Traditional Chinese Food - Eight-Treasures Rice For the Chinese New Year

Eight-Treasures Rice (Babaofan) is traditionally served on the 7th day of the 1st month of the Chinese Lunar Calendar. This marks the end of the Spring Festival (or Chinese New Year).

This pudding is made from sticky or glutinous rice flavoured with 8 luxurious fruits:

red jujubes (Chinese dates);
finely chopped red plums;
finely chopped green plums;
dried longan pulp;
gingko nuts;
lotus seeds;
lily seeds; and
seeds from Job's Tears (sometimes known as Chinese Pearl Barley).

Nowadays, you may find some of these items replaced with walnuts, peanuts, raisins, cherries and the like. These are often cheaper and easier to obtain. However, the original recipe has a distinct colour, fragrance and taste so see if you can get an authentic version if you can, even if that means paying a little extra to eat somewhere nice.

Many of the fruits were selected and are prepared to look like jewels. The name however may not originally come from the appearance. See the story below for the alternate explanation.

Babaofan forms a special part of the Spring Festival banquet, often enhanced by a tradition of melting brown sugar over the top with burning alcohol. This tradition is meant to date back to ancient times and evidence from Hunan Province suggests that the dish at least has been around for over 2000 years.

The story tells us that a despotic king, King Zhou of the Shang Dynasty was removed by Eight Scholars (the Eight Treasures) recruited by his neighbour, King Wen of the Western Zhou Dynasty. These scholars apparently burned King Zhou to death and both their number and their method were incorporated by the imperial chefs when they invented this dish.

The Spring Festival is not a good time for visiting China. The festival is very much a family affair and visitors without local friends may well feel left out. Almost every Chinese will try to get home during the period meaning that travel services are swamped, and other services may be limited.

There's no need to worry. You can find Eight-Treasures Rice at most good restaurants throughout the year. The dish is also popular at weddings and, if you are lucky enough to get an invite, then you could well be served this along with lots of other traditional Chinese foods.

Ian Ford has lived in China for most of the last 10 years. He is the owner and manager of China Journeys, a UK tour operator offering travel in China with added interest (Registered in England and Wales No. 07014791, ATOL 10236)

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Traditional Chinese Food - Chow Mein

Noodles are very popular in China. Chow mein is one of famous Chinese food in the world. It is easy to cook and you can cook it in many methods. In this article, I would like to offer you two of them.

The first method is shown as below:

Ingredients:

Chinese noodles, egg, shredded meat, baby bok choy, green onion sections, chives, MSG, dark soy sauce

Cooking procedure:

1: Put the noodles into the pot with boiling water and boil it for several minutes. Then remove and rinse under cold water; Tips: add a little salt and salad oil when boiling so that the noodles cannot stick with each other easily.

2: Heat the pot, pour some oil and spread it in the bottom of Pot. Add egg, then remove it from the pot when it is done.

3: Add green onion sections, baby bok choy, chives, shredded meat and stir fry them together. Then put into the boiled noodles and stir fry them together for a short time.

4: Then use the chopsticks (if possible) to separate the noodles. Add the cooked egg, onion, and stir fry them for a several minutes. It is done.

Next, I like to introduce you another method:

Ingredients:

Chinese noodles, onion, mushroom, hammer, bacon, cabbage, dry chilies, chilies sauce, soy sauce, egg, caraway

Cooking procedure:

1. Cut all the ingredients into small pieces, and finger-joint size is preferred.

2. Boil the noodles, then remove and rinse under cold water.

3. Pour some salad oil into the pot; add the onion pieces into it until they become golden. Add the mushrooms.

4. When the mushrooms begin to shrink, add hammer and bacon pieces. Stir fry them for a while, then add the cabbage.

5. When the water comes out of cabbage, stir them for several times. If you think that the oil is not sufficient; you can add some oil again to prevent everything from sticking on the pot.

6. Add the noodles and dry chilies or chili sauce into them.

7. Add salt, soy sauce, at the same time please always stir the noodles.

8. Pour the egg liquid into the pot and it will stick with noodles, and then stir them frequently. This dish is done. Pouring some diced chives onto them is preferred.

There are still many other methods to cook chow mein. Please note that you should always prevent the noodles from sticking with the pot.

