Pay attention to the order of Chinese food serving. The procedure of Chinese food serving has been very particular since ancient times. Yuan Mei, a gifted scholar in the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, once described the serving procedure in his famous "Food List with the Garden": "The method of serving food should be salty first, light first, thick first, thin first, no soup first, and soup first. When the guest is full, the spleen is sleepy, so it needs to be vibrated with spicy; "Worrying about drinking too much wine will make your stomach tired, so you need to be sweet and sour to remind you." This passage summarizes the general procedure of serving Chinese food at a banquet.
At present, the order of serving at Chinese banquets is generally: the first cold dish, the second main dish (a noble and famous dish), the third hot dish (with more dishes), the fourth soup dish, the fifth beet (with snacks), and finally the fruit.
Because there are many local cuisines in China, there are also many kinds of banquets, such as the famous swallow dishes, swallow wings, shark fins, fish lips, sea cucumbers, whole sheep, whole duck, full scale, vegetarian and Manchu-Chinese banquets. It can be seen that different local cuisines, different banquet seats, and different dish design arrangements. In terms of serving procedures, it will not be exactly the same. For example, Peking Duck, the main course of the whole duck mat, is not served as the first dish, but as the last big dish, which is called "yet we called and urged a thousand times before she started toward us". And Tan Jiacai Swallow's Wings banquet, because there is no cooking at all, so after the main course, there are dishes like roast, grilled, steamed and stewed. Another example is the time for serving snacks, which varies from place to place, some during the banquet and some at the end of the banquet; Some sweet and salty snacks are served together, while others are served separately. This is based on the type, characteristics and needs of the banquet, and it depends on people and things. The basic principle is that it should not be the same, and it should be carried out in accordance with the relatively stable serving procedures of Chinese banquets.
The principles of serving at Chinese banquets are: cold before hot, food before order, salty before sweet, fried before burning, light after fat, high quality before average.
(1) serve boiled vegetables, such as boiled fish sticks, boiled apples, boiled sweet potatoes, boiled litchi meat, etc., with hot water, that is, put the dish with boiled vegetables on the soup bowl and serve it on the tray, and count bowls with cold water. Holding hot water on the cabbage can prevent the sugar juice from solidifying and maintain the flavor of the cabbage.
(2) If there are some hot dishes with condiments and small ingredients, they should be served together with the hot dishes. For example, steamed fish is served with ginger vinegar juice, and Beijing roast duck is served with onions, sauces, cakes, etc., which can be briefly explained when serving.
(3) Look at the easy-to-deform fried dishes, such as Korean shrimps, fried shrimp balls, fried belly kernels, etc., and serve them on the table as soon as they are out of the pot. Serve gently and steadily to keep the shape and flavor of the dishes.
(4) Dishes with noises on the table, such as crispy sea cucumber, crispy pork slices and crispy assorted dishes, should be served on the stage as soon as they are out of the pot, and then the soup should be poured on the crispy rice to make a noise. Do this series of actions coherently and without delay, otherwise the dish will lose its due effect.
(5) The original cup of candle dishes, such as winter melon cups, should be opened in front of the guests after taking the stage, so as to maintain the original flavor of the candle products and make the aroma distribute on the table. Turn the cover over and remove it to avoid the soup dripping on the guests.
(6) Dishes wrapped in mud, Myanmar and lotus leaves, such as beggar chicken, Myanmar chicken and spicy chicken, should be put on stage for the guests to watch before being broken or unsealed on the operating table in front of the guests, so as to keep the flavor and characteristics of the dishes.
(7) The method of serving raw chafing dish:
Four raw chafing dishes, six raw chafing dishes, eight raw chafing dishes, chrysanthemum chafing dishes and beef omasum chafing dishes are all raw chafing dishes. This kind of hot pot generally burns solid alcohol now, and the operation method and requirements of its upper seat are basically the same.
The operation method and requirements for serving Sisheng hot pot are as follows: after taking the hot pot to the workbench, open the hot pot cover before serving, then check the quality and hygiene of the dishes, and then scoop out a proper amount of soup with a big soup ladle and put it in a big soup bowl to prevent the soup from spilling after serving.
