1. Differences in dietary concepts
Eating is the most basic human activity, but if the question is raised to the level of why and how to eat, it is reflected as a kind of consciousness Or concept. There are obvious differences between China and the West in terms of dietary concepts.
The West has a rational and scientific dietary concept. They emphasize the nutritional value of food and pay attention to the amount of protein, fat, calories and vitamins contained in food, but do not pursue the perfection of color, aroma, taste and shape of food. Even if the taste is the same or even boring, they will follow the warning of reason and eat it because it is nutritious. Westerners eat nutritiously. They rarely or almost never connect food with spiritual enjoyment. The diet reflects a strong practical and utilitarian purpose.
Eating is just a means of survival, used to satisfy hunger, but it adopts a more scientific, standardized and reasonable way. Affected by the rational way of thinking, Western diet is more scientific. Especially after the emergence of modern nutrition analysis science, it has further encouraged their inherent tendency of rational analysis in diet, causing them to pay more attention to the combination of nutrients in diet. According to The diet is rationed according to the specific condition of the person's body. For example, their primary and secondary schools are equipped with nutritionists to ensure adequate and balanced nutrition for teenagers. This scientific and rational dietary concept is worth learning from Chinese food. But at the same time, this also places great limitations on the materials used in Western food. For example, Westerners do not eat animal offal and anything they consider to have no nutritional value. At the same time, he also seems mechanical in his cooking skills. Steak is steak, chicken is chicken, and all kinds of vegetables will never be mixed with flavors, nor will there be many tricks. If we want to talk about quality, we have to rely on the combination of tableware, environment, and dish ingredients in shape and color. This mechanical nature of Western food is something we have to overcome. In short, Western diet uses absolute rationality to regulate people's behavior, and uses "science" and "nutrition" to exclude food that can bring people pleasure. Although it can meet physiological needs, it cannot give people spiritual pleasure. , can be described as a fly in the ointment, while Chinese food is just the opposite on this point.
Chinese people’s diet emphasizes sensibility and artistry, and pursues the taste of food without paying attention to the nutritional content of food. They mostly evaluate the quality of food from aspects such as “color, aroma, taste, shape, and utensils.” The good and the bad pursue an indescribable artistic conception. Simply put, Chinese people eat for taste. "Taste" is the charm of Chinese food. The purpose of Chinese people's diet is not only to satisfy their hunger, but also to satisfy their desire for delicious food and bring physical and mental pleasure.
Chinese cooking often blends a variety of raw materials together, so that each of them almost loses its true character, but creates a new and complete delicacy. For example, the famous Fujian dish "Buddha Jumps Over the Wall" contains a variety of main ingredients such as chicken, duck, pork tendon, scallops, abalone, sea cucumber, pork belly, shark's fin, etc., as well as several side ingredients. You can no longer taste the original taste of each dish from this dish. What you taste is a delicious dish. In the finished product prepared in this way, the personality is completely buried, but the whole is brilliant. This is consistent with the Chinese people's golden mean of devaluing individuality, stressing balance, and emphasizing harmony. The perceptualization of Chinese food makes it full of imagination and creativity and tends to be artistic. This is a realm of freedom that transcends necessity. Its biggest feature is arbitrariness. The same dish can be handled differently due to different regions, seasons, objects, and levels. In the selection of raw materials, decay can be turned into magic, chicken feet can be turned into "chicken feet", fish heads can be made into "casserole stewed fish heads", etc. In terms of production techniques, it is a delicious dish at your fingertips. Chinese diet has only a vague empirical grasp of nutritional science. Just like a banquet, there must be all kinds of meat dishes, and they must also be accompanied by vegetables. The reason is very simple, meat is easy to be greasy, and there must be light and refreshing dishes to counteract it. There is no rational analysis and logical judgment here, it is just an experience and a custom. This is also the shortcoming of Chinese food. Chinese food places too much emphasis on taste and the spiritual enjoyment of meals, and neglects nutritional analysis and reasonable nutrition matching, which is one-sided. The Western diet focuses on scientific analysis and nutrition. Although it is mechanical, it is fundamentally positive in maintaining the healthy development of the human body. Therefore, in the development of Chinese food, we should learn from the "scientific" concepts of Western food, learn from each other's strengths and make up for our weaknesses, so as to make it more perfect.
