Shandong cuisine is not only a cuisine, but also a whole set of food culture. Dishes should be well prepared, with full color, fragrance and taste; The dining environment is good, with good lighting in the middle of the room facing south and simple and generous interior. Square table is a necessary furniture. Tableware pays attention to the reasonable collocation of plates, dishes, bowls, chopsticks, spoons and forks. Not only hardware but also software is used to set the table of Shandong cuisine. Different scenes correspond to different dining etiquette, such as the types of dishes, the order of serving, the collocation of dishes, the order of seating, the way of drinking, the responsibility of the host, the dress of the guests at the banquet, the level of seniority, the difference of relatives and so on, which will be reflected in this Shandong dish.
1, which has a great influence on China's food culture.
The four major cuisines refer to Shandong cuisine, Sichuan cuisine, Guangdong cuisine and Huaiyang cuisine, and the eight major cuisines are the specific subdivisions of these four cuisines. Generally speaking, Shandong cuisine represents the cuisine of the whole northern region, Sichuan cuisine represents the southwest region, Guangdong cuisine represents South China, and Huaiyang cuisine represents the eastern region. Experts and scholars recognize that Shandong cuisine has the greatest influence, and the other three cuisines were formed much later than Shandong cuisine. The other three cuisines were influenced by Shandong cuisine in one direction to varying degrees, that is, Shandong cuisine influenced the other three cuisines. Because from the perspective of the territory of the Chinese nation, the expansion of political power and the history of the spread of Chinese civilization to the surrounding areas, it spread from the Central Plains of the Yellow River Basin to the surrounding areas bit by bit, and food culture is no exception.
Shandong cuisine originated in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period and flourished in the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. It is located in the nearest place to the political center of the Central Plains, so it has the convenience of getting into the hall and becoming an imperial cuisine. In addition, officials, businessmen and students from all over the world will also bring some techniques of Shandong cuisine to their hometown after living in Beijing for a period of time, and integrate their own local dishes to form new dishes. Therefore, the four major cuisines are more or less influenced by Shandong cuisine.
Shandong cuisine is good at cooking seafood. He is good at skillfully mixing all kinds of poultry, livestock, fruits, vegetables and grains, making good use of onions, ginger and garlic to flavor, skillfully blending sweet and sour sauce to balance the taste, and flexibly controlling the cooking temperature to ensure the color and taste. It is really a model from China's traditional philosophy of "balance of yin and yang and five elements" to "harmony of five flavors".
China's top royal dish "Man-Han Banquet", except for a few Manchu game, more than 98% dishes are Shandong cuisine, which shows its status and strength.
Anyone who studies cuisines knows that Huaiyang cuisine is actually one of the cuisines most influenced by Shandong cuisine. In fact, this is also directly related to the direction of the first expansion of the territory of the Central Plains Dynasty "Jiangnan". The advantages of Shandong cuisine are incomparable to other cuisines. During the Spring and Autumn Period, Shandong was far ahead of other ethnic governors in China because of its rich products and developed culture. After all, the unique natural conditions and long history and culture are innate advantages. When Shandong cuisine forms a system and becomes a symbol of a nation's advanced civilization, other regions may still be on the eve of slash-and-burn civilization. Therefore, from the perspective of a long history, it has also been praised as a veritable "head of cuisine" by the government and the people.