In the fourth dish, put a little cooking wine and shake it gently to make the wine soak into the bottom of the dish to prevent the raw materials from sticking to the dish because of drying. In this way, the raw materials can be smoothly put into the hot pot after serving. Cover the hot pot and serve it. When serving, put a plate of water under the hot pot to prevent the tablecloth from burning. After the table is placed firmly, first light the alcohol stove at the bottom of the pot, and then lift the lid. When uncovering the lid, lift it gently, turn the lid over on the hot pot to prevent the water drops from dripping on the table, and take it out of the table with the other hand under the lid.
Serve four raw discs. If the four raw dishes are assorted platters, they must be displayed on the table before serving hot pot. If it's an ordinary platter, just put it around the hot pot when serving.
Add four raw materials. After the soup in the hot pot is boiled, put the ingredients into the hot pot first. Such as Chinese cabbage and vermicelli, and then put them into the hot pot with chopsticks in turn according to the time required for cooking the main ingredients. Dial in the hard ones first, then the easy ones, and then stir them up with chopsticks and cook them.
Setting dishes means putting the dishes on stage in a certain pattern. The basic requirements for setting dishes are: paying attention to plastic arts, being polite, respecting guests and guests, and being convenient to eat.
Specific requirements for setting dishes in Chinese food (1) The position of setting dishes should be moderate. Dishes should be placed in front of small tableware at appropriate intervals. If there are several groups of scattered customers at a table, the dishes of each customer should be relatively concentrated, and there should be a certain interval between them to prevent mistakes. Chinese food banquet dishes, generally from the middle of the table to the surrounding.
(2) The big platter of a Chinese banquet and the first dish in a big dish are usually placed in the middle of the table. If you use a larger plate, you should first put it in front of the guest of honor. Soups, such as shops, casseroles, warm pots and candle cups, are usually placed in the middle of the table. The main courses and high-grade dishes that are scattered should generally be placed in the middle.
(3) More high-end dishes, dishes with special flavor, or every time a new dish is served, it should be placed in the position of the guest of honor first, and then removed from other places after the next dish, and the dishes on the table should be adjusted as piles of soil to keep the countertop beautiful all the time.
(4) The face of the first dish in the banquet should be the main theme, and the faces of other dishes should be adjusted around. Look at the casual dishes facing the customers.
The so-called noodles of dishes are the most suitable side for viewing. The noodles of all kinds of dishes are: plastic dishes with heads, such as roast suckling pig and cold dish proud as a peacock, whose heads are noodles; The plastic dishes with hidden heads, such as roast duck, eight-treasure duck, eight-treasure duck, etc., are full of faces; In the cold dish, the single dish, double spell or triple spell, if there is a lane seam, the lane seam is the viewing surface, and if there is no lane seam, the knife surface is the viewing surface; The most delicate part of the pattern of the vegetables is the face; Shaped dishes with the characters "happiness" and "longevity" have the face of calligraphy and painting; Generally speaking, the part with fine knife work and good color is the noodles.
(5) All kinds of dishes should be placed symmetrically and pay attention to plastic arts. Generally, the shape of the dish plate is that two dishes can be placed side by side in a horizontal line, and one dish and one soup can be placed in a vertical line, with the soup in front and the dish in the back; Two dishes-soup or three dishes, can be placed in the shape of a city product, soup on the top, dishes on the bottom; Three dishes and one soup can be centered on the soup, and the dishes are placed in a semicircle along the inside of the soup; Four dishes and one soup, soup in the middle, dishes around; Five dishes and one soup, arranged in a plum blossom shape with the soup as the center; More than five dishes are placed in a circle with soup or head dish or big platter as the center.
The method of symmetrical arrangement of dishes: pay attention to symmetry in the color, shape and container of raw materials of dishes. For example, chickens can be used against ducks, and fish can be used against prawns. Dishes with the same shape and color can also be placed symmetrically on the upper and lower or left and right positions of the dining table; Generally, do not put them side by side. Pay attention to the collocation and spacing of meat, color and taste when placing them, and the distance between plates is equal.
(6) If some hot dishes use long plates, the plates should face the owner horizontally.
If the whole duck, whole chicken and whole fish are served on hot dishes, the traditional manners in China are "the chicken does not offer the head, the duck does not offer the palm, and the fish does not offer the spine". That is, when serving, the head should be turned to the right, and the breast (abdomen) should face the host to show respect for the guests.
