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chinese cuisine

Chinese people give high priority to healthy and nutritious food and as a result, the Chinese cuisine is loved by people throughout the world. According to a famous legend, the history of Chinese cuisine dates back to the Shang Dynasty in the 15th century BC. During the dynasty, the cuisine was first introduced by the Prime Minister, Yi Yin.

As the cuisine evolved, the preparation and food itself gained the status of nothing less than an art form, having a huge influence of Chinese culture on it. In China, no festival, gathering or party is complete without food. It is considered bad manners if someone invites a person but does not serve food.

In early times, the commonly used crops were wheat, barley, rice, foxtail millet, proso millet and beans. Most popular vegetables and fruits included pears, peaches, apricots, chestnuts, plums, melons, red bayberries, jujubes, calabash, bamboo shoots, taro and mustard plant. In meat, people used ducks, chickens, geese, cows, pigs, dogs, fish, turtles, sheep and camels. Many hunting animals like deer, owls and sika were also eaten. Spices consumed were honey, sugar, salt and soy sauce.

Confucius’s idea of Chinese Cuisines

Confucius, a famous Chinese teacher and philosopher, has played a great role in developing the Chinese cuisine. He introduced the standards of cooking and table manners, emphasizing the social aspects of catering and eating. His goal was to harmonize the dishes so he taught Chinese people the way of blending various ingredients and components that could give one consistent dish. He did not just establish standards for cooking, but also highlight the significance of presentation of food, its color and even texture.

Tao’s influence on Chinese Cuisines

Tao’s ideology was different from that of Confucius. Where Confucius emphasized the taste and presentation of food, Tao was more focused on the nutritious aspects of food. He emphasized on nutritious facts and health benefits and classified the food accordingly. As a result, Chinese cuisine is famous for both, its taste and health benefits. From China, the world came to know that over cooking destroys health benefits of vegetables and other foods.

Chinese Cuisines Uniqueness

Chinese cuisine has a regional blend and is open to accepting foreign foods. People in China use and blend worldwide ingredients while preparing their foods. Therefore, what really makes the Chinese cuisine unique and exotic is the fact that it has a perfect balance of all ingredients. A traditional Chinese meal would always have the right amount of meat combined with vegetables, starch and grains. In addition to this, all ingredients would never mix but, instead, retain their individual taste.

For this reason, the Chinese cuisine is liked by majority of the people worldwide.
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