Compared with Chinese food that focuses on "taste", Western food has a rational concept of food. Regardless of the color, aroma, taste, or shape of the food, nutrition must be guaranteed. Pay attention to how many calories, vitamins, proteins, etc. you need to take in a day. Even if the taste is the same, you must eat it - because it is nutritious. This dietary concept is compatible with the entire Western philosophical system. Metaphysics is the main feature of Western philosophy. The object of study in Western philosophy is the principles of things, and the principles of things are often metaphysical principles. Metaphysical principles are coherent with each other and form metaphysical philosophy. This philosophy has brought vitality to Western culture, enabling it to achieve rapid development in natural science, psychology, and methodology. But in other areas, such as food culture, this philosophical proposition has greatly hindered. At a banquet, you can pay attention to tableware, materials, service, and the combination of shapes and colors of raw materials; but no matter how luxurious and high-end it is, from Los Angeles to New York, steak has only one taste and no art at all.
As a dish, chicken is chicken, and steak is steak. Even if there is a combination, it is done on a plate. A plate of "French lamb chops" has mashed potatoes on one side, lamb chops next to it, boiled green beans on the other side, and a few slices Tomatoes are ready. The contrast in color is sharp, but in terms of taste, the various raw materials are independent and harmonious with each other. Each has its own taste, which is simple and clear.
Chinese people attach great importance to "eating". The proverb "food is the first thing for people" shows that we regard eating as important as heaven. Since our nation has been at a low level of productivity for thousands of years and people are always hungry, we have a unique food culture that values ??eating above all else. I think this is probably due to a It’s necessary for survival. If a culture regards eating as the most important thing, then two phenomena will occur: on the one hand, it will maximize the function of eating, not only to maintain survival, but also to use it to maintain health. This is "medicine is not as good as supplements" The cultural basis of "food tonic"; on the other hand, overemphasis on eating will make people admire the pursuit of delicious food.
In Chinese cooking, the pursuit of delicious food is almost to the extreme. Even when Chinese people go overseas to make a living, they open restaurants as a career, which has become the foundation for us to settle down and live in the world! Unfortunately, when we regard the pursuit of delicious food as our first requirement, we ignore the most fundamental nutritional value of food. Many of our traditional foods have to be hot-fried and simmered for a long time to reduce the nutritional value of the dishes. Damaged, many nutrients are lost during processing. Therefore, when it comes to nutritional issues, it actually touches on the biggest weakness of Chinese food culture. There is a popular saying among the people: "Food is the first priority for the people, and taste is the first priority in food." It is this pursuit of delicious food that makes us ignore the true meaning of eating.
When Chinese people taste dishes, they often say that this dish is "delicious" and that dish is "not delicious"; however, if we want to ask further what is "delicious" and why is "good" "Eat" and "delicious" are probably not easy to explain clearly. This shows that the Chinese pursue an indescribable "artistic conception" of food. Even if we use what people usually call "color, aroma, taste, shape, and utensils" to concrete this "realm", I am afraid it will still be It's hard to cover.
The key to the unique charm of Chinese food lies in its taste. The creation of delicious food lies in harmony. The original flavor of the food, the cooked flavor after heating, the flavor of the ingredients and accessories, and the blending flavor of the seasonings must be intertwined and harmonized so that they complement each other and penetrate each other. Water and milk blend together, you have me, and I have you. The beauty of harmony that Chinese cooking pays attention to is the essence of Chinese cooking art. The shape and color of dishes are external things, but the taste is internal. Emphasizing the internal rather than deliberately modifying the appearance, emphasizing the taste of dishes without overly revealing the shape and color of the dishes is exactly the principle of the Chinese concept of aesthetic food. The most important performance.
In China, the pursuit of beauty in food obviously overwhelms rationality. This view on food is also consistent with traditional Chinese philosophical thoughts. As a representative of Eastern philosophy, Chinese philosophy has its distinctive characteristics of being macroscopic, intuitive, vague and elusive. The method of making Chinese food is to blend, and ultimately to create a beautiful taste. What this pays attention to is proportion and overall coordination. It contains the rich dialectical thinking of Chinese philosophy. Everything is measured by the beauty and harmony of the taste of the food. The ever-changing within the degree determines the richness and variety of Chinese food, the characteristics of Chinese food and even the personality of each chef. Features.