For other details about how to cook traditional Chinese food such as Kung Pao chicken, spring roll, dumplings, please visit my website.

There are many Chinese food that is suitable for cooking at home, for more information, please visit [http://www.kung-pao-chicken.com/]

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Traditional Chinese New Year Food

Chinese Lunar New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, is one of the most important Chinese holidays. It falls in the first day of the first Chinese lunar month and ends fifteen days later. Food plays a huge part in this holiday, and served throughout the entire celebration. In Chinese tradition, most of the Chinese New Year food is symbolic of luck, fortune and wealth and the most common ones are those that are traditionally associated with fortune for the coming New Year, such as sticky rice cake, dumplings, and fish.

Chinese Dumplings: Chinese dumplings are one of the most favorite Chinese food, they are symbolic of togetherness of family, thus usually included in Chinese New Year recipes. They are typically filled with vegetables, meat, and authentic seasonings, but the combination of which varies from family to family.

Fish: Fish is another traditional Chinese New Year food, and often served for both the first and last course of the day. In Chinese tradition, serving the fish whole is considered as it will bring good fortune, and when the head and tail are still attacked, which becomes a symbolic of both a good beginning and ending in the year.

Chicken: Like fish, chicken is also served while, and serving whole chicken during Spring Festival promises that the family will remain together in the coming New Year.

Eggs: Eggs are symbolic of fertility, so Chinese New Year food always contains eggs, whether they are scrambled with vegetables, simmered in a hearty soup, or served whole as a snack.

Sticky Rice Cake: Another food traditionally found during Chinese New Year's celebrations. It is usually made with sticky rice and dates, and the traditional cooking method is steaming.

Noodles: Noodles are practically required during Chinese New Year, in Chinese culture, you should not cut them into shorts because the long shape symbolize a long life, otherwise it may bring bad luck during the year.

Hao Luo is the author of Chinese Food Recipes, which is the only website offering detailed and specific Chinese food cooking pictures. If you interested in Chinese cooking, click here: Authentic Chinese Recipes.

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Traditional Chinese Food - For the Dragon Boat Festival

The Dragon Boat Festival falls on the 5th day of the 5th month of the Chinese Lunar Calendar. This usually falls in the first half of June.

The festival honours Qu Yuan, who was a poet and high official in the state of Chu. There are several variations on the story but all end with Qu Yuan drowning himself in the Miluo River on the 5th of the 5th, 278 B.C.E.

One versions says that Qu Yuan believed passionately in social reforms but this upset more conservative members of the court. They talked the king into banishing Qu Yuan, a punishment he was unable or unwilling to accept.

Another version says that he warned against the threat from a neighbouring state only to be ignored. When that state attacked and took the capital he wrote one last poem before committing suicide.

The festival arose as his fellow countrymen honoured the memory of Qu Yuan by racing Dragon Boats to the presumed spot of his drowning. They threw special pyramid-shaped sticky rice cakes wrapped in leaves into the water to feed his soul. These Zongzi now form an essential part of any Dragon Boat Festival.

Some say the rice cakes were made like this to feed the fish, preventing them from eating his corpse. Others say that Qu Yuan appeared to fishermen in a dream complaining that their original offerings were being taken by a local dragon, hence the need for a lily leaf wrapping.

Whichever story is true, it is interesting to have a symbolism to any foodstuff, and nice to see a patriot being honoured, even if a little too late.

Zongzi are made from sticky or glutinous rice and shaped as a pyramid. Over time, the style of the wrapping and the contents have evolved to suit local conditions all over China.

Zongzi now often contain bean or nut paste in the centre (peanuts and walnuts being favourites), or even egg or meat.

The wrapping is usually of any common local leaf. Bamboo leaves are used in the south, maize and other similar leaves further north.

The Zongzi are steamed or boiled for hours allowing the flavour of the contents and the leaves to seep into the rice, producing a whole range of snacks rather than one distinct dish.

Ian Ford has lived in China for most of the last 10 years. He is the owner and manager of China Journeys, a UK tour operator offering travel in China with added interest (Registered in England and Wales No. 07014791, ATOL 10236)

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The Chinese Cooking Wok - The Traditional Way To Prepare Authentic Chinese Food!

