3.1. Heavenly Pleasures

Many specialists think world gastronomic variety can be divided into three main groups: French, Middle East and Chinese cuisines. There are people who do not agree: Italians will bombard you with pizza and pasta, Spaniards have paella, and even my fellow Belarusians can take part in this argument with our famous potato pancakes – draniki. Many Americans also think that pizza and pancakes belong to their national cuisine. Once I had a hot dispute on this matter with an American woman. I presented my strongest argument: “My ancestors had pancakes on their dining tables centuries before America has even been discovered!”

Despite all these arguments, one thing is for sure – the Chinese phenomenon deserves a very special place in the world’s recipe books as well as in our hearts. Chinese people themselves consider their cuisine as the “brightest pearl” of their culture. And justly so.

Food for Chinese people is a genuine cult, exquisite art and a source of candid pleasure – all in one. Chinese people never “have a bite”, they even don’t have such a phrase in their vocabulary – they eat thoroughly and quickly. Traditional Chinese greeting words “chi fan le ma?” can be translated as “Did you eat?” Out of necessity, Chinese people have managed to eat nearly everything growing, moving or flying. This necessity has been turned into virtue and now Chinese cuisine boasts nearly 5,000 dishes catering to any taste. These dishes are divided into styles and varieties depending on geography, nationality or social status of their creators, adaptors and eaters – family and temple styles, official, palace or medicinal dishes. Foods are separated into hot, cold, formal, sweet dishes and soups, depending on the cooking style. Specificity of the Chinese cuisine means that no dish can be separated from its origin: geography, climate, natural resources, local traditions, social and cultural factors are all relevant.    

Foods in Chinese cuisine traditionally belong to two categories: main and additional. Main or staple foods are carbohydrates; meat, fish and vegetables have always been considered additional. Chinese culinary arts comprise a combination of the two. Chinese chefs also use additional seasoning and condiments, especially for meat and fish dishes. For ages, five main seasonings that correspond to the five humors have distinguished Chinese food: ginger is pungent, vinegar is sour, salt is savory, wine is bitter and syrup is sweet. It was in the Middle Ages that the popular flavoring soy sauce came into use.

English-speaking people assert that foundation of Chinese cuisine consists of three G’s: garlic, ginger and green onion. Probably this is an explanation for the famous pungency. But not all local dishes are spicy; there are many with a mild or subtle flavor. Additionally, Chinese people use virtually no salt but sauces and seasonings instead.

Philosophy is present in every aspect of everyday life in China, and culinary art is no exception. The difference between main and additional foods demonstrates the principle of balance between yin and yang. Most fruits and vegetables belong to yin, they are moist and soft with a cooling effect and nourish the feminine aspect of our nature. Yang food is fried, hot, often includes red meat and warms and nourishes the masculine part of us. As yin and yang compliment each other in philosophy, so they do in food. This is why Chinese people never add soy sauce to rice: they both belong to the yang group and eating them together causes imbalance.

Another philosophical principle used often in Chinese cuisine is “to place true into false”. Within this concept, the aim of any Chinese chef is to obscure the ingredients of a dish. Consequently, Buddhist monks who are supposed to be vegetarians don’t even notice that they are not eating meat as there are so many vegetarian dishes resembling meat and fish in form and taste, such as “roast meat” made of soy beans or “fish” made of eggs.  

China is a vast country whose peoples enjoy different flavors. The most obvious difference is that rice is the staple food of southerners while northerners prefer noodles, steamed buns etc. Nearly every province and even some cities have their trademark dishes: Beijing has roast duck, Yangzhou has fried rice and Suzhou has shellfish. One of the most famous Guangdong Province dishes is “Dragon and Tiger Battle” made of three kinds of poisonous snake, wildcat and seasonings. It is extremely hard to find a restaurant with this dish on its menu as the SARS outbreak in 2003 prompted many restaurants to stop serving civet-cat.

Food in China is not just for filling the stomach; it is imbued with significance, especially on traditional lunar calendar holidays. Almost every dish on a table has meaning: oranges and chicken for good luck, fish for bounty and chestnuts and tofu for wealth. During marriage celebrations, newlyweds eat sweet balls made of glutinous rice to ensure a sweet and harmonious marriage. Parents and guests pour nuts, dates, candies and oranges on the marital bed in hopes of inspiring a son. When a baby is one month old, its mother would present boiled eggs dyed red to relatives, neighbors and friends, meaning that the mother is cleansed and can visit the temple to pray.

The Chinese idea that when eating fish, you should take a little from head and tail stresses overall balance. If you dine with Chinese friends, be careful never to leave your chopsticks sticking in cooked rice in a bowl. This is how people pray for and make sacrifices to ancestors.

So, every time you enjoy Chinese cuisine – without doubt one of the world best – just remember that Confucius once said, food is “people’s Heaven.”

Book “Chinese Customs and Wisdoms” (translated into English by the author) was published in Beijing in 2007 by the Foreign Language Press