How the Chinese make artificial products. Weird taste buds

In Chinese culture, and in the life of every Chinese, food plays a very important role, it is almost the main topic of any conversation. The Chinese, even at a meeting, instead of “Hi, how are you?”, They are interested in whether the person has eaten today, and I am absolutely not joking. The phrase "Have you eaten today?" (你吃了吗 - Ni chi le ma?) has long been a common form of greeting.

Chinese national cuisine

It is difficult to somehow unambiguously characterize traditional Chinese cuisine, since China is a huge country with 56 nationalities living on its territory, each of them has special characteristics. culinary traditions and recipes. But that is why Chinese cuisine is so diverse and unique.

To summarize, we can distinguish two main geographical regions: north and south. The main difference is that in the north, noodles are the main dish, or dumplings (fried, boiled, steamed) and unleavened bread(mantou). In the north, food is more salty, fatty and nutritious.

In the south, preference is given to rice dishes (boiled rice, rice noodles, rice cake). At the same time, southern traditional cuisine is characterized by sweeter and spicier food.

As in other hot countries, in ancient China, pepper was used for disinfection, because at high temperatures it is difficult to guarantee the freshness of food, and in order to avoid various intestinal infections, all food was generously sprinkled hot spices. In addition to the north and south, Sichuan cuisine is also distinguished, which is most famous for its spiciness, they serve such spicy dishes that not every Chinese will be able to digest it, but for the locals, all other food seems too insipid.

But do not think that the abundance of pepper is found only in the south, for most foreigners, almost any Chinese food will seem spicy, simply because we are completely unaccustomed to such an abundance of seasonings and spices.

In general, the Chinese are very fond of various kinds of spices, seasonings, additives and actively use them in cooking. They distinguish five basic tastes and five ingredients that are responsible for them: hot - pepper and ginger, sour - vinegar, salty - salt, bitter - wine, sweet - molasses. In the market, even eyes run wide, there are so many things that we don’t even suspect. The most popular are garlic, hot red pepper, ginger, cumin, cloves, anise and others. All this gives Chinese dishes unique taste and aroma.

At the same time, unlike us, the Chinese practically do not eat salt and sugar. Salt replaces soy sauce, which is part of almost any dish, but they don’t particularly like sugar at all, and even more so they don’t add it to tea like we do. But they are very fond of adding various flowers to tea and dried fruits.

advantage Chinese food is the use of a large number of vegetables and herbs, while the processing of most of them is minimal (scald with boiling water, boil a little, steam), which allows you to save more nutrients and vitamins. Generally in China all year round a very wide range of vegetables and fruits, not only in the south, but also in the north of the country. Here and in winter you can buy tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, eggplant, asparagus, all kinds of cabbage and more. The locals have not even heard about conservation, why, if everything is sold on the market in fresh?

Among the Chinese, the main measure of weight is one jin ( 斤 jīn), which is equal to 0.5 kg, and therefore the price of all products by weight is indicated in jing, not kilograms. Prices for vegetables depend on the season: in winter and spring everything costs a little more than in summer or autumn, it also depends on the province: cheaper in the south, more expensive in the north. Here approximate prices On the market:

• broccoli - 6-8 yuan,
• eggplant - 6,
• cucumbers - 3.5-4,
• cherry tomatoes - 5,
• cabbage - 2.5,
• black Eyed Peas – 6-7,
• potatoes - 2-2.5,
• zucchini - 4. (all prices are in yuan, for 0.5 kg, the approximate rate is 1 USD = 6.4 yuan)

In addition to vegetables familiar to us, the Chinese eat lotus roots, bulbs and seeds, bamboo sprouts, tree mushrooms etc. Surprisingly, many of these are very tasty!

The variety of fruits here is also amazing, in addition to the banana-oranges we are already familiar with, in China you can buy papaya, dragon fruit, jackfruit, durian, lychee, mango, delicious pineapples. Many of these fruits are available in supermarkets all year round, but buying them is better. seasonal fruit, because they are cheaper, and they have more vitamins.

In early autumn, the most common fruits are watermelons, melons, apples, grapes, papaya and dragon fruit. At this time, papaya and dragon fruit will cost about 5 yuan each, sometimes 10 yuan can buy 3.

From November they start selling persimmons, tangerines, oranges, the price will be approximately the same from 2.5 yuan per jin.

In February, the pineapple season begins, the price is from 4 yuan per jin, in March-April there are a lot of mangoes in China, which costs 7-10 yuan per jin (the price depends on the size, small ones are cheaper, large ones are more expensive).

