Guangdong food culture
(1) Introduction to Cantonese cuisine
Cantonese cuisine, the local flavor of Guangdong, is one of the four famous cuisines in my country. It is famous for its unique The dishes and flavor are unique and enjoy a high reputation at home and abroad. Its exquisite cooking techniques, variety of dishes and delicacies, delicious taste, and perfect overall design of color, aroma, taste and shape are all second to none. In today's China, from the capital to the frontiers, from the coast to the outside world, a "Cantonese cuisine style" is sweeping the country, even impacting the markets previously occupied by other cuisines. Cantonese cuisine mainly consists of three flavors: Guangzhou, Chaozhou and Dongjiang.
(2) Geographical and historical factors affecting Cantonese cuisine.
Guangdong is located on the southern coast of my country, with rows of mountains and plains, criss-crossing rivers and lakes, a mild climate, abundant rainfall, and a pleasant climate. It is surrounded by hills to the west, east and north, with abundant forests and grass, abundant Lingnan fruits, and many birds and animals; it faces the sea to the south and has vast tidal flats, which produce many saltwater products and amphibians. At the same time, Guangzhou is also a city with a long history. The treaty port city absorbed a variety of foreign cooking materials and cooking techniques, making Cantonese cuisine increasingly perfect. Overseas Chinese living in Canada have spread cooking techniques from Europe, America, and Southeast Asia back to their hometowns, enriching the content of Cantonese recipes and leaving distinct traces of Western cooking in Cantonese cooking techniques.
After Qin Shihuang unified Lingnan, Han and Vietnamese cultures and living customs quickly merged. The formation of Cantonese cuisine has a long history. A large number of Central Plains immigrants immigrated to Lingnan, which deeply influenced Guangdong’s food culture. At the end of the Song Dynasty, the Song Emperor fled south with his kitchen, and many palace delicacies spread to the people of Guangdong. After the Opium War, missionaries and missionaries from European and American countries Businessmen poured in in large numbers, and thousands of merchants gathered in Guangzhou, providing a broad market for the development of the catering industry. Cantonese cuisine draws on the strengths of Central Plains cuisine and Western food, and then absorbs the advantages of local cuisine in Guangdong. It integrates ancient and modern times, connects China and the West, and forms a unique Guangdong food culture that is different from other regions in the country and is famous at home and abroad.
(3) The long history of Cantonese cuisine
Cantonese cuisine has a long history. As early as 2,000 years ago in the book "Huainanzi" written by the Western Han Dynasty, there is a record that "the Yue people got anacondas and snakes as delicacies". People in the Southern Song Dynasty also exaggerated the description: the Cantonese people "don't care about birds, beasts, insects and snakes. "Everyone eats them." In the tomb of Zhao Hu, the second king of Nanyue around 122 BC, there are cultural relics such as a stove for roasting suckling pig, a fork and suckling pig bones.
(4) Guangdong herbal tea
Guangdong herbal tea is a tea unique to Guangdong. It has the effects of cooling and dissipating heat, relieving heat and dehumidification, and plays a health care and quenching thirst. Guangdong belongs to Lingnan, with rainy and humid weather, warm winters and hot summers. In order to remove humidity and heat, the ancestors prepared various herbal teas with herbs that clear away heat, detoxify, and relieve heat and dampness. Pharmacies, stalls, and restaurants that manufacture and sell herbal teas. Workshops have also continued to develop in line with the needs of society. Every summer, herbal tea is an essential drink for Cantonese people. The main ingredients of Guangdong herbal tea are Prunella vulgaris, winter mulberry leaves, wild chrysanthemums, cottonwoods, Bengdawan, Gangmei, plantain, gallbladder, waterweed, honeysuckle, perilla, mint, Buza leaves, Lobelia and more.
