The Delicious Chinese Food
The characteristics of Chinese food China has the most popular culinary heritage in the world. The history of Chinese cuisine dates back to several thousands years with varied cooking styles, techniques and ingredients that have evolved over time.
A typical Chinese meal will have two things - a carbohydrate or starch like noodles, rice or buns, and accompanying stir fries or dishes of veggies, fish and meat. They use a lot of fresh vegetables like mushroom, water chestnuts, bamboo and even tofu. In North China, wheat-based accompaniments like noodles and steamed buns dominate the table, in contrast to South China where rice is a favourite. The short-grain sticky rice, grown throughout Southern China, is absolutely irresistible.
Each dish focuses on creating a balance between three aspects - appearance, aroma, and taste. They pay a lot of attention to the aesthetic appearance of the food with diversified colours. Sauces and seasonings like fish sauce, five spice powder, oyster sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, root garlic, fresh ginger and others are used generously to offer a complex play of flavour and aroma.
Chinese dishes are rich in umami which is described as a 'pleasant savory taste'. The umami taste is common to many ingredients used in their cuisine like Chinese cabbage, spinach, celery, green tea or fermented products like soy sauce and pastes.
Chinese food and the way it is prepared is influenced by the two major philosophies - Confucianism and Taoism. One of the standards set by Confucius was that food must be cut into small bite- size pieces before being served. Those who follow Taoism focus more on food that promote health and longevity and those that have healing powers.
How to Cook Yangzhou Fried Rice Yangzhou fried rice is also called Yangzhou fried rice with egg. It is a popular Yangzhou specialty with a long history. It's said that it originates from a powerful minister, Yang Su, from the Sui Dynasty (581–618) and his favored dish, Sui Jin Fan (fried rice with egg).
It is dazzling with many colorful ingredients. It is also a good choice to make with leftover rice.
Ingredients and Seasonings
Main ingredients: 250g cooked rice (or leftover rice), 2 eggs, 2 carrots, 4 mushrooms, 50g corn kernels, 1 cucumber, 1 red bell pepper, 50g sausage
Seasonings:
1 soupspoon salad oil, 4g salt (The amount of the seasonings can be adjusted according to personal taste.)
Preparation
1. Crack the eggs into a bowl and whisk them until thoroughly mixed using a wire whisk or chopsticks.
2. Cut the sausage into ½ cm cubes. Finely chop the mushrooms, carrots, red bell pepper, and cucumber.
Cooking Instructions
1. Heat some cooking oil in a wok. Add the beaten eggs and fry them on a medium heat. After the eggs have set, break them up into small pieces. Remove the egg mixture from the wok and place it onto a plate.
2. Add some cooking oil to the wok. Add the mushrooms, corn kernels, carrots, cucumber, red bell pepper, and sausage, and stir-fry them briefly.
3. Add the fried egg mixture to the rest of the ingredients in the wok along with the cooked rice, and stir-fry evenly. Add some salt and continue to stir-fry until the ingredients are thoroughly mixed.
4.Serve the Yangzhou fried rice on a dish for sharing or into a bowl for one person.