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Chinese cuisines shine at mixing and blending of flavors. This is not only aided by superior culinary techniques that can mix natural flavoring, but also with the help of a whole line-up of seasoning. Aside from salt, vinegar, sugar and essence soups, which are representative seasoning, pastes, soy sauce, wine, and stinky tofu are all commonly used seasoning in Chinese cooking.
Paste made from the fermentation of beans was regarded highly in ancient China. Once it was the food for the upper class. When treating guests at banquets, bean-sauces must be served, since each kind of meat has its matching paste. Experienced eaters will know the kind of great food to be served just by seeing the type of paste. In time, pastes became important seasoning, from which a whole series of seasonings were developed, including soy sauce, bean-paste, black fermented beans and more. Pastes made from beans are very much a Chinese specialty sauce. It holds an important place in Chinese culinary history, or even the culinary timeline of the entire world.
Using wine for the blending of taste is also a great invention of Chinese cooking. Wine not only kills the rank stench of fish and meats, it can also produce a real appetizing aroma. When making stir-fries, adding a little cooking wine can bring out the delicious aroma of the food within the evaporating wine; the texture of the food is melt-in-your-mouth tenderness.
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If we say that the goal of eating and drinking is to improve health, then the number one important element in food would be nutrition, demonstrating a scientific practicality. The Chinese focus on color, fragrance, taste and form in food, looking for refinement in food vessels and elegance of dining environment, demonstrating an artistic spirit. Hence ever since long ago, the Chinese advocated the philosophy of “five tastes in harmony.” The Chinese invented ways to adjust blended ingredients and spices for a wide variety of tastes. Revolving around the “five tastes,” which are sourness, sweetness, bitterness, pungency and saltiness, dishes can evolve into more than 500 different flavors.
Of the “five tastes,” saltiness is the principal taste. It is the most simplistic and most crucial. Salt is needed to heighten any texture in foods. Without it, any delicacy cannot emerge in its full glory. But from a health perspective, salt should not be taken in excessive quantities. Sourness is also an indispensable taste in foods, especially in the northern part of China, where water supply is heavy in minerals and strong in base. So in order to induce better digestion of food, vinegar is often used in cooking; and it could also arouse appetite. Sour taste can also neutralize fishy odor and greasiness. At banquets with strong grease and heavy meat dishes, sour dishes are usually complemented and come in many varieties. Not only are the sour tastes of plums, fruits and vinegar different from one another, just the different type of vinegar are distinguished by its production areas, different ingredients and different techniques of making, thus causing quite drastic differences in taste. Usually, the northerners uphold mature vinegar made in Shanxi as orthodox, whilst the people in the Jiangsu-Zhejiang area appraise the Zhenjiang-made rice vinegar as authentic. The most typical of all places eating vinegar is the province of Shanxi. Many families there are skilled at making vinegar from crops and fruits. ITieir everyday meals are even more dependent on vinegar. A very interesting thing is that in the Chinese language, the word “vinegar” is used to represent the feelings of jealousy between men and women. Slang, such as “eat vinegar” and “vinegar jar,” are universally understood in both the north and the south. It may have to do with the sour nature of vinegar itself.
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People who can still keep their composure and their gentlemen or ladies’ charm, under the influence of alcohol, would be deeply respected. Confucian thinking emphasizes the “wine virtues” for which the drinker is to uphold. Confucianists do not oppose having alcohol; using wine to pay tribute to ancestors, to provide for the aged and pay respect to guests are all considered virtuous acts. But to save crop supply, one should constrain the amount of wine used. Being overly drunk and unable to tell real life from alcohol-produced illusions is not an attitude favored by the Confucianists, who abides by the strict rule of “wine to deal respect, to treat illnesses, and to bring joy.” On special occasions, wine is indispensable. However, it is viewed as an item of luxury, since without it, daily life would not be impacted. There also exists a popular belief that “wine can disrupt one’s nature.” Since wine is addictive, large amounts of consumption can cause inebriety, which often lead to stirring of trouble or harm to health. People therefore see it as the source of disorder. So from ancient times to the present day, there has never been a shortage of people who advocates drinking morals and manners, and who conducts alcohol education and advise against excessive drinking. In current times, some government agencies have clearly imposed restrictions against their civil servants from drinking during lunch hour on a workday. For other specialized profeeions, even more definite alcohol restrictions exist. Drivers who drink and drive will be prosecuted by law.
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Wine since ancient times were closely interwoven with peoples’ daily lives. People use wine to pay tribute to ancestors, showing respect; or for self-enjoyment while writing poems and composing rhymes; or when treating friends and family, heightening the lively atmosphere. Wine undoubtedly holds a very important place in Chinese culture and living.
Ancient kings and princes’ banquets and feasts cannot go on without wine. All kinds of wine vessels therefore became important objects of courtesy. The most important of which were the bronze Jue, Zun, Yi and other drink containers which symbolize social status and ranks. From archeological findings around China, bronze wine vessels were once the fashion of the times. The lifting of the ban against wine for the common citizens usually takes place during times of changes in dynastic rule or the succession of sovereignty, as well as important imperial activities.
The Chinese in ancient times often used crops to make wine. Therefore a good or bad harvest during the year strongly influenced the decisions of the dynastic rulers to either impose wine ban or certain amount of wine tax. And correspondingly, a strong or weak year for wine production reflected the crop yield of the year. Wine in the past was directly related to people’s livelihood and taxation. Since the third year of the Tianhan period under Emperor Han Wudi (98 A.D.), after the central court exercised the exclusive right to sell and buy wine, duties collected from the wine industry became an important source of government treasury revenue of subsequent feudal dynasties.
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Alcohol drinks are a kind of material culture shared by all nationalities of the world. Before the advent of distillation machines, wine could only be made the primitive way. Using crops to make wine is a special characteristic in Chinese alcohol-making history. The yellow wine, or rice wine, being one of the three main kinds of alcohol beverage (rice wine, grape wine and beer), is known as the model of oriental winemaking.
Winemaking and drinking originated in China long ago. Ancient writings point to multiple origins of alcoholic drinks, but only a small portion can be taken as true history. In common society, Dukang is worshipped as the god of wine, as he was the one who first made wine. However, as early as the Shang Dynasty, the Chinese already widely practiced the making of alcohol. From existing oracle bone and bronze inscriptions, we learn that many people of the Shang used wine as offerings to ancestors. At the same time, drinking wine was already popular. In more recent archeological excavations, Shang Dynasty winemaking sites were discovered. In 1980, in Henan Province, ancient wines from the late Shang period (about 3,000 years ago) was discovered in archaic tombs, and are now kept at Beijing Palace Museum. It can be considered the oldest wine in China. Being large in land mass and with abundant natural resources, China’s different agricultural crops, water quality and winemaking techniques in each region, gave birth to many excellent types of liquor throughout the land.
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Chinese food culture Chinese food culture, Wine
