Simple Food

Quick View To Civilization of Chinese Food
It is not easy to brief the civilization of Chinese Food in a short message, it is because, there are more than 56 folks inside the Mainland China, and the large area causes difference dining habits among the difference districts. First of all, we need to know that, the old China was developed in a faming society, and most of the dining habits and meals culture are based on this factor.
Dining Tool and habits
Not same to the people living in western area, Chinese used to have their dinner together with all the family members, sitting around a table and each person will have one set of dining tool in front of them, including two bowls which one for rice and another for soup, one pairs of chopsticks and one plate for meat / vegetable. They will share the food dishes which were made and put into the central of table, diners will only pick up the food from the dished which who want to eat. He will pick it and places it into the small plate in front of him. There are 2 special habits, one is, Chinese diners never pick up rice from the bowl but will handle the bowl towards their lips then poke the rice into their mouths by the chopsticks. The other one is, Chinese always have soup during or after dining.
Traditional Chinese Food
There are so many traditional and special Chinese foods, according to the folk culture, district, religion, and festival. For the famous classes divided by district, there are style of Guangdong, Beijing, Shanghai, Sichuan, North-West, and so on…or by folk, there are kajia, Yunan, Fujian, etc. These all above mentioned styles are well-known in the worldwide. Here, introduce some special dishes, perhaps you have had it, or you have never heard :
Doufu
Doufu is the most popular food in Chinese Society.
It is also the main food in a faming family.
The recipe shown : Unicorn Doufu with Yunnan Ham
Major Ingredients : Bean curd, Yunnan Ham, Black Mushrooms
Steamed Fish
Chinese always make the fish recipes by steaming style.
Just only with some light soy sauce and some seasoning.
The recipe shown : Steamed Snakehead in Chaozhou Style
Major Ingredients : Snakehead, Preserved Lemon, Spring Onion
Dim Sum
Dim Sum is the most famous food in world-wide.
It is a Guangdong Style snack which served as light meal.
The recipe shown : Steam Shrimp Dumpling
Major Ingredients : Shrimps, Pork, Wheat Flour for pastry
Lobster
Lobster is the famous style seafood in Hong Kong.
Some difference from the traditional western chef’s style..
The recipe shown : Lobster in High Stock
Major Ingredients : Lobster, Chicken Stock, Garlic
Dark Rice Vinegar With Ginger
You perhaps have never heard this…..this is Guangdong style.
It is a supplementary diet for women who is weak, new mother.
The recipe shown : Pig’s Fore Hands in Vinegar and Ginger
Ingredients : Sweet Dark Rice Vinegar, Pig’s Hands, Egg, Ginger
Eggs In Tea
This is a very special snack of Guangdong..
It is very nice food for the party, gathering, with beer.
The recipe shown : Eggs In Chinese Tea
Ingredients : Eggs, Chinese Dark Tea
Festive Dishes
Because of the poor and hard lifestyle character of a farming society, the Chinese farming families would have food which were being get from the farming field, such as, potatoes, tomatoes, vegetable, sweet corn, mushrooms, etc. So, the Chinese will have many dishes of meat recipes like Chicken, Pork, Fish that they do not have in the normal days. The are some special snack, or to be said, festival food will be made during the Chinese festivals, Such as Sweet-Stick Cake and Turnip Pastry in Lunar New Year, Glutinous Rice Tamale in Dragon Boat Festival, Moon Cake in Middle Autumn Festival, etc, and Steamed Buns to the Birthday person……
Religion Culture – Vegetarian Diets
Buddhism and Tao is the main religions in Mainland China, and, it is must more simple to know that vegetarian diets becomes the main food to the people whose cult as monk and nun, as well as Taoist. There are so many vegetarian diets made looked like meat as pork, beef, fish, cuttlefish, etc. It is so funny and tasty, and healthy. Islam is one of the large religion in Mainland China, but it is well-known that, the Muslins never eat Pork, and their famous recipe is BBQ Lamb……
Main Food
Generally, we can divided the farming products of main food in China into 3 styles, those are, Rice in Southern and Eastern China, Wheat in Northern China and Sweet Corn in Middle, Northern, Western China. Because of their farming products, the people living in Southern China will have rice, congee or rice noodle as their main food, and who will have wheat made products like Bun, noodle, pancake in Northern China. The populace who living on seaside and lakeside will have seafood or lake fishes as meals. Of course, people can have any food as they want nowaday.
Taste Depends On Climate
There is a big difference about the diets between Northern and Southern China, that is, the dishes made by Northern Chefs are in heavier taste and those are comparably light in Southern Chefs’ recipes, sometimes, we say it is tasty as sweet and fresh in Southern Chinese food. In the Northern and Western Provinces of China like Lingxia, hebei, Sichuan , Shenxi, and Yunnan, the diets are made in hot and spicy, because of the humid cold weather and high altitude, Chinese people wonder that to perspire is a good method for preventing diseases caused by humidity and cold.
Herds And Spices, Preserved Materials
There are not popular to use herds and spices in Chinese Food, perhaps Chinese chefs will use some parsley, aniseed, fennel, cloves, Sichuan peppercorn, red chili pasty……however, they mostly use light and dark soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, rice vinegar and oyster sauce as the main seasoning and sauce. Chinese chefs usually like to use the preserved and salty Ingredients like preserved eggs, potherb and pickled mustard, dried shrimps, bean curd cheese, dry and salty pork, salty duck, meat sausage……it is a long and traditional habit since the ancient hard and poor farming society.

