs come from all directions, the Chinese food culture and culinary skills to fully play. Palace cuisine refers to the Qing Dynasty Palace in the Imperial Cuisine dishes, but also absorbed many dishes of the Ming Dynasty Palace Cuisine, especially Kangxi, Qianlong two emperors many times to Jiangnan, the South meal is very appreciated, so the Qing Dynasty Palace Cuisine, has absorbed many of the flavors of the dishes around the country, and Mongolia, Hui, Manchu and other ethnic groups of the flavor of the meal. Palace cuisine has been renowned at home and abroad, the world's first flavor of the reputation. Peking Duck, is one of the palace dishes, unique flavor, famous throughout the world.
10, the evolution of governmental dishes
Governmental dishes are one of the special flavors of Beijing cuisine. In the past, Beijing's official government, the government more about food, and each has its own unique flavor, so far passed down the Pan fish, Kung Pao Pork Dinning, Li Hongzhang chowder, group An shark's fins, Zuo Gongjian, Song Sister-in-law Fish Soup, Beijing White Meat, etc., are from the official government. Beijing Tanjia Cuisine is quite representative of the Hanlin Tan Zongjun's family in the late Qing Dynasty, and was later introduced into the restaurant by his family chef, known as "Tanjia Cuisine". In recent years, there has been an emergence of Red Mansion Cuisine, which is also governmental cuisine. Beijing cuisine is a fusion of eight flavors, so the cooking techniques are extremely rich, such as grilled shabu-shabu stir-fry, frying and pan-frying fire leaning, grilling and stir-frying, steaming and cooking, boiling and braising, simmering and stirring simmered, collapsed stewed and salted and smoked, brined and mixed with choking and bubbling, as well as baking and plucking, and so on.
11, Manchu Han feast
Manchurian Han feast is a grand feast of Manchu and Han flavor dishes. Is the Qing Dynasty royalty, the government can only be organized by the banquet, the general folk rare. The scale of the grand and noble, complex program, Manchu and Han food treasures, both North and South flavors, dishes up to more than 300 kinds of ancient Chinese banquet of the most reputation. Beijing Imperial Cuisine Hotel has been divided into six kinds of Manchu feast: Mongolia pro Pan Banquet, court ministers feast, ten thousand birthday feast, a thousand old man feast, nine white feast, seasonal feast.
Man Han feast gathered the essence of the world, the material does not distinguish between east and west, north and south, birds and animals, mountain treasures, sea food, as much as in the mouth, the Qing dynasty, the Manchu feast, there are so-called mountains, the sea, poultry, grass, "four eight treasures". "Mountain eight treasures" refers to camel's hump, bear's paw, scarlet lip, monkey brain, scarlet lip, elephant trunk, leopard fetus, rhinoceros tail, deer tendon; "sea eight treasures" refers to bird's nest, shark's fin, large ginseng, fish maw, fish bone, abalone, seal, dogfish (salamanders); "poultry Eight treasures" refers to the red swallow, flying dragon, quail, swan, partridge, colorful finches, turtledoves, red-headed eagle; "grass eight treasures" refers to the monkey head, fungus, bamboo fungus, donkey's nest mushrooms, goat's belly mushrooms, mushrooms, yellow cauliflower, Yun Xiangxin.
Between the years of Qianlong Jiashen (1746 AD), Jiangsu Province, Yizheng County, a man named Li Dou, wrote a book "Yangzhou Boat Record", which recorded a full Manchu feast food list.
The Manchurian banquet is the fruit of thousands of years of totalitarian-guided dietary culture in China, reaching the peak of human enjoyment in terms of mouth happiness.
In January 2005, a businessman in Xi'an threw away thousands of dollars and paid 366,000 yuan to eat the Manchurian banquet made by a hotel. In fact, that so-called full banquet was certainly not a real full banquet, because some things, such as bear's paw and scarlet lips, are unlikely to be available. This shows how much a real full banquet should be worth.