2. Differences in the content of Chinese and Western diet
The content of diet is a question of what to eat. The difference in this issue is rooted in the differences in the cultural backgrounds of various ethnic groups. Westerners eat more meat dishes and pay more attention to the intake of animal protein and fat. In terms of their diet structure, animal dishes are also the majority, mainly beef, chicken, pork, mutton and fish. This is related to the nomadic and seafaring national culture of the West. The main activities of the sailing and nomadic people are fishing, hunting and breeding, supplemented by planting, which determines that the main source of their diet is animals. Not only diet, but also many other aspects of life are derived from animals. The Chinese are influenced by agricultural civilization. In their traditional dietary structure, the staple food is grains, supplemented by vegetables and a small amount of meat. Plant dishes dominate. We usually call them "vegetarian dishes", which are usually only eaten during the New Year. Meat dishes were added to it. This eating habit is deeply influenced by Buddhist culture, making it even more obvious. Buddhism believes that animals are "living beings", and living beings cannot be killed, let alone eaten. Ideas such as "abstaining from killing and releasing animals" advocated by Buddhism are consistent with the Confucian view of "benevolence, benevolence and benevolence". In addition, Taoism also prohibits eating fish and meat, which has opened up the trend of vegetarianism in China. It also promoted the development of cultivation and cooking techniques of fruits and vegetables, especially the development of soy products.
However, with the improvement of living standards and the popularization of nutritional concepts, the proportion of meat and dairy foods is increasing on the Chinese dining table. Similarly, the number of vegetables in Westerners' diets is also increasing significantly, and the Chinese and Western diets have gradually become more integrated. The difference in dietary content between China and the West is also reflected in the fact that Westerners like to eat cold food and cold dishes. From cold vegetable platters, salads to cold drinks, cold dishes are indispensable on the dining table. Chinese people like hot food. Except for a few small dishes before the main course, which are cold dishes, the main dishes are all hot. In the eyes of the Chinese, hot dishes lose a lot of flavor when they are cold. Only when they are hot can the flavor of the dishes be tasted. As the saying goes: "One hot and three fresh" means this.
Westerners believe that dishes are to satisfy hunger, so they specialize in "hard dishes" such as large pieces of meat and whole pieces of chicken. Chinese cuisine is about "taste", so Chinese cooking also shows great arbitrariness in the ingredients used: many things that Westerners regard as discards are excellent raw materials in China, and foreign chefs cannot handle them. Once in the hands of a Chinese chef, everything can turn decay into magic. This shows the wide range of randomness in the ingredients used in Chinese food.
According to a survey by Western botanists, Chinese people eat more than 600 kinds of vegetables, which is six times more than in the West. In fact, in Chinese cuisine, vegetarian dishes are common food, and meat dishes only enter the daily diet structure during holidays or when the living standard is high. Therefore, there has been a saying of "vegetable food" since ancient times. Vegetable food plays an important role in the daily diet structure. Dominant. The Chinese's preference for plant-based dishes is inextricably linked to the advocacy of Buddhists. They regard animals as "living things" and plants as "inanimate", so they advocate vegetarianism.
When Westerners introduce the dietary characteristics of their own countries, they feel that they pay more attention to the reasonable combination of nutrition than China. They have relatively developed food industries, such as canned food, fast food, etc. Although the taste is the same, it saves time and They are well-nourished, so people in their countries are generally physically stronger than Chinese people: tall, long legs, broad shoulders, and well-developed muscles; while Chinese people appear to be thin, with narrow shoulders, short legs, and weak complexion. Based on the obvious differences between Chinese and Western diets, some people call Chinese people plant-like characters and Westerners called animal characters.
3. Differences in Dietary Style
Dietary style is also a matter of how to eat. At this point, there are obvious differences between China and the West. In China, whether it is a family meal or a formal banquet, everyone gathers together to sit around and enjoy the meal. People toast each other and persuade each other to eat, which should reflect the mutual respect and courtesy between people and the atmosphere of harmony and reunion. Especially during various festivals, people enjoy eating and drinking. This way of eating is an important tradition in Chinese food culture, which is based on the clan patriarchal concept. The way of eating together is first common in families and families, and then spreads outside the family. Chinese people often use this way of dining to educate and express various "rituals" to reflect relationships such as elder and younger, superiority and inferiority, closeness, nobility, etc., as well as to communicate feelings. Because this way of sitting around drinking and drinking caters to traditional family concepts and objectively plays a role in maintaining family stability and promoting unity and harmony among family members, it has been passed down for a long time. It is indeed a kind of family happiness for the whole family to gather together for a feast. But at the same time, this way of dining also has its drawbacks, mainly that it is unscientific, unhygienic, and wasteful. Now, people have gradually realized this shortcoming and begun to reform. For example, my country's state banquet has implemented a meal-sharing system, but it has yet to be popularized in the whole society.