The top five super foods at hand
All foods have some nutritional value. But there are five at hand that are so beneficial to your health — they are known as “super foods”.
1. Apples
Apples are full of vitamin C for healthy skin and gums — one apple provides a quarter of your daily requirement of vitamin C. Apples also contain a form of soluble fibre called pectin that can help to lower blood cholesterol levels and keep the digestive system healthy. An apple is also a carbohydrate with a low glycaemic index (GI) type. They may help with weight control, as well as improving diabetics’ long-term control of blood sugar levels.
2. Baked beans
The baked bean is a nutritional powerhouse of protein, fibre, iron and calcium. It contains carbohydrate that, like that in apples, is of the low GI variety.
The insoluble fibre in baked beans is not digested but moves into the large intestine , where bacteria act on it and produce short-chain fatty acids which are thought to nourish the colon lining and protect it from cancer-causing invaders .
3. Salmon
All fish is a source of good-quality protein, vitamins and minerals, but salmon contains omega 3 fats that reduce blood clotting and inflammation .
It rescues the risk of having a heart attack, even in older adults. Omega 3 fats also help to prevent depression, and protect against the onset of dementia . It’s true that fish really is an all-round brain food.
4. Tea
The drink is helpful for stimulating alertness , mood and motivation. Tea counts towards eight cups daily to avoid dehydration . Tea, whether black or green, is a rich source of the antioxidant called catechins that protect the artery walls against the damage that causes heart disease and prevents formation of sticky blood clots.
5. Bananas
It’s a myth that bananas are fattening. Bananas are slightly higher in energy than other fruits and are excellent for refuelling before, during or after exercise. Bananas are also jam-packed with potassium that helps lower blood pressure, and vitamin B6 for healthy skin and hair.

Tofu is as good as medicine for lowing cholesterol
Research published in the fourth week of July 2003 found that the group of people, who ate high-fiber, high-soy food had lowered LDL(the bad cholesterol) by 28.6%, comparing the contract group. The effect of taken high-fiber, high-soy is almost have the same effect as take the statin Mevacor, which is 30.9%. And people who only take low fat food only had lowered LDL by 8% comparing with normal group.
Fish and Health
Seafood take a prime role in chinese feast. Chinese is good at cooking fish, can make it very delicious and contain less cooking oil. For fish to maintain fluidity in cold water such as Alaska, their fats have to remain liquid.
Fish oil rich in omega-3 fatty acids. The two omega-3’s in fish are eicosapentaenoic acid(EPA)and docosahexaenoic acids(DHA).
EPA and DHA are essential for human health, DHA it’s critical to development of the brain and retina for infant, the human breast milk contain it.EPA and DHA are very benefit the heart and blood vessels.
In one study people eat four times of at least three ounce salmon a month reduced 50 percent risk of cardiac arrest. Study show EPA and DHA can inhibit the synthesis of substances that result inflammation and blood clots, stabilize the electrical activity of the heart. Lower blood pressure, triglyceride levels and improve the functioning of artery linings.
Although human can convert alpha-linolenic acid(ALA)to EPA and DHA, the conversion rate is so low, you need eat a lot of food contain ALA, that’s make it impractical. Eating fish is a good way to reach health.
As the world get more pollution, the fish also may become dangerous to your health. mercury is a common toxin, be cautious, especially to pregnant women, to some deep sea fish which eat other fish and result accumulate more mercury in their body. Such as tilefish, swordfish, shark, king mackerel. Also avoid fish comes from some location or area which are heavenly polluted.
Green Tea
Green Tea is favority and traditional drink of Chinese for thousand years. Recent studies have shown that epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) an antioxidant found in green tea, is at least 100 more times more effective than vitamin C and 25 times more effective than vitamin E at protecting cells and DNA from damage believed to be linked to cancer, heart disease and other serious illnesses. The antioxidant has twice the antioxidant benefit of resveratrol, found in red wine.