(5) Guangzhou cuisine
Guangzhou cuisine pays particular attention to exquisite cooking skills. There are 21 cooking methods, especially stir-frying, pan-frying, fire-stewing, stewing, deep-frying, pot-stewing, etc. It is good at stewing and simmering, and pays attention to heat, especially "wok gas" and frying before eating. The dishes made pay attention to color, aroma, taste and shape. The taste is mainly light, fresh, tender and refreshing, and changes with the seasons. Summer and autumn strive for lightness, while winter and spring tend to be richer, with "five flavors" (fragrant, crispy, crispy, fat and rich) and six flavors. (sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, salty, umami). Guangzhou cuisine combines the characteristics of Nanhai, Panyu, Dongguan, Shunde, Zhongshan and other local flavors, as well as the strengths of cuisines from other provinces such as Beijing, Jiangsu, Yangtze and Hangzhou, as well as Western cuisine. It is a unique style. Guangzhou cuisine uses a wide range of ingredients and has many varieties. , dazzling. Almost everything that flies in the sky, crawls on the ground, and swims in the water can be seated on the table. Not to mention partridges, grass finches, leopard cats, civets, pangolins, fur seals and other game birds; cats, dogs, snakes, rats, monkeys, turtles, and even grass insects that the uninitiated mistakenly think of as "locusts", It is also included in cooking, and once it is in the hands of the chef, it immediately becomes a rare and delicious delicacy, which makes people at home and abroad look at it with admiration and amazement. Another outstanding feature of Guangzhou cuisine is that it uses fine amounts of ingredients, has many and clever ingredients, and has beautiful decorations. It is also good at innovating in imitation and has a wide variety of varieties. In 1965, the "Guangzhou Famous Dishes and Pastries Exhibition" introduced 5,457 dishes. So many species.
Guangzhou cuisine has many seasonings, such as oyster sauce, fish sauce, Zhuhou sauce, sand tea sauce, black bean sauce, western juice, sweet and sour, sour plum sauce, curry powder, lemon juice, etc., which is the most popular Guangzhou cuisine. The unique flavor plays a decisive role. However, compared to other Chinese cuisines, Guangzhou cuisine uses less strong and spicy seasonings to maintain the original taste of the food.
The famous dishes of Guangzhou cuisine include: roasted suckling pig, dragon and tiger fight, Taiye chicken, braised large skirt fin, chrysanthemum, dragon, tiger, phoenix and snake soup, etc. Dragon-tiger fight, boiled shrimp, roasted suckling pig, taro pork, Huangpu scrambled eggs, stewed grass worms, dog meat pot, colorful fried snake silk, etc. are all famous Guangzhou dishes with local flavor.
1. Guangzhou snacks
Guangzhou snacks can be roughly divided into seven categories: oil utensils, porridge, noodles, cakes, desserts, rice dumplings and mixed foods. The prices of these snacks Cheap and good quality, they can be found in the streets and alleys of the city.
Oil snacks include fried dough sticks (fried noodles), Youxiang pancakes (salty pancakes), Xiaokou dates, beef crispy cakes, crispy twists, etc. Some are salty, some sweet, and some are sweet and medium. Salty, sweet yet crispy, sweet yet crispy.
There are many categories of porridge, and oil containers and porridge products are generally sold at the same time.
Noodle varieties include noodles, wontons, Shahe Fun, Chee Cheong Fun, Guilin Rice Noodles, etc. Wonton noodles and Shahe Rice Noodles are the most popular, while Chee Cheong Fun is mostly served in the morning. Bestseller. Noodles and rice noodles with various meats can be made into beef brisket noodles, pork knuckle noodles, fish egg noodles, beef brisket rice noodles, shredded pork rice noodles, fish fillet rice noodles, etc., which can be cooked in soup or stir-fried.
Pastry categories include sponge cake, cotton cake, carrot cake, taro cake, water chestnut cake, Lunjiao cake, etc. The unique feature of these foods is that they are steamed.
Although desserts do not occupy a large portion of snacks, they have their own characteristics. The more popular ones include double-skinned milk, shelled mung bean paste, red bean paste, sesame lake, almond paste, sesame paste, etc. Rongtang balls, rock sugar stewed papaya, ice flower stewed eggs, parasitic egg tea, etc. These are not only nutritious, cheap and good quality, but some also have certain medical effects. For example, sesame paste can remove intestinal dryness, and stewed papaya can clear the heart and moisturize the lungs. Parasitic egg tea can lower blood pressure, etc.
Zongzi can be roughly divided into two types: sweet rice dumplings and salty rice dumplings. Sweet rice dumplings are based on 槝水粽, and are characterized by being relatively simple to make, yellow and clear with the scent of 枳水, smooth and delicious. Durable to storage, the varieties include bean paste brown rice dumplings and lotus paste rice dumplings. In recent years, Lianxianglou has innovated the egg yolk lotus paste rice dumplings. The production of salty rice dumplings is relatively complicated, and the varieties include bacon rice dumplings, wrapped and steamed rice dumplings, ham rice dumplings, Zhaoqing wrapped and steamed rice dumplings, etc. Zongzi in Guangzhou is one of the people’s favorite snacks and can be found on the streets all year round.