Strawberries, coconuts, lychees, peaches will appear in May-June. As already mentioned above, the price is usually indicated per jin, but seasonal fruits are often sold at a so-called discount, for example, 3 jing - 10 yuan, that is, the price is indicated for 1.5 kg. Large fruits such as papaya, coconut or dragon fruit are often priced per piece. Now (April) the market prices are as follows: coconut 10/piece, lemon 2.5/piece, tangerines, apples, bananas 2.5-3 per jin, mangoes 8 per jin.

Is it true that the Chinese are omnivores?

As horrible as it sounds, the Chinese really do eat almost anything that runs, jumps, flies, and crawls. In addition to poultry, pork and beef, in some provinces of China they eat the meat of dogs and cats, pigeons, snakes, frogs, turtles, monkeys, and even rare and protected animals. It is illegal to eat rare animals, but this does not stop the Chinese, believe me. Not so long ago, the Chinese were arrested, who sold the meat of a panda listed in the Red Book, what else can I say? In the course are all kinds of viscera. In ancient times, this was due to the fact that there was not enough food for everyone, and it was not necessary to sort out, in order to survive, people ate everything they could catch. Nowadays, if we are talking about exotic dishes ah, this is more of an opportunity to demonstrate your financial well-being. Another reason to turn to the exotic is the desire to improve your health. The Chinese believe that turtle soup will give longevity, dog meat will cure diseases, and a snake will make you smarter and more cunning. All plants that could be used in cooking are also used. So, in my opinion, they are really omnivores.

Features of eating

The Chinese have one very good habit: they have a well-defined diet from childhood. Indeed, most Chinese eat by the hour:

• breakfast from 7.00 to 9.00;
• lunch from 11.00 to 14.00;
• dinner 17.00 to 19.00.

Perhaps that is why they have no problems with overweight. During these periods, all establishments are overcrowded. It was at this time that he took to the streets a large number of stalls with different street food. The rest of the time, the establishments also work, but there is no hype, only single visitors who, for one reason or another, got behind the schedule, come to refresh themselves.

Everyone knows that the Chinese eat with chopsticks, but not everyone knows that certain etiquette must be followed. But the Chinese are completely fluent in this skill, they even have a cartoon on this topic that teaches children how to properly handle chopsticks. From what I remember: you can’t leave vertically stuck chopsticks in a plate (a bad sign and a symbol of death), you can’t lick the chopsticks, since food is taken from a common plate, you can’t point with chopsticks at those sitting at the table, knock them on the table or plate, you can’t looking for food the best piece, what you touched, then take it, and much more.

Another feature of the Chinese can be called the fact that a very small percentage of people cook food at home, most of the population prefers to eat in establishments or take food to go. Sometimes it is amazing that many women absolutely do not know how to cook or, if they know how, they will not spend time on it. Holidays are an exception, and even then not in all families. In fact, it is very convenient and cheap, sometimes it seems to me that cooking at home is even more expensive. Moreover, on every corner there are a lot of different establishments for every taste and budget.

By the way, the Chinese meal is also different from ours. If in our restaurant everyone orders a separate dish for himself, then the Chinese are completely opposite. If there is more than one person at the table, then several different dishes are always ordered for everyone. Large meals are served on the table. common meals and separate bowls of rice or mantou according to the number of people. Everyone takes a little from each dish. Many establishments have made special round tables with a rotating stand to make it easier to get all the dishes.

If we start our meal with a liquid (soup), then the Chinese finish it, believing that it is better for health. At the same time, their soup is absolutely not like ours, it has no meat, no potatoes, nothing that we are so used to. It's more like a viscous cloudy broth with egg, herbs, perhaps rice.

The Chinese also litter a lot at the table. Everything that cannot be eaten, such as seeds or skins, pieces of pepper is not spat out on your plate, but straight on common table or on the floor. In general, for me personally, eating with the Chinese at the same table is not entirely pleasant, because we have completely different ideas about the correct behavior at the table, what is natural for them is bad form for us.