The custom of "fish don't offer ridges" is said to come from the allusion of "hide the sword with a fish belly". During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Ji Guang, the son of Wu, invited Zhuan Zhu, a valiant soldier, to help him get rid of Wu Wangliao and inherit the throne. Zhuan Zhu is good at grilled fish, and "everyone who tastes it thinks it is beautiful", so Ji Guang invited Wu Wangliao to taste the grilled fish in Zhuan Zhu. Zhuan Zhu hid a sharp dagger in the belly of the fish, took advantage of the fish, drew the dagger from the belly of the fish and stabbed Wu Wangliao to death. At that time, in order to take the sword conveniently, Zhuan Zhu pointed the fish ridge towards Wu Renliao and the fish belly towards himself. From then on, the saying "offering fish instead of spine" has spread all over the world.
If the whole duck, whole chicken and whole fish are served on hot dishes, the traditional manners in China are "the chicken does not offer the head, the duck does not offer the palm, and the fish does not offer the spine". That is, when serving, the head should be turned to the right, and the breast (abdomen) should face the host to show respect for the guests.
The custom of "fish don't offer ridges" is said to come from the allusion of "hide the sword with a fish belly". During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Ji Guang, the son of Wu, invited Zhuan Zhu, a valiant soldier, to help him get rid of Wu Wangliao and inherit the throne. Zhuan Zhu is good at grilled fish, and "everyone who tastes it thinks it is beautiful", so Ji Guang invited Wu Wangliao to taste the grilled fish in Zhuan Zhu. Zhuan Zhu hid a sharp dagger in the belly of the fish, took advantage of the fish, drew the dagger from the belly of the fish and stabbed Wu Wangliao to death. At that time, in order to take the sword conveniently, Zhuan Zhu pointed the fish ridge towards Wu Renliao and the fish belly towards himself. From then on, the saying "offering fish instead of spine" has spread all over the world.
More advanced banquets and banquets often require more than two kinds of drinks, and are equipped with different dishes such as cold, hot, seafood, soup, soup, sweet, salty, fried, stewed, grilled and fried. Therefore, in the following cases, it is necessary to replace small tableware and utensils in time. The preparations before the banquet should be ready for use.
1, bone-changing dish during meals is called a dinner dish in western food. During the meal, guests need to change the bone dish in several situations: when they eat cold dishes instead of hot ones; When eating other types of dishes, the bone dish filled with fishy food; When you use different sauces and have other dishes with different tastes; When the bone dish spilled drinks and drinks; Place the bone plate, and then remove the used bone plate from the guest's left side. Do not cross and fold when withdrawing the disc.
2. Change the ashtray during the meal When the guests are dining, the ashtray on the dining table should always be kept clean, and the ashtray used by the customers should be replaced in time. The method of replacing the ashtray is: press a clean ashtray on the used ashtray and remove both ashtrays at the same time; Then put the clean ashtray back. This can prevent the ash from falling when taking the used ashtray.
3. Remove small towels and napkins. Before guests use fruits, hand towels (hot in winter and warm in summer) should be handed to the guests. After using them, guests should take off the dining table with towel clips in time. If towels and dishes are used, they should be taken away together. After guests leave the table after eating, they should evacuate napkins from the dining table before removing tableware.
4. At the end of the banquet, it should be the stage of serving fruit and tea. Before serving the fruit plate, the small tableware on the dining table should be cleaned. During the cleaning process, the bone plate and small soup bowl used for eating food should be removed, and the fruit plate, fruit knife and fruit fork should be replaced.
5, the withdrawal of the dish plate is carried out before the fruit is served. Before serving the fruit, you can remove the residual dishes on the dining table. If necessary, you can clean the dining table simply, and then put the fruit in the dining table.
6. When withdrawing the ashtray, you should check the fire safety first to see if there is an unlit cigarette butt. If there is, you should put out the fire. The removal of the ashtray shall be a separate removal procedure.
7. Tidying up the tablecloth Tidying up the tablecloth is the last procedure of Taiwan removal. After all kinds of tableware are removed from the dining table, you should first pay attention to whether there are cigarette butts and residual vegetables on the tablecloth. If there are, clean the tablecloth first and then remove it. If a large amount of liquid is spilled on the tablecloth, the drying table method should be adopted, and the tablecloth should be dried before being folded to avoid mildew.