State Banquet is a formal banquet held by the head of state or government to entertain state guests, distinguished guests or people from all walks of life on important festivals. For example, the reception hosted by the state for foreign guests or foreign aid workers in the name of the government, and those who have made outstanding contributions to the country are all called state banquets in a broad sense. Most of the venues are in the Great Hall of the People or Diaoyutai State Guesthouse.
State banquets are divided into "Tang cuisine" and "Taiwanese cuisine":
The word "Tang" of "Tang Cuisine" was taken from the Great Hall of the People, which was originally a name casually mentioned by the chef of the Great Hall of the People. The Collection of State Banquets in the Great Hall of the People published by 1984 was renamed as "Tang Cuisine" for the first time, making it a new variety besides the eight major cuisines.
"Taiwanese cuisine" refers to the dishes cooked by the chef of Diaoyutai State Guesthouse for the national guests who live in and dine there in the capital Diaoyutai State Guesthouse. The cuisine of Diaoyutai State Guesthouse has absorbed the strengths of the eight major domestic cuisines and the essence of dishes from all over the world. The dishes in Diaoyutai State Guesthouse are fresh and elegant, pure and meaningful, with folk snacks and the tastes and customs of heads of state.
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Several famous state banquet dishes:
1. Soft-skinned long fish: Soft-skinned long fish, also known as "soft-skinned eel", is the most famous dish in Huaiyang cuisine. Huai 'an people are very kind to Chinese and foreign guests, and they like this "fresh, fragrant and special" dish best, so that guests can taste it early and praise it. 1949 The first hot dish at the first banquet of the founding of the People's Republic of China was this soft-pocked long fish, which was called the first dish of the founding of the People's Republic of China.
2. Sweet and Sour Mandarin Fish: It can be seen from the appearance that this is a demanding knife dish. The chef cut the fish into the bone with a superb knife, then sliced the fish. The knife was straight and inclined, and the knife was cut into the skin of the fish, which became a diamond-shaped knife pattern, which was 4/5 of the skin of the fish. The knife is accurate. Finally, the whole fish body was replaced with 108 garlic cloves, which looked like chrysanthemums, and the fish head and tail were slightly upturned, echoing back and forth. The fried meat is rolled up like hair, with its head held high and its mouth open, and its fish tail slightly tilted, much like a squirrel with great aesthetic feeling. On the other hand, in order to take care of the feelings of foreign guests, this dish at state banquets usually removes the head and tail and only serves fish.
3, Buddha jumps over the wall: Buddha jumps over the wall, also known as Fushou Boxing, which is said to have originated in the Tang Dynasty. It is a masterpiece of China's traditional cuisine, which combines delicacies with delicacies. It is carefully cooked, fragrant and delicious. It is the first choice for the highest standard Chinese food in China State Banquet, and has served as the main course of state banquets for many times to receive distinguished guests at home and abroad.
4. Boiled Cabbage: Boiled Cabbage is a traditional Sichuan dish, which was originally created by Huang, a famous chef of Sichuan cuisine, in the imperial dining hall of Qing Palace. Later, Luo, a master of Sichuan cuisine, took his cooking skills out of Sichuan and became a delicacy at the state banquet. The technology of this dish is extremely complicated and the requirements for raw materials are extremely high. At least two chefs need tacit cooperation, and in a very spacious and professional kitchen, plus a dozen skilled helpers, you can make a boiled cabbage. This dish doesn't care about the promotion of the main ingredients, but about the rigor and harshness of its soup. It seems unpretentious, but it shows the skill and exquisite attainments of dish refining.
5. kung pao chicken: According to legend, kung pao chicken, a famous minister in the late Qing Dynasty, fried dried peppers and peanuts into diced chicken, forming this Sichuan dish with sweet, sour and spicy flavor. Many dishes called Kung Pao originated from this place, such as Kung Pao tofu and Kung Pao shrimp balls. This dish takes sugar and vinegar as raw materials, supplemented by the color of soy sauce and the taste of cooking wine, which can be described as "golden ratio". The entrance is sour first, then sweet, then spicy, then salty and then fragrant, which is very distinctive and deeply loved by people.
6. Steven tofu: Steven tofu can be considered as the simplest dish at a state banquet. It can go to the state banquet because it wants to cut tender tofu into 5000 filaments the size of "hair", which is a test for chefs. The most famous knife dish in Huaiyang cuisine is Siwen tofu, which can almost be said to be "wonderful". I saw thousands of toothpick-long, vermicelli-thin shredded tofu floating in clear soup, light, white and delicate. It tastes smooth and delicious. Usually the diners haven't recovered, and it has comfortably reached your stomach. On the occasion of aftertaste, people can't help applauding.
7. Beijing Roast Duck: Beijing Roast Duck originated in the Southern and Northern Dynasties in China. Roast duck was recorded in the Food Collection, which was a court food at that time. The raw materials are high-quality meat duck, Beijing roast duck and fruit wood roasted with charcoal fire, with rosy color, fat but not greasy meat, crisp outside and tender inside. Beijing roast duck is divided into two factions, and the most famous roast duck restaurant in Beijing is the representative of the two factions. Because of its red color, tender meat, mellow taste, fat but not greasy, it is known as "delicious in the world"
8. Longjing Shrimp: Longjing Shrimp is named after the selection of Longjing tea and shrimp around Tomb-Sweeping Day. This is a Hangzhou dish with strong local flavor. Longjing shrimp has been listed as a famous dish in Hangzhou since 1956. 1972 When President Nixon visited China, this dish was on the state banquet menu.
9. Yangzhou Lion Head: One of the famous dishes of the state banquet is "Yangzhou Lion Head". It is called "lion's head" because this dish is plump and looks like a lion's head. This dish is also a typical representative of Huaiyang cuisine. Whether it is the selection of materials or the production process, it fully embodies the delicious taste of Huaiyang cuisine.
10, Dongpo Meat: Dongpo Meat, as a "hard dish" in Zhejiang cuisine, has been selected as the highest-standard state banquet for many times. In Hangzhou, Dongpo meat is a famous dish that has been passed down for more than 900 years. According to legend, Su Dongpo became a local official in Hangzhou during the Song and Yuan Dynasties. At that time, most of the West Lake was submerged by weeds, so he mobilized tens of thousands of migrant workers to dredge the West Lake and build dikes to irrigate the fields for the benefit of the people. Everyone gave him a lot of meat and wine, so he cooked it together and distributed it to the migrant workers who took part in dredging the West Lake. I didn't expect everyone to praise crispy meat for its delicious taste, fat but not greasy. So people named this kind of meat "Dongpo Meat", which has been passed down to this day.