Omnivore items are mostly operated by mobile individual stalls. The varieties include braised beef offal, fried snails, red pork soup, beef bone soup, hot and sour dishes, etc. Each of these varieties has its own flavor and characteristics, although the sales volume is not the same. It is large but has many operators. Some operators add radish, boiled vegetable gallbladder and various sauces to the beef offal, which attracts many patrons.
2. Drinking tea
It is a living habit of Guangzhou people. What Guangzhou people call drinking tea actually refers to drinking tea in a teahouse. Not only drinking tea, but also eating snacks, it is regarded as a way of communication. The tea market in Guangzhou is divided into morning tea, afternoon tea and evening tea. The tea market provides a variety of sweet and salty dry and wet snacks, such as a buffet. You can get what you want, and the prices are very affordable, and can be consumed by ordinary citizens. The concepts of teahouses and teahouses in Guangzhou are also different. It not only serves tea and snacks, but also has a grand scale that is unmatched by teahouses. Therefore, Guangzhou people are happy to go to teahouses when gathering with friends and spending time in their spare time. A pot of strong tea and a few delicious snacks, eating and talking while filling the stomach and connecting with each other, is really a pleasant thing. Because of this, Guangzhou people call drinking tea "sighing tea". "Sigh" is a common saying in Guangzhou, which means enjoyment. This is also an important reason why Guangzhou’s teahouse industry has endured for hundreds of years. Among the time-honored restaurants in Guangzhou, a considerable number are tea houses from back then.
(6) Chaozhou cuisine
Chaozhou cuisine, referred to as Chaozhou cuisine, originated from the Chaoshan Plain. It has been formed and developed after more than a thousand years. It is self-contained with its unique flavor, clear and Not bland, fresh but not fishy, ??tender but not raw, oily but not greasy; pay attention to condiments, pay attention to the soup; in terms of cooking methods, stir-fry, stew, and deep-fry; pay attention to color, flavor, and variety. Chaozhou cuisine is not only popular in southern Guangdong and China, it is also famous overseas and has a wide-reaching influence in all continents. Another characteristic of Teochew cuisine is that there are twelve dishes served, and the order of serving is beets at the beginning and end, and salty snacks are served at the second half of the table. Before the Qin Dynasty, Chaozhou belonged to the Fujian region. Its language family and customs were close to southern Fujian but different from Guangzhou. Because of the different origins, the characteristics of the dishes are also different.
There are many kinds of Chaozhou snacks, which have a long history and are skillfully made, such as the famous crystal balls, oyster bakes, lamb roasted sweet potatoes, rice dumplings, beef balls, etc. Some are famous for being crispy and fragrant, while others are famous for being delicious. In the production process, one is to select high-quality materials. The second is to pay attention to seasoning. Third, the cooking is unique.
Autumn brings oyster fat, charcoal grilled oysters, and oyster braised, the fragrance is overflowing. There is also a fresh way to eat it here. When it comes, you can only see spinach juice and potato starch wrapping the body, and the oyster meat and oysters are in your mouth. The juice will overflow from the green thin coat, giving you a surprise. Tried it plain and dipped it in fish sauce to add a umami flavor.
“Powder” staple food is very common in Chaoyang. The "noodles" mentioned here mostly refer to various staple foods made from sticky rice flour. Fried salted rice cake and barley is the most classic. It is shaped into a cake and then cut into strips. What is strange is that it is fried with minced salted pork and green vegetables. It is not sticky and not sticky. , the taste is soft and smooth.
Many of Chaozhou’s shellfish can be eaten raw. Blood clams are a very special kind of shellfish, with delicious meat and red shells, hence the name. However, because they grow in the mud, they are gray and dusty when they are purchased. They must be cleaned and maintained in fresh water before they can be "visited by customers". ”, the effort is equally time-consuming.
Shantou beef tendon balls are famous for their refreshing taste, but you have to bite them to know whether they are authentic or not - authentic beef tendon balls always contain rich natural butter. The meat is fragrant and fragrant. The chef said that there is a certain amount of butter around the beef tendons. The more beef tendons used, the more butter will be available. Before being put into the pot, it deflates to a size smaller than an ordinary meatball. Once in the hot pot, it quickly turns into a ping pong ball! The children thought it was magic.