Since ancient times, the Chinese have been known to be hung up on tradition, especially where cooking methods are concerned. They are equally concerned about nourishing food cooked in proper sanitary conditions. It is with this view in mind that the Chinese cooking wok has found its own niche in every Chinese kitchen around the world. In addition, the Chinese realized that cooking in utensils handed down from ancient times have helped their dishes to retain their exact, original flavors.

With Chinese food being so popular, it is no wonder then that the Chinese cooking wok is making its way into American households and other parts of the world. Many international stores today stock this main Chinese utensil along with others.

Why is the Chinese cooking wok so unique? To get an answer to this question, we will have to delve into its design.

The wok is basically prepared from carbon steel or iron. The round-bottomed utensil is hammered into shape by hand. The wok therefore becomes delicately flared at the edges, enabling food to be thrust inside with ease. When the perfect shape is attained, the wok is flipped from outside or inside. The rounded bottom of the wok helps it fit over the stove perfectly. Bare metal handles are more commonly used for the Chinese cooking wok. Such handles are known as loop handles. Another type of handle is the stick handle which is formed from carbon steel and resembles Teflon. Thus, the vessel is now ready for anything such as stewing, braising, steaming, deep frying, or preparing soups.

In an attempt to copy the Chinese cooking wok, yet make it more suitable for Western styles of cooking, Westerners have developed woks looking like flat-bottomed frying pans. For more compatibility, woks with double handles are more popular than those with single handles. The bottom of the wok is fitted with an adapter ring. This helps to retain the wok's grip over the top of the stove (western ranges).

The very design of the original Chinese cooking wok itself should be enough to convince anyone that it is better than a frying pan any day! Oil intake is very less, food can be tossed properly, and best of all, there is uniform distribution of heat. So copies can never take the place of the original.

In conclusion, the size of the Chinese cooking wok is designed to suit the purpose. A small family can make do with a wok measuring 36 centimeters, while a still larger one is suitable for a bigger household. The largest-sized ones are used only in restaurants for large-scale cooking.

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The Best Chinese Food is Traditional Chinese Food

Coming to China and looking forward to some great traditional Chinese food? You should be - it ought to be one of the highlights of any trip.

For a start, forget the dishes you know and trust at home. Although these go by the name of Chinese cooking they are often pale shadows of the original and authentic Chinese dish. Sweet and sour, beloved by many in the west, is considered too easy to cook that many real Chinese chefs are embarrassed by any request for this dish.

To really let the local restaurant staff show off their skills you need to know much more about traditional Chinese food.

Traditions in China date back a very long way. Civilization here probably began 7000 years ago. Records don't date back that far, but even the earliest records give food a central role in the Chinese way of life. Of course food then was simpler but, already, there were attempts to understand the affects of diet on health.

During the various dynasties, the range of dishes and the philosophical concepts underlying their relationships to each other expanded rapidly. Trade brought in new ingredients, and wealth brought the opportunity for specialist chefs who vied with each other for royal favour. Those who could produce the finest dishes and justify their creations in terms of health benefits (real or supposed) could expect the greatest rewards.

The most popular of these dishes then left the royal courts and became fare for the wealthy across China. As travelers' inns changed and became restaurants in the western sense, so these dishes became available to regular Chinese diners. Now, with modern transportation and a large migrant population, even regional specialties that didn't quite make the royal courts can be enjoyed widely.

Many of these great dishes have wonderful names (Ants climbing on trees, Phoenix and Dragon) or special stories associated with them. Discovering these adds to meal times immensely.

The language barrier in China is compounded by the use of characters instead of letters. Menus are generally not translated into English and so it can be a struggle to get traditional Chinese Food. You can rely on pointing at what others are eating but that does limit your choices considerably. When I first came here I got in the habit of entering the kitchens and pointing at different ingredients in a hopeful way. Sometimes that worked...

In order to get the food that you want, and to avoid things that you certainly don't want, it is essential to have something written down in characters. It helps to have local friends who can recommend restaurants and dishes.

If you are not lucky to have local friends then make use of mine. Over the years I have questioned my Chinese friends for tips and recommendations about traditional Chinese food. I have now produced a guide to save others the same effort. Not everyone will spend seven years here like I have.