Unusual foods and dishes for us

As I said, the Chinese eat everything. I call it non-waste production, on the one hand, it's good that they find ways to get the most out of everything, on the other hand, it's strange when people in an expensive restaurant eat various offal or gnaw bones. One such wonderful dish, "Phoenix Claws" (泡椒凤爪 - pàojiāo fèngzhǎo), sounds pretentious, doesn't it? In fact, these are chicken legs, the ones with claws. Don't believe? See for yourself. Chicken paws marinated in various sauces are sold in stores, these are the so-called snacks or in Chinese 小吃 xiǎochī, the Chinese often gnaw them with beer. Except chicken feet, they also eat duck necks, paws, heads, and mutton heads, cow stomachs, there is even a dish of duck blood, but I think we can do without a photo, because it’s unpleasant for me to look at it personally, so you’ll have to take my word for it.

soy milk products

I don’t know if this is true or a myth, but the Chinese consider lactose intolerance as a national feature. Most of them do not consume the dairy products we are used to, instead they eat soy cheese and drink soy milk. For the most part, they are unaware of the existence of products such as kefir, fermented baked milk and cottage cheese. Foreign cheeses, butter and yoghurts are very expensive and not everyone can afford it. In the morning, the Chinese often drink soy milk, and various dishes are prepared from tofu (soy cheese).

For the most part tofu(豆腐 – dòufu）harmless and sometimes tasty dish, but there is one of its varieties - chhou tofu (stinky tofu - 臭豆腐 chòudòufu), the smell is really nauseating. It cannot be expressed in words, it must be felt, but the stench is really terrible.

Canned Sunhuadan Eggs (松花蛋, sōnghuādàn)

This dish is also called "thousand-year" or "imperial" eggs. For its preparation, duck or chicken eggs are used. The shell is coated with a special composition of ash, lime, salt, soda, plant leaves and left in a special place where air does not enter, to ripen for 1-3 months. After the eggs are thoroughly washed, peeled and ventilated. It turns out like this unusual dish. They say it does not smell very pleasant, but it tastes normal, but I did not dare to try it.

Weird taste buds

The Chinese are big fans of unusual flavor combinations, so, for example, on the shelves of supermarkets you can find potato chips with cucumber, tomato, lime, honey and even chocolate.

Ice cream with peas, corn, beans, salty meat candies, sweet buns with beans or meat rope and much more will be familiar to them. Gourmets, in a word.

exotic

Sea urchins, swallow nests, shark fins, monkey brains, snakes, turtles and other exotic foods are quite common in Chinese cuisine, but the pleasure is not cheap. Such dishes can be tasted in many restaurants in China.

But the most extreme in this regard is the southern province of Guangdong, with the capital Guangzhou. Local taste preferences shock not only foreigners, but also many Chinese from other provinces. Despite the protests of animal rights activists around the world and the prohibitions of the Chinese government, smugglers trade here rare species animals that are then eaten or used in Chinese traditional medicine. Personally, I am against all this exoticism, but if anyone is interested and wants to try, then you are welcome. Here are the names of some exotic dishes:

• shark fin soup 金汤鱼翅 jīntāng yúchì,
• frog legs with chili sauce 鲜椒馋嘴蛙 xiānjiāo chánzuǐwā,
• snake and chicken soup 龙凤汤 lóngfèngtāng,
• snake meat with pepper and salt 椒盐蛇肉 jiāoyán shé ròu,
• fried snake with onion 葱爆蛙肉 cōng bào shé ròu,
• a dish of sea ​​urchins海胆蒸蛋hǎidǎn zhēng dàn,
• swallow nest soup 燕窝汤 yànwōtāng,
• turtle soup甲鱼汤 jiǎyútāng,
• braised turtle in brown soy sauce红烧甲鱼hóngshāo jiǎyú,
• fried frog in soy sauce 红烧田鸡 hóngshāo tiánjī,
• sea ​​cucumber(trepang) fried with onions 葱烧素海参 cōngshāo sùhǎishēn.

There is one dish, it is called “the fight of a dragon with a tiger”, its poetic name attracts many, but only until they learn that snake meat acts as a dragon, and cats act as a tiger. Ingredients are not written on the Chinese menu, and if you are completely unfamiliar with Chinese cuisine, then from the name it is not at all clear what this or that dish is prepared from. In good restaurants, of course, there should be a menu in English, but this is not always the case and everywhere. In large tourist cities, this is really easier. In small ones, most likely, you won’t find anything at all except Chinese, it’s good if there are pictures, and if there aren’t even those, then it’s really bad. In this case, it is better to have a translator with you, it can be easily installed on your smartphone.

But, by the way, the Chinese do not eat various insects in Everyday life. And all these skewers with scorpions, grasshoppers, cockroaches and caterpillars, which are offered at Wangfujing in Beijing, or other cities, are nothing more than a tourist attraction. Perhaps it used to be food, but not now for sure. Although with the Chinese you can not be 100% sure.

You can talk endlessly about Chinese taste preferences, but it’s not necessary, because to each his own. Our borscht, aspic or herring under a fur coat also seem absurd to the rest of the world.

