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Five Basics of
Chinese Cooking Secrets
All
good Chinese dishes are expected to have five qualities:
color, taste, form, flavor, and texture. mouth). |
Color:
The finished dish should
have a balanced color-harmony so that it not only looks
beautiful, but also stimulates the appetite. The elements of
color are: the Original color (such as the bright green color
of certain vegetable's leaves); Harmonious color combinations
that use complementary; Decorative color (often accent colors are used such as garnishes); and Glaze (a small
amount of sizzling oil or thickened soup is often over the
finishing dish to create shine). It is also important to color
contrast between the serving plate and the finished food as
well as between each dish. |
Taste:
The balance of the five
flavors- bitter, salt, sour, hot and sweet is Chinese cuisine.
Food is designed to please all the senses.A well-prepared dish
will be rich to those who like strong flavors, not over spiced
to those who like a blander taste, sweet to those who like a
sweet flavor, and hot to those who like a piquant flavor. A
dish that is all of these things to all of these people is a
truly successful dish |
Form
There are several aspects considered regarding form.
Restoring the dish to its' original form by molding the dish
to the original shape of the main ingredient <regardless of the cooking method. This method was
once used as offerings to the spirit of God or Budda, however
today it is a sign of great respect to the invited guests at a
banquet or dinner.
The main ingredients and supporting
ingredients must be cut to a uniform length, thickness and
size to suit a particular cooking method. For example, when
stir-frying quickly over high heat, all the ingredients must
be sliced or shredded, however for parboiling the flavor and
nutrients would be lost if the ingredients were shredded.
The tradition of cutting foods into bite size pieces
during preparation and not at the table is unique to the
Chinese culture. The use of knives at a Chinese dinner is
often considered "poor taste."
The serving plate or
platter must be chosen to complement the shape and quantity of
the prepared food. A small amount of food looks unattractive
on a large plate, a dish of thinly sliced ingredients looks
best on a flat platter and a dish with cube-cut ingredients
requires a cubic arrangement. When serving several dishes,
there should be a variety of shapes in both ingredients and
containers. |
Flavor
The original aroma and taste of ingredients are called
neitaxiang. There are six methods of ensuring aroma-flavour in
Chinese cooking. Neitaxiang-the original aroma and flavour of
the ingredients, Jitaxiang-strong aroma and gives extra flavor
to the finished dish, Tianxiang-extra flavour is given to the
main ingredient, Zhuixiang-fragrant ingredients are added,
Xung-xiang-the main ingredient or prepared dish is cooked then
left in a fragrant vapor, and Bao-xiang-the main ingredient is
wrapped or placed in a fragrant material and cooked for a long
time so that it absorbs some of the fragrance. |
Texture
There are five distinct aspects to the texture of a
Chinese dish to consider. The dish can have all or some of the
following: the original tenderness of the ingredients remains
even after the dish had been cooked, the tenderness achieved
by cooking the ingredients well, the crispness of flour-coated
or batter-coated fried food, the food that feels crunchy to
the teeth, and the elasticity of the food.
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