Westerners are accustomed to eating in portions. At a Western-style banquet, although everyone sits together, each person's food is served on a separate plate. The most typical form of Western meal sharing system is the buffet. Diners each take a set of tableware and take what they need from the prepared food. They do not need to be seated and can move around freely. This way of dining can not only fully satisfy personal preferences for food, but also facilitate social interaction and the exchange of emotions and information between individuals without having to make all activities public at the dinner table. Therefore, at a Western-style banquet, food is only a means and accompaniment, not the entire purpose. The core of the banquet is friendship. This way of dining fully reflects Westerners' respect for individuality and self, and emphasizes personal independence and autonomy. In this regard, it is completely different from China's unified cultural model. Especially since the Renaissance movement, Western society has vigorously promoted the spirit of equality, freedom, human rights, and individual liberation, which has greatly promoted people's individuality and freedom, creating a cultural environment that emphasizes the free development of individuality. More importantly, this way of dining is civilized, hygienic and in line with the scientific spirit. The way people eat in the West is very different, and this difference also has an impact on national character. In China, any banquet, no matter what the purpose, will only have one form, that is, everyone sits around and enjoys a meal. The banquet uses a round table, which creates an atmosphere of unity, courtesy and fun. Delicious food is placed in the center of a table. It is not only an object for people to appreciate and taste, but also a medium for emotional communication among people at the table. People toast each other, offer each other food, and persuade each other to eat. In the face of beautiful things, they embody the virtues of mutual respect and courtesy between people. Although this way of eating has obvious shortcomings from a hygienic point of view, it is in line with the general mentality of our nation's "happy reunion" and reflects the influence of the category of "harmony" in classical Chinese philosophy on the thoughts of future generations. It facilitates collective emotional communication, so it is difficult to reform so far.
Although food and wine are very important in Western-style banquets, they are actually used as a foil. The core of a banquet is friendship, which is achieved through conversations with neighboring guests. If the sociability of a banquet is compared to dance, then it can be said that a Chinese banquet is like a group dance, while a Western banquet is like a ballroom dance between men and women. It can be seen that the purpose of socializing in Chinese banquets and Western banquets is obvious, but Chinese banquets are more about socializing among all the guests, while Western banquets are mostly about socializing between adjacent guests. The difference with the Chinese way of eating is even more obvious in the buffets popular in the West.
This method is: display all the food one by one, and everyone can get what they need. They don’t have to be fixed in their seats to eat, and they can move around freely. This method facilitates emotional communication between individuals. It is not necessary to put everything on the table, but also to express It has improved Westerners’ respect for individuality and self. But everyone eats their own food and doesn't disturb each other, which lacks some of the Chinese people's mood of having fun and having fun.
So, in the final analysis, it is the difference between sensibility and rationality. However, this difference seems to be blurring with the development of science. More and more Chinese people no longer only pay attention to the color, aroma and taste of food, but pay more attention to its hygiene and nutrition. Especially after experiencing SARS. Also, because people are increasingly busy with work, they feel that it is too troublesome to prepare Chinese food, so it is better to have a hamburger to wait for it. As a result, the difference in diet is not clear.
4. Differences in cooking methods
In China, cooking is an art. It is extremely interesting and even has a certain degree of playfulness, attracting people who eat and drink. For the Chinese people who enjoy the most happiness in life. Cooking in China is just like music, dance, poetry, and painting. It has great significance in improving the realm of life. There are so many cooking methods in China: braising, stewing, roasting, blanching, steaming, frying, crisping, braising, grilling, stewing, stir-frying, stir-frying, casserole, shredded, etc. The dishes produced are even more dazzling. The changes in Chinese food craftsmanship are more complicated. Many dishes are labor-intensive and time-consuming, with too many embellishments, and many of the dishes are inedible. This not only results in a waste of raw materials, but the effect may not be good. There is a saying in the Chinese kitchen industry: "The chef's skills are three-quarters, and the ingredients are seven-tenths of the skill." It emphasizes the importance of the chef's personal selection and graded use of raw materials. That is to say, the standards of raw materials play a decisive role in the production of dishes.