2. Excellent geographical location and rich products.
Shandong province is located in the lower reaches of the Yellow River with a mild climate. Shandong Peninsula stands out from the crowd between the Yellow Sea and the Bohai Sea. Shandong is surrounded by the sea on three sides and has a high-quality coastline of more than 3,000 kilometers. Shandong mountains and rivers crisscross, and the Yellow River passes through the territory from west to east, forming a large alluvial plain with fertile land and rich products. Shandong's grain output ranks among the top three in the country; There are many kinds of vegetables with high quality and the highest yield, and they are known as "one of the three largest vegetable gardens in the world" (the other two are California in the United States and Ukraine in the former Soviet Union), such as Jiaozhou Chinese cabbage, Zhangqiu green onion, Cangshan garlic and Laiwu ginger, which have long been famous at home and abroad; The fruit output ranks first in the country, and Yantai apple, Laiyang pear, Dazeshan grape, Zhanhua winter jujube, Feicheng peach and Yimeng mountain rhubarb apricot have huge output; The output of pigs, sheep, poultry and eggs is also very considerable; The output of aquatic products ranks in the top three in China, and precious seafood such as shark's fin, sea cucumber, prawn, Cargill, flounder, abalone, swan egg, Xishi, scallop, red snail and laver are well-known at home and abroad. Shandong wine-making industry has a long history, with a wide variety and excellent quality, such as Luokou vinegar, Jining soy sauce, Jimo old wine, Boshan old vinegar and so on. At the same time, it owns the largest saltworks in China. Rich products provide inexhaustible material resources for the development of Shandong cuisine. Compared with the lack of products in other plain areas and even southern hilly areas, this objective factor is an extremely important material basis for Shandong cuisine to become the "head of cuisine".
3. Deep cultural background
Qilu land is also known as the hometown of Confucius and Mencius. The strength of Confucian culture makes Shandong cuisine catch the train of mainstream culture, occupying a greater advantage in communication and unparalleled influence.
Shandong cuisine combines Jiaodong cuisine, jinan cuisine cuisine, Boshan cuisine and Confucian cuisine, and the inheritance of Confucian cuisine is the most systematic. The reason is that Confucian cuisine, as the largest "family" in China, has been passed down for thousands of years. Confucian cuisine is the concrete embodiment of Confucius' dietary concept of "not eating too much essence, not eating too much essence", and it is a typical official dish. Its materials are carefully selected, its cooking is exquisite, its container is exquisite, its name is profound, its banquet restaurant is simple and elegant, and its banquet etiquette is solemn. According to official records, when the daughter of Emperor Qianlong married into Confucius' House, there were as many as 404 pieces of banquet tableware, showing the delicacy of Shandong cuisine.
Confucian cuisine is basically divided into two categories: one is banquet diet; One is a daily family meal.
If it is close to the power center and easy to spread to the whole country and form influence, then the core area of a strong culture is the advantage of soft power. As we all know, there are various forms of Confucian temples, Confucius temples and Confucius temples all over the country. In fact, with the expansion of the soft power of Confucian culture, Shandong cuisine culture has already quietly influenced the whole China cuisine culture together with Confucius and Mencius, thus further consolidating its position as the "head of the cuisine".
4. The dishes are fine in workmanship, showing elegance and nobility.
Shandong cuisine has more than 60 original cooking techniques. When it comes to workmanship, we have to mention the "carving" and "cutting" in Shandong cuisine and the original "frying" in Shandong cuisine. The famous Beijing roast duck is an authentic Shandong dish. This state banquet, which is famous at home and abroad, must show the knife method incisively and vividly. It is impossible for every chef to slice the cooked duck and shred the greasy scallion. In the reception of foreign heads of state at the Diaoyutai banquet, carving a lifelike "dragon and phoenix" based on radish is a must for Shandong cuisine chefs. "Stir-fried kidney flower" is a basic topic for folk to test Shandong cuisine chefs. Cut a pattern on the slippery pork loin to ensure that it is airtight and disjointed, and the squares the size of mung beans are even. Without 10 years of kung fu, I dare not call myself a chef of Shandong cuisine.
At that time, the famous "Eight Buildings" in Beijing, and now the famous Shandong cuisine hotels in Beijing, such as Jingya, Jas Pouch Lee, Baorui, Four Seasons Chang 'an, Qilu Classic and Fengzeyuan, are all Shandong cuisine hotels, where you can eat authentic Shandong cuisine.
The famous dishes of Shandong cuisine are: clear soup bird's nest, milk soup, scallion-roasted sea cucumber, sweet and sour yellow river carp, nine-turn large intestine, crispy fried pork, pot-roasted elbow, four live turtles, cloud-sliced bear's paw, three-line shark's fin, Shoubi Nanshan casserole shark's fin, stewed mullet eggs, fish in sauce, braised chicken in pot, yipin pot, sliced hibiscus chicken, stewed mullet eggs and diced chicken in sauce. These famous dishes are the specific strength of Shandong cuisine as the "head of the cuisine".