The art of dining Chinese style
Chinese dining traditions go back thousands of years. The elaborate customs are an interesting mixture of practicality, superstition and social inertia. Westerners aren't expected to know the details but, as with learning a bit of the local language, it always helps. Following them will make for an enjoyable new experience and bring pleasure to a gracious host.
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The ancient culinary art of China
In many cultures, eating is a means of providing sustenance for the body. That is true in Chinese cuisine as well, of course. But for the Chinese, dining is a much larger part of life. It is an art used as part of a celebration, even when attached to no special event.
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Chinese noodles
Noodles are, to indulge an obvious pun, a staple of Chinese dishes. Whether Cantonese or Mandarin, Hunan or Szechuan, some type of noodle is almost always found in breakfast, lunch or dinner recipes. Rice grains are more commonly associated with Chinese dishes. But, in fact, noodles are nearly always present in some form. They have been a prominent part of the Chinese meal since at least when the Han Dynasty ruled China over 2,000 years ago.
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Chinese food
Chinese food is famous for its bright colors, beautiful forms, tempting aromas and variety of flavors. It is not only the straight-forward, plentiful and cheap fare we are used to see in many Chinese restaurants over the world.
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The Mighty and versatile wok
If there is a single cooking tool that stands above all others in Chinese cuisine it would have to be the wok.
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Chinese food preparation methods
Chinese food recipes, naturally, start with a set of ingredients found in Cantonese, Szechuan and other provincial styles. But the methods often migrate across borders.
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Dim sum
Many Westerners think of dim sum as a small dumpling with meat in sweet sauce inside. Indeed, that is one popular type. But dim sum is not a particular recipe, but a way of serving that entails dozens of choices. Carts roll by the table that hold a dazzling array of taste treats.
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Chinese cuisine
Chinese cuisine is as wide as the country. There are Imperial dishes and local cuisines, ethnic minority's dishes -such as Mongolian dishes, Tibetan dishes, Manchu dishes, or Zhan dishes- and vegetarian dishes, even dishes with strong religious flavor, such as those from an Islamic background.