In any place in the world where there are Chinese or even no Chinese, the influence of Chinese food culture can be seen. So, how did China’s cooking ingredients, cooking techniques, traditional foods, food customs, etc. spread to other parts of the world?
As early as the Qin and Han Dynasties, China began to spread its food culture to the outside world. According to records such as "Historical Records" and "Hanshu", when Zhang Qian of the Western Han Dynasty was sent to the Western Regions, he carried out economic and cultural exchanges with Central Asian countries through the Silk Road. In addition to introducing courgettes, walnuts, coriander, flax, carrots, pomegranates and other products from the Western Regions, Zhang Qian and others also introduced peaches, plums, apricots, pears, ginger, tea and other products from the Central Plains as well as food culture to the Western Regions. Today, among the cultural relics unearthed from Han tombs in the former Western Regions, there are wooden chopsticks from the Central Plains. Among my country's traditional barbecue techniques, there is a grilling method, which was also spread to Central and West Asia through the Silk Road very early, and eventually formed the kebabs that people like to eat there.
The Southwest Silk Road, which is earlier than the Northwest Silk Road, starts from the southwestern city of Chengdu in the north, passes through Yunnan, and reaches Indochina, Myanmar and India. This Silk Road also played a role in spreading food culture to the outside world during the Han Dynasty. For example, during the Jianwu period of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty Liu Xiu sent General Fubo Ma Yuan to march south and reached Jiaozhi (now Vietnam). At that time, a large number of Han Dynasty officers and soldiers built cities and lived in Jiaozhi and other places, and brought food customs such as eating rice dumplings during the Dragon Boat Festival on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month to Jiaozhi and other places. Therefore, Vietnam and Southeast Asian countries still retain the custom of eating rice dumplings.
In addition, my country's food culture also has a great influence on North Korea. This situation probably began in the Qin Dynasty. According to records such as "Book of Han", during the Qin Dynasty, "the people of Yan, Qi, and Zhao took refuge in North Korea with tens of thousands of people." With so many Chinese residents coming to North Korea, they would naturally bring Chinese food culture to North Korea. During the Han Dynasty, the Chinese Wei Man was king of Korea for a time. At this time, Chinese food culture had the deepest impact on Korea. North Korea is accustomed to using chopsticks to eat. The cooking ingredients used by North Koreans and the way they match their meals all clearly have Chinese characteristics. Even in cooking theory, North Korea also pays attention to Chinese terms such as "five flavors" and "five colors".
The country that is more influenced by Chinese food culture is Japan. In the middle of the 8th century AD, the eminent monk Jianzhen of the Tang Dynasty traveled east to Japan and brought with him a large amount of Chinese food, such as dry pancakes, dry steamed cakes, Hu cakes and other pastries, as well as the tools and techniques for making these pastries. The Japanese call these Chinese snacks fruit and copy them accordingly. At that time, there were more than 20 kinds of Tang Guoshi available in the Japanese market.
Jianzhen’s eastward journey also brought Chinese food culture to Japan. The Japanese use of chopsticks when eating is influenced by China. During the Tang Dynasty, Japanese students studying in China brought almost a complete set of Chinese food customs back to their home country, such as drinking Tusu wine on New Year's Day, eating seven kinds of vegetables on the seventh day of the first lunar month, having a Qushui feast on March, and drinking calamus wine on the fifth day of May. , drink chrysanthemum wine on the ninth day of September and so on. Among them, after the Dragon Boat Festival rice dumplings were introduced to Japan, the Japanese made some improvements based on their own eating habits and developed several varieties, such as Daoxi rice dumplings, Yi rice dumplings, Ge rice dumplings, Asahina rice dumplings, etc. During the Tang Dynasty, Japan also introduced noodles, steamed buns, dumplings, wontons, sauce making methods, etc. from China.
Chinese food has a great influence on Japanese food. In the mid-17th century, the Chinese monk Huang Bozong of the Qing Dynasty brought vegetarian dishes to Japan, which were called "Pucha cuisine" by the Japanese. Later, another Chinese folk meat and vegetable dish was introduced to Japan, called "Zhuofu cuisine". "Takubo cuisine" has a great influence on Japan's catering industry. Its representative dishes such as "sesame tofu" and "pine meat soup" are still listed on the menus of some Japanese restaurants.