Ian Ford has lived in China for most of the last 10 years. He is the owner and manager of China Journeys, a UK tour operator offering travel in China with added interest (Registered in England and Wales No. 07014791, ATOL 10236)

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Traditional Chinese Food and Shandong Cuisine

The Chinese food is distinctive for its traditional properties. Along the new cuisines, many origins of Chinese food date back many thousands of years. From simple street side snacks to lavish grand banquet, they form a unique color landscape of Chinese food. I would like to investigate the fascinating world of Chinese cuisine.

The city of Qu fu is located in the north of China, Shang dong Province. It is one of the centers of Chinese official cuisine, Shandong cuisine (Lu Cai). The colorful style of Lu Cai dates back at least two thousand years. Qu Fu is also the birthplace of another Chinese icon, Confucius. Confucius is better known for his philosophy relating politics, society and social order. How can we connect Chinese traditional food with Confucius? He was also a gourmet who believed "where food concerns, seek the finest". He did not only create refined cuisine but also he created a kind of complete food philosophy. Some of the form, structure, etiquette that Confucius brought to the dining table changed Chinese eating way. Confucian cuisine is based on the commendation, balance and nutrition. The order and system contained in Confucian cuisine is the oldest in China's recorded history and it does not only influences Shandong cuisine but also other regions' cuisine too. Shandong cuisine is the number one cuisine in China. This is a result of the decision made by the Chinese feudal dynasties, to adopt Confucianism as the philosophy of governance.

Shandong is the birthplace of Confucianism. As a result, the government drew upon Confucian principles to regulate every aspect of customs and traditions. This included what to eat, to what to wear, as well as what tool to use. According to Confucian principles, even the place of dishes on the dining table and order which each dish presented are very important. For example, there are four dishes are part of one main dish: longevity. The dishes have to be arranged in a precise order. If you are serving it on a square table, you have to arrange the four dishes in order from east, south, west and north.

While Confucius succeeded in bringing details and etiquette to Chinese cuisine, one thing did not change since patriarchy time: the notion of a woman working as a professional chef was not even into consideration and their place was at home, supporting her husband and children.

For more information on traditional chinese food,please visit [http://www.kung-pao-chicken.com/]

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Preparing Traditional Chinese Food Recipes

The delectable and traditional Chinese food recipes have been the benchmark of excellence in the culinary field. They are the product of an imaginative mind and greatly noted for their distinctive taste as well as being extremely nutritious.

The traditional Chinese cuisine is a desired balance maintained between the 'Yin' foods, which refer to vegetables and fruits, and the 'Yang' foods, which comprises of different types of meat. This balance is very necessary to ward off most illness and offer healthy benefits.

There are also many cooking methods, such as boiling, roasting, steaming, poaching, stir-frying, braising, smoking, and baking, involve the use of very little oil or no ill, thus are suitable for a health diet.

Chinese cooking is actually easy to learn with the right knowledge and recipes, and it is also a great addition to include to any family's homemade meals.

You can easily find Chinese recipes online through recipe websites or forums, but finding the traditional ones can be tricky, because most of the recipes are not in their traditional style and have been modified to make them more easily and quickly to cook. If you search recipes online, try to figure out whether this site is dedicated to traditional Chinese recipes only and make sure you are getting traditional ones.

Another thing you should remember is that have your ingredients purchased ahead of time, check out your local markets, or visit any Asian stores to see what is available in your area. In fact, this can save you a lot of frustration ahead of time in trying to cooking any new dishes.

When you get ready to prepare your recipe, make certain that you have read the entire recipe ahead of time. Some ingredients actually require hours to prepare properly, meanwhile, have the vegetables prepared before cooking, know your time frame for preparing the cook, and make sure you fully understand the cooking methods before beginning.

Find traditional Chinese recipes, and cooking tips on http://www.homechineserecipes.com/traditional/ to experience the flavor of the rich Chinese cuisine.

Hao Luo is the author of Chinese Food Recipes, an online traditional Chinese recipes and cooking website offering plenty of free Traditional Chinese recipes with pictures and cooking tips.

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Chinese Food - Traditional Oriental Delights And How To Prepare Them

The delectable and genuine Chinese recipes have since time immemorial been the benchmark of excellence in the culinary field. These traditional recipes are the product of an imaginative mind, besides mixing the exact combination of ingredients together with the right amount of seasoning.

