Characteristics of Chinese Food China is a civilized country and a land of long-standing food culture.

I have been living in the world and have been eating and drinking for more than 20 years. I have gained some experience and insights. Now I summarize the following characteristics of food culture. I hope everyone can learn from it: First, the flavors are diverse.

Because our country has a vast territory and rich resources, and there are differences in climate, products, and customs in various places, many flavors have been formed in the diet over a long period of time.

There has always been a saying in our country that "rice from the south is from the north", and the taste can be divided into "sweet in the south, salty in the north, sour in the east and spicy in the west", mainly including the four major flavors of Bashu, Qilu, Huaiyang, Guangdong and Fujian.

Second, the four seasons are different.

Eating according to the seasons throughout the year is another major feature of Chinese cooking.

Since ancient times, our country has been seasoning and garnishing dishes according to seasonal changes. In winter, the taste is rich and mellow, and in summer, it is light and cool. In winter, it is more stewed and simmered, and in summer, it is more cold and frozen.

Third, pay attention to beauty.

Chinese cooking not only has exquisite skills, but also has a tradition of paying attention to the aesthetics of dishes, paying attention to the harmony of color, aroma, taste, shape and utensils of food.

The expression of the aesthetics of dishes is multi-faceted. Whether it is a carrot or a cabbage heart, it can be carved into various shapes to be unique and achieve the harmonious unity of color, aroma, taste, shape and beauty, giving people spiritual and material heights.

Unified special enjoyment.

Fourth, pay attention to fun.

Chinese cooking has long paid attention to taste and taste. It not only has strict requirements for the color, aroma and taste of meals and snacks, but also has certain requirements for their naming, taste methods, meal rhythm, entertainment interspersion, etc.

The names of Chinese dishes can be said to be superb, elegant and popular.

The names of dishes are not only realistically named based on the main ingredients, auxiliary ingredients, seasonings and cooking methods, but also named based on historical anecdotes, myths and legends, celebrity food tastes, and dish images, such as 'Family Portrait', 'General Crossing the Bridge', and 'Lion's Head'

, 'Beggars Chicken', 'Dragon and Phoenix Present', 'Hongmen Banquet', 'Dongpo Meat'... Fifth, combine food and medicine.

my country's cooking technology is closely related to medical care. Thousands of years ago, there were sayings that "medicine and food have the same origin" and "medicine and diet have the same effect." The medicinal value of food raw materials is used to make various delicacies to achieve the goal of For the purpose of preventing and treating certain diseases.

"The ancient Chinese also paid special attention to the coordination and synchronization of eating with the rhythm of the universe. Different types of food should be eaten in spring, summer, autumn, winter, day and night, and even seasonal, climate and other factors should be taken into consideration when processing and cooking food. These ideas have been formed as early as the pre-Qin period.

, there is a clear record in "Book of Rites·Yue Ling", and it is opposed to reversing the seasons, such as "summer order", "autumn order" and "winter order" in spring, which will cause disaster; of course, it is also opposed to eating out-of-season foods, Confucius said

"Not eating from time to time" has two meanings: one is to eat at regular intervals, and the other is not to eat out-of-season foods. Contrary to contemporary people's consciousness, some eating out-of-season foods is for showing off, and it began to be used in the palace during the Western Han Dynasty.

"Onions, chives, ruts" are grown in greenhouses, and the family of Shi Chong, a wealthy man in the Western Jin Dynasty, also has a greenhouse. This ideology that emphasizes adapting to the rhythm of the universe is indeed unique to Chinese food culture. This awareness has only survived to modern times (TCM).

There are some in Chinese medicine, but they are not taken seriously). The theory of "Yin Yang and Five Elements" is the world model set by traditional thinking and is also considered to be the law of the universe. Human beings are one of the "three talents", and diet is indispensable to human life.

The cooking of food must also follow this rule. Therefore, not only the taste is divided into five, but also the theory of "five flavors" was born (in fact, there are more than five "flavors" that people can feel, but two or three thousand years ago, people could distinguish them.

Five kinds of grains, livestock, vegetables, and fruits were included in the "Five Grains", "Five Meats", "Five Vegetables" and "Five Fruits" respectively.

What is even more surprising is that "everything you drink nourishes yang energy; everything you eat nourishes yin energy" ("Book of Rites: Jiao Te Sheng").

In this way, the yin and yang of the food and the heaven and earth can be coordinated with each other, so that they can "communicate with the gods" and reach the sky, thus achieving the effect of "unity of heaven and man". Therefore, when worshiping the heaven, the theory of yin and yang and the five elements must be strictly followed. This was later adopted by Taoism.

It has been inherited and become a starting point for their dietary theories. For example, they believe that eating food can increase the yin energy of the human body, such as "grains fill the body but cannot increase life", "those who eat qi live longer", etc. If you want to practice and gain yang energy, you must try your best.

Eat less, the best state is not to eat, and the state of "eliminating grains" is the highest aesthetic ideal of Chinese traditional culture.

.

To achieve neutrality, the heavens are in harmony and all things are nourished." ("Book of Rites: Doctrine of the Mean"). What is "middle"? We cannot simply use "middle" to summarize it. This "middle" means just right and in line with the degree. It's a bit like

The "中" and "harmony" in Henan dialect are also the concept of cooking. There is a famous sentence in "Guwen Shangshu·Shuo Ming", "If you want to make a soup, you must salt the plums", which means that the key to making a good soup is

Harmonizing the two flavors of salt (salt) and sour (plum) is a metaphor for governing the country. In "Zuo Zhuan", Yan Ying (Xianxiang of Qi State) also discussed with Qi Jinggong what "harmony" is, pointing out that "harmony" is not "tong", and "harmony" is not "tong".

It is based on the coordination of different opinions. Therefore, Chinese philosophers believe that everything in the world finds its place in a state of "neutralization" to thrive and develop. This aesthetic ideal is based on the harmony between individuals and society, and between humans and nature.

On top of unity.