The soy sauce, vinegar, tempeh, red yeast rice commonly used by the Japanese for seasoning, as well as the tofu, sour rice balls, umeboshi, sake, etc. that the Japanese often eat, all come from China. Interestingly, the Japanese call bean paste Tangjiang, broad beans Tangjiang, pepper Tangxinzi, radish Tangwu, peanuts Nanjing beans, tofu skin Tangpi and so on. In order to commemorate the Japanese who spread Chinese food culture, Japan also named some imported Chinese foods after the spreaders. For example, during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, the Japanese monk Ze'an learned Chinese cooking and mixed radish with salt and rice bran for pickling. The Japanese called it Ze'an pickle. During the Shunzhi period of the Qing Dynasty, another Japanese monk Yin Yuan introduced kidney beans from China, and the Japanese called them Yin Yuan beans.
In addition to the Northwest Silk Road and Southwest Silk Road, there is also a Maritime Silk Road, which has expanded the influence of Chinese food culture in the world.
Thailand is located at the hub of the Maritime Silk Road, and has convenient land transportation with my country, so the two countries have many exchanges. Thais have had frequent exchanges with Chinese Han people since the Tang Dynasty. In the 9th and 10th centuries AD, residents from Guangdong, Fujian, Yunnan and other places in China immigrated to Southeast Asia in large numbers. Many of them settled in Thailand. Chinese food culture has had a great impact on the local area. So big that the Thai rice, noodles, black beans, dried meat, sausages, pickled fish and dining spoons, etc., have many similarities with those in mainland China.
Before Chinese ceramics were introduced to Thailand, local people mostly used plant leaves as tableware. With the introduction of Chinese porcelain, local people had exquisite and practical dining utensils, which greatly changed the living customs of local residents. At the same time, Chinese immigrants also brought production technologies such as sugar making, tea making, and soy product processing to Thailand, promoting the development of the local food industry.
Chinese food culture also has a great influence on Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and other countries, among which Myanmar is the most prominent. At the beginning of the 14th century AD, the Yuan Dynasty army penetrated deep into Myanmar and stationed it for 20 years. At the same time, many Chinese businessmen also live in Myanmar, bringing great changes to the local people’s food life. Since most of these Chinese businessmen are from Fujian, many Burmese nouns related to food culture are spelled in Fujian dialect, such as chopsticks, tofu, lychees, fried cypress, fried dough sticks, etc.
Several Southeast Asian island countries a little further away from China, such as the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, etc., are also greatly influenced by Chinese food culture.
The Filipinos introduced cabbage, spinach, celery, lettuce, peppers, peanuts, soybeans, pears, persimmons, citrus, pomegranates, peaches, bananas, lemons and other vegetables and fruits from China. The Filipinos I also like to eat Chinese food, such as wontons, rice noodles, spring cakes, barbecued pork buns, offal, roast suckling pig, etc. My daily diet is inseparable from rice noodles, dried noodles, dried tofu, tempeh, etc. The cooking utensils I use are also Chinese-style with pointed bottoms. Pot and small frying pan. Filipinos especially love to eat rice dumplings. They eat them not only during the Dragon Boat Festival, but also on Christmas Day. They also eat rice dumplings as a snack. The shape of Philippine rice dumplings is long and strip-shaped according to the ancient Chinese system, and the taste is very similar to the rice dumplings from Jiaxing, Zhejiang.
Malaysia’s food culture is also influenced by China. According to research, the ancestors of the Malays mainly come from the rice-growing ethnic groups in Yunnan, my country. Some of the food customs of the Malays are closely related to these ancestors. For example, the Malays have rituals and rituals similar to those in ancient China from planting to harvesting rice. Malay food is prepared in a similar way to Chinese food. Chinese tofu, called "taff" in Malay, is very popular in the local area. In some places, the color, aroma and taste of tofu are also mixed into traditional local curry dishes.
Chinese food culture has a long history of influence on Indonesia. Chinese immigrants who have come to Indonesia for generations have provided the locals with technologies such as brewing, tea making, sugar making, oil pressing, and paddy field fish farming, and have brought Chinese soybeans, lentils, mung beans, peanuts, tofu, bean sprouts, soy sauce, vermicelli, etc. The introduction of rice noodles and noodles into Indonesia has greatly enriched the food life of local people.
As an important part of Chinese food culture, tea has the greatest influence on countries around the world. The pronunciations of the words "tea" and "tea" in various languages ??all evolved from Chinese. Chinese tea has changed the dietary customs of many foreigners. For example, the British have developed the habit of drinking afternoon tea because of Chinese tea, while the Japanese have developed a unique "tea ceremony" because of Chinese tea.