Westerners’ diet emphasizes science and nutrition. The entire cooking process strictly follows scientific standards and the preparation of dishes is standardized. Therefore, the work of a chef has become an extremely monotonous and mechanical job. Furthermore, the primary purpose of Westerners' eating is to absorb nutrients. As long as the nutrition is up to standard, everything else is tolerated. Therefore, steak and potatoes today, steak and potatoes tomorrow, the chef repeats the mechanical routine every day with the diners' non-demanding and extremely tolerant attitude. The work is certainly not interesting at all. Western cooking methods are not as complex and changeable as those in China. The presentation of Western food is highly three-dimensional and highly edible. Most of the food on the plate is edible, and the embellishments are the side dishes of the main course. The raw materials of Western food are mostly fresh, pollution-free, natural, and the operation process is natural. Try to bring out the original flavor. Do not use too many dry food raw materials. Milk is an indispensable raw material in Western food. Suppliers have further standardized and standardized the raw materials based on their characteristics, and chefs no longer judge and determine which raw materials to use based solely on their own experience.
5. Differences in dining etiquette
In terms of etiquette, there are even more differences between China and the West. In the dining process in ancient China, there was a set of red tape. "Book of Rites? Qu Ji" records: "If you are not full, you will not be able to wet your hands with rice. Do not break the rice, do not put the rice, do not drain it, do not chew the food, do not bite the bones, do not eat fish, do not Don't throw in dog bones, don't catch rice. Don't use chopsticks to eat millet. When the guests are done eating, the guests will kneel down in front of them and eat thoroughly, then the host will greet the guest and then sit down." The main meaning of this passage is: Everyone. When eating together, don't just focus on yourself. If you eat with others, you must check the cleanliness of your hands. Do not put excess rice back into the pot, do not occupy the food, and do not stir up the hot rice. After finishing the meal, the guest should stand up and move forward to clear away the dishes on the table and hand them to the host. The host will stand up and ask the guest not to work, and then the guest will sit down again. Some of these etiquette are also necessary courtesy in modern times.
In Western banquets, the host usually only brings dishes to the guests once, and the guests eat the rest by themselves. If the guests don’t want it, they will no longer persuade them to eat, nor will they frequently persuade guests to drink or drink according to Chinese habits. Pick up vegetables. Don't make any noise when eating, but guests should pay attention to appreciate the meal prepared by the host. If you talk to others, talk only to those sitting next to you and not to those who are far away. The specific differences are as follows.
In terms of clothing, in China, people can dress more casually when dining in restaurants, even T-shirts and jeans. They only dress more formally for important banquets. But in the West, when going to high-end restaurants, men should wear neat jackets and leather shoes; women should wear suits and heeled shoes. If formal attire is specified, men must wear a tie. You are not allowed to wear casual clothes to eat in restaurants.
The difference in seating is that in China, guests are usually seated after all guests have arrived, and seats are taken in order of seniority. The seats are "facing eastward for respect" and "facing the door for respect". In the West, generally speaking, the seat farthest from the door facing the door belongs to the hostess, and the opposite seat is the seat to the male host. The seat to the right of the hostess is the first guest of honor seat, usually a gentleman. The seat to the right of the male host is the second guest of honor seat, usually the wife of the guest of honor. Western countries give priority to ladies and pay attention to gentlemanly manners.
In the order of serving, the first dish in China is soup, followed by staple food such as dry rice, then table wine, and the last dish is fruit to promote digestion; in Western countries, the order of serving Usually vegetables and soups, fruits, table wine, staple food and finally desserts and coffee.
The food is placed differently on the table. In Chinese food, each dish is served at once, and everyone enjoys all the food.
In Western dining, everyone has his or her own set of tableware, and one dish is served before another. In terms of food requirements, in China, guests are not required to finish all the dishes, while in the West, it is polite and respectful to the host to finish the food they have served.
6. Differences in dining utensils.
Chinese tableware mainly consists of chopsticks, supplemented by spoons, and cups, plates, bowls, and saucers of various shapes. Chinese cooking pays attention to the coordination of the shape, size, color and dishes of tableware, pays attention to "beautiful utensils", and treats eating as an artistic activity. It is not only a feast for the mouth, but also a beautiful artistic enjoyment.
Westerners mostly use metal cutlery, mainly stainless steel or silver-plated, sterling silver and other tableware, as well as various cups, plates, cups and saucers, each of which performs its own function and cannot be mixed. However, Western food does not place as much emphasis on artistic beauty as the Chinese in terms of plating and arrangement. The types of tableware and the shapes of the dishes are relatively monotonous. In short, Westerners focus on the content of food, while Chinese emphasize the form of dishes and the feelings gained from them.