ANTH 205 Lecture 29

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China, Foodways II

Authentic Chinese Food

"To the ruler, people are heaven; to the people, food is heaven."

China is huge, and so is the cuisine; 8 schools of culinary tradition (loosely related to actual geographical regions)

• Anhui
• Cantonese
• Sichuan
• Hunan
• Fujian
• Zhejiang
• Jiangsu
• Shandong

Anhui

Derived from Huangshang mtn. cooking styles

• herbs
• wild plants
• braising and stewing are preferred preparation styles

Cantonese

Guangdong Province (former capital named Canton, hence title)

One of most popular styles of Chinese cuisine outside of China: When people outside of China talk about Chinese food, they generally mean Cantonese food.

Rapid cooking: stir-frying and steaming

highlight/balance flavor, not mask it

Traditional Dishes:

• Cantonese fried rice
• Sweet and sour pork
• Chow mein
• Wonton soup
• Char siu
• Dim sum

This is the food of Hong Kong

Fujian

Light, but flavorful; soft and tender

Lots of seafood

Lots of umami flavor

Ephasis on stock and broth

• "One broth can be changed into numerous forms"
• "It is unacceptable for a meal to not have soup"

Iron Chef, Japanese Version

Buddha Jumps Over the Wall

Most famous food: even a Buddhist monk couldn't resist...

Over 30 ingredients:

• shark's fin
• abalone
• sea slug
• dried scallops
• duck
• chicken
• pig's trotters,
• etc.

Jiangsu

Highly seasonal, whatever is available

very visually appealing

Huaiyang cuisine (regional variant)

• Seen by many to be most prestigious style of Chinese cuisine.
• Sweet flavors, never spicy
• Called one of 4 great traditions of food
• Dishes focused on single ingredient

Shandong

Most influential style within China

Beijing and Tianjin are branches of this style

Most people of N. China eat simplified Shandong food at home

Unique in use of corn, peanuts, and more grains than elsewhere (bread, porridge, not so much rice)

Not a large variety of vegetable

Zhejiang

Soft, mellow, fresh flavor

Lots of bamboo shoots (in about half the dishes)

Heavy use of poultry and fish

Known for saltiness and crispiness

DeSsErTs and confectionary

Sichuan

Bold, pungent, very spicy

• Chili peppers, shallots, garlic, Sichuan peppercorn (member of citrus family)
• Seasonal menus
• 7 basic flavors
  1. sour
  2. pungent
  3. hot
  4. sweet
  5. bitter
  6. aromatic
  7. salty

Known as "Heavenly country" since it has so much food available

Pickling, salting, and drying popular for preservation and flavoring

Everything cooked in one wok

Kung Pao Chicken: named after Qing Dynasty official position

Hunan

Spicy, fresh aroma, but deep flavor

Fertile region, lots of variety of food and cooking styles (about 4000 dishes)

Chili Peppers, Shallots, Garlic

Another menu that changes with seasons

• Hot, humid summer: meal starts with spicy, cold dish
• Cold wet winter: hot pot of broth and tasty stuff in it.

Spicy Food, Spicy People?

Mao was from Shaoshan, Hunan Province

• "You can't be a revolutionary if you don't eat chilies"
• Firm belief in "You are what you eat"

Arguably hottest food in country

Chilies eaten fresh, dried, pickled, oil, paste, relishes

Balance

Not only heat, but also rich, deep, dark flavors: umami

• Fermented soybeans, pickled vegetables, soy sauce
• Not much in way of sweets, but are sometimes eaten mostly as snacks

Just right:

• Sichuan is too hot
• Cantonese is too bland
• East is too sweet

20^th Century China

Tough for China:

• Overthrow of last dynasty in 1911
• Republicanism
• Civil War
• Japanese invasion
• Communist Revolution 1949

Food, cooking, and eating styles are mirror of society

Late Qing and Republican periods were times of excess/surplus

Contrast to Poverty and hunger in 1930s and 1940s

To communists,

• Food was always a political tool
• Mao reported on Hunan peasant movements to turn tables on oppressors
• Peasants banned recreational activities of wealthy (crash parties), rules on acceptable foods, etc.

Communist Cuisine

After Mao's takeover in 1949, Nationalist Party fled to Taiwan (custodian and guardian of Chinese culture; "PRC is no longer China")

Socialist Reforms:

• 1956: Private restaurants were nationalized
• 1958: Private cooking was banned, cooking pots melted down

30 million people died from famine.

Cultural Revolution

Cater to the needs of the masses
Sell substantial and cheap food only.

Some restaurants given new revolutionary names

• Customers had ho serve themselves
• Attack on traditional skills and recipes

Mao himself had rustic tastes and didn't like fancy foods (fav. red braised pork)