(7) Hakka cuisine
Hakka food can be divided into two categories: one is Hakka cuisine and the other is Hakka snacks.
The most famous Hakka cuisine on the list is Dongjiang Hakka cuisine, which, together with Chaozhou cuisine and Cantonese cuisine, is known as the three major cuisines of Guangdong.
Compared with Chaozhou cuisine and Cantonese cuisine, Hakka cuisine emphasizes "fat, salty and cooked", which is related to the Hakka people's past living standards and habits. First of all, because they farm and live in the mountains, the labor intensity is high and they eat less meat. Fatty food can effectively satisfy their hunger. Secondly, due to long-term food shortages among the Hakka people, even the richer households have to eat at least one meal of porridge a day. Most of them have to eat porridge for many years. Porridge is eaten every day, and there is more water than rice. The cooked porridge "blows away a layer of waves, and you can drink it all the way." The salty vegetables are not only suitable for serving porridge, but also increase the salt in the body; thirdly, there are many vegetation in the mountainous areas, which makes the Hakka culture They have the habit of not sparing any firewood, and they feel that the food becomes more fragrant the longer it is cooked.
It is true that society is constantly changing, and Hakka cuisine is also constantly innovating; and the changes in Hakka cuisine in turn illustrate the civilization of society. Traditional Dongjiang cuisine is used in modern Heyuan Hakka pot heads. It has gradually formed its own local characteristics and has the reputation of "authentic, delicious and delicious". Its original flavor mainly comes from three aspects: First, the selection of materials emphasizes wild domestic and coarse species of food, that is, "green food" without pollution. It is worth mentioning that the good quality and taste of these foods have a lot to do with the good ecological environment of the river source, especially the good water; secondly, the cooking methods are mostly boiling, boiling, steaming and stewing, which do not destroy the nutrition of the food. and fiber; third, add very little or even no overly heavy seasonings, and generally use raw onions and cooked garlic for seasoning. The so-called delicious food refers to the light taste, affordable price and harmonious effect. Its harmonizing effect is similar to the modern term "diet therapy". Many Hakka dishes have the effects of nourishing yin and reducing fire, clearing the liver and improving eyesight, strengthening the waist and kidneys, nourishing the skin and replenishing qi.
The more distinctive ones are:
1. Dongjiang Salt-Baked Chicken
Dongjiang Salt-Baked Chicken is a famous dish with traditional characteristics of Dongjiang cuisine. The characteristics are: crispy skin, smooth meat, fragrant bones and strong flavor.
2. Dongjiang Yongdoufu
Dongjiang Yongdoufu originated from the habit of making dumplings in the Central Plains. Since they migrated to Lingnan and there was no wheat to make dumplings, Dongjiang people came up with it during the holidays. Learn how to eat Yong Tau Foo.
3. Braised pork with plums and vegetables
Meicai is a traditional specialty of Huizhou. It is golden in color, fragrant, sweet and refreshing, neither cold nor dry nor wet nor hot. It is said to be " Zhengqi" dish has long been famous.
The characteristics of this dish are: the meat is rotten and fragrant, tastes salty and slightly sweet, and is fat but not greasy.
4. Babaowo whole duck
Babaowo whole duck and salt-baked chicken are the "double delicacies" of Dongjiang cuisine. This dish is made with glutinous rice, mushrooms, lotus seeds, dried shrimps, squid, meat cubes, salted eggs and other raw materials, stuffed into the duck cavity, and skillfully prepared through the procedures of boiling, boiling and steaming. It is served with soup. , rich and fragrant, soft and delicious, especially popular with Japanese customers.
(8) Food customs
It is a very distinctive branch of Guangdong culture. The reform and innovation of food can never leave the scope of culture. Through the description and analysis of Guangdong food , we can gain insight into the cultural heritage contained in Guangdong’s lifestyle. Food customs are an important cultural phenomenon. Food not only contains organic matter that can be used by humans to sustain life. For each food and its consumption method, the culture also needs to label its reliability with agreement. Similarly, the Cantonese people’s dietary choices are the result of the long-term subtle influence of culture. The reform and innovation of food can be ever-changing, but it must be based on culture to be accepted and liked by people.