Popular food in China. What to try

Peking Duck

This is almost the first thing that comes to mind when mentioning China. Do not deny yourself the pleasure of trying a dish that has actually become one of the main symbols of Chinese cuisine. You can taste it in any city in China, and although the duck is called Peking duck, the original recipe for its preparation came from the Shandong province. In many cities there are restaurants that specialize in cooking Peking duck, and bear the appropriate name, but in an ordinary restaurant or cafe it will be no less tasty. The peculiarity of this dish is that before cooking, the duck is marinated in special sauce from honey, jam and various spices. Sweet and crispy crust is the main highlight of this dish. Before serving, the duck is cut into small pieces, similar to records, but can be served as a whole, and then cut in front of guests. Peking duck can be tasted not only in a restaurant, but also bought in special street shops. They do not have to order the whole duck, you can take half or even a quarter.

Sweet and sour pork (糖醋里脊 tángcù lǐji）

Another of my favorite dishes that I would recommend ordering while in China is pork in sweet and sour sauce, or as it is also called tangsuliji. Small pieces of meat are rolled in starch and fried in a wok, then a special sauce is added, ready meal sprinkled with sesame seeds. The dish is very pleasant: tender, sour and sweet are very well combined in it, and, most importantly, it is absolutely not spicy. By the way, in some places pork is replaced with chicken, which is also good.

Marinated carp or sweet and sour fish (糖醋鲤鱼tángcù lǐyú)

This dish is very similar to pork in sweet and sour sauce, but instead of meat, it uses fish, as the name implies, mainly carp. The fish is cooked and served on the table as a whole, and to make it more convenient to eat with chopsticks, special cuts are made. For cooking, the same sweet and sour sauce is used, but the dish itself is more tender. The only negative, in my opinion, is that it is not very convenient to choose bones with chopsticks, and I have not learned how to deal with fish like the Chinese. For fish, as well as for almost all other dishes, rice must be ordered separately. For lovers of a combination of sour and sweet, I recommend trying both fish and pork.

Noodles in beef broth (牛肉面 niúròu miàn）

The signature dish of all Chinese Muslims is noodles in beef broth (niu rou mien). You can try it in almost any city in China, but its homeland is the city of Lanzhou, in northwestern China. The noodles are cooked by hand, boiled and poured with beef broth. Then greens (cilantro, onion), pieces of meat are put on a plate and spices are added. If you do not like spicy, then you can ask not to add pepper, and the broth itself is not spicy.

Noodle cooking is mostly done by men, because it is a very difficult job and strong hands are needed, at least I have not seen women doing this. The dough is punched, stretched, and then beaten on the table, and so on several times. The thinner the resulting noodles are, the more skillful the master is considered to be.

Fried noodles (炒面 chǎomiàn)

By the way, in China, noodles are not just a dish, but also a good sign. Long stripes symbolize long life, so the Chinese believe that eating it is not only tasty, but also healthy. In addition to Muslim noodles, you should also try fried noodles(chao mien). In a special sauce, the Chinese fry the noodles along with the egg, various vegetables, meat or seafood. It turns out tasty, but, as for me, too greasy.

Personally, I think that Chinese cuisine is quite fatty and therefore difficult for the stomach, but how many people have so many opinions. I once asked why add so much oil to all dishes, it's tasteless. Then a familiar Chinese woman explained that earlier, not only in ancient times, but also after Mao Zedong came to power, the majority of the country's population lived very poorly, and they could not afford the use of oil. It was considered a sign of prosperity and well-being, so now, pouring oil on the dishes abundantly, they want to show that everything is fine with them and they do not feel sorry for anything for the guests.

Baozi (包子 bāozi)

Chinese baozi are large, steamed so-called dumplings, or pies made from unleavened dough. Their filling can be both meat and vegetarian (various greens, carrots, mushrooms).

They are usually served with vinegar, which is also dark in color, so do not confuse it with soy sauce, and different seasonings. Baozi can be bought both on the street and in a restaurant. In China, there is even a famous fast-food chain that exclusively deals with their preparation.

Jiaozi (饺子 jiǎozi)

Jiaozi are Chinese boiled or fried dumplings. They can also have absolutely any filling, they differ from baozi in size and method of preparation.

Chicken, or gongbao chicken (宫保鸡丁gōngbǎo jīdīng)

Another famous Chinese dish- gongbao chicken. Traditionally, it belongs to Sichuan cuisine and is very spicy. I don’t eat spicy myself, but I really like the combination of ingredients in this dish (chicken, peanuts or cashews, carrots, cucumber or zucchini). When I order myself a non-spicy gongbao chicken, the Chinese sometimes laugh, sometimes get angry