Traditional Chinese recipes entail the subtle use of various cooking methods and culinary expertise even as one explores his/her unique creativity in rustling up exclusive fare. It requires employing the latest innovations and developments to prepare genuine Chinese food with just the right style.

These genuine Chinese recipes are greatly noted for their distinctive taste as well as for their tendency to weave a spell with their rich aroma, mesmerizing appearance and the high quality of the prepared dish. These traditional Oriental delights are considered to be very good for health as well as being extremely nutritious according to food aficionados all over the globe.

Poly unsaturated cooking oils are the medium for preparing excellent Chinese dishes, and have a rather favourable effect on a person's health. Additionally, genuine Chinese dishes do not contain milk or ingredients that are full of fat. The secret to cooking genuine Chinese dishes is to strike a balance between the correct consistency, thereby producing the ideal touch.

Quite a few of the very popular Chinese dishes are made by using stir fried kai lan and French beans, carrots, beef laced with ginger, sweet corn chicken soup, green bean soup, spring onions, barley water and lots of others.

The Chinese dishes gives due weightage not only to vegetables, tender meat and fresh seafood, but also takes into account various cooking methods, thus ensuring the food looks extremely appetizing. Enhanced with incredible and lip-smacking flavours, genuine Chinese dishes have acquired a significant reputation amongst lovers of Chinese cuisine in the west.

A person can become an expert in preparing genuine Chinese dishes at home by essentially following the golden rules of using the basic ingredients and employing traditional cooking practices. A number of culinary institutions firmly back the cause of making exceptional traditional fare. It provides a golden chance to explore one's creative talent to the fullest, taking your time in imbibing the cooking procedures and gaining an in depth insight into their distinctive way of life.

Having a thorough comprehension of the Chinese recipes enables food buffs to set quality standards and to have the pleasure of eating with one's family and acquaintances. These genuine Chinese dishes offer a definite encouragement to people eagerly looking forward to hone their culinary talents since they are relatively easy to cook and are wonderful to consume.

Abhishek is a cooking enthusiast! Visit his website http://www.Cooking-Guru.com and download his FREE Cooking Report "Master Chef Secrets" and learn some amazing Cooking tips and tricks for FREE! Learn how to create the perfect meal on a shoe-string budget. And yes, you get to keep all the accolades! But hurry, only limited Free copies available.

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Why Not Order Authentic and Traditional Chinese Food?

Chinese food seems to be a favourite amongst many of us and it seems we have fallen in love with the cuisine. Chinese food is the most popular ethnic cuisine choice from all the choices available. Whilst many believe prawn crackers and fortune cookies are authentic Chinese food, they are misguided. Chinese cuisine is vast; every region in China has its own specialty dish making each dish unique and different from the others. However, for true authentic Chinese food, some basic principles need to be followed to ensure it is traditional Chinese that you are eating.

So what is the main dish in a traditional Chinese meal? Well the answer is starch, unlike other western countries where the main dish is meat based. In southern china the diet mainly consists of rice. However, in northern China this is not the case. Their diet consists of wheat flour noodles or a steamed bun as the main dish and side dishes are comprised of meat - namely beef, pork or chicken. Other side dishes include cooked vegetable, fish and soup. Where in western countries soup is served as a starter, in China soup or rice is served at the end of the meal.

When sitting down to an authentic Chinese meal, chopsticks are always used accompanied with an individual bowl of noodles or rice. The rest of your dishes are then placed in the centre of the table and shared amongst everyone. Chinese tradition is to eat right off the plate using your chopsticks - not serving yourself an individual portion. This is one reason why Chinese food when served is in small pieces as this makes it easy to pick up off the plate using the chopsticks. Another tradition of a Chinese meal is to serve tea as opposed to soft drinks.

After the main course, traditional Chinese desserts are very simple. Usually this is plain fresh fruit or fruit that has been glazed with sugar. Another popular and traditional Chinese dessert is simple rice pudding. Chinese desserts are not rich in flavour as seen with other cuisines.

When you next order your takeaway delivery of Chinese food, why not be a little adventurous and choose dishes that are regional, for example Sichuan spicy chicken or pork dishes. Online ordering facilities make ordering your takeaways simple. You can find Takeaway London restaurants and takeaways all over the UK that offer pure, tasty and authentic Chinese food for delivery.

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