Welcome to the Chef's Corner. Here you will find our Chef sharing vital information about the various aspects of Chinese, Thai & Mongolian Cuisine in a series of articles based on unique features of each category. |
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Branches of Chinese Cooking |
Chinese cooking is broadly classified into Northern and Southern styles of cooking. The Northern style dishes are relatively oily, and the use of vinegar and garlic tends to be quite popular.
Flour based products like Noodles, dumplings, stuffed buns and steamed bread too are an integral part of this region. The Southern styles consist of mainly of Szechwan and Hunan cuisine famous for their liberal use of chilli peppers.Within this regional style, the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions emphasize on freshness and tenderness, while Guangdong cuisine tends to be somewhat bland.
Generally in Chinese cooking, colour and aroma share equal importance in the preparation of every dish. In addition nutrition too plays an important role in their cooking. Harmonization of food is practiced and dates back centuries to the Shang dynasty.
The Chinese have a traditional belief in the medicinal value of food and in every way possible include such ingredients in their cooking which in some way or the other has a direct or indirect affect in preventing and alleviating certain diseases and illnesses. |
The Four Main Styles of Chinese Cuisine:
• Cantonese
• Schezwan
• Peking or Beijing
• Shangha |
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| Guangdong or Cantonese Cuisine – Southern China |
Cantonese food is known for its non spicy taste. The dishes are very much milder with more attention focused on flavour and presentation.The subtle use of sauces, diversity of ingredients and cooking methods constitute the basis of this style of cooking. The chefs here specialize in stir frying, steaming and roasting a wide variety of items. Generally the food tends to be more colourful less spicy and is usually stir fried, which preserves both the texture and flavour.
Dim Sum originated from here and literally means ‘ touch your heart'. Also known as ‘tea lunch' ( Usually tasty little dumplings and pastries stuffed with meat and vegetables are served at many Cantonese Restaurants during lunch hours. This is actually an excellent way to introduce someone to Cantonese Food – most of the time food is brought around on tiny carts, allowing the diner to pick and choose entrees from tiny bamboo steamers and trays) |
Rice is widely eaten here and people also greet each other by saying ‘Have you eaten?' actually meaning ‘have you eaten rice?' as we would usually greet people by saying' Good Morning' or ‘How are you?'Typical Menu Items are: Dim Sum, Shark Fin Soup, Cantonese Fried Rice, Fish balls with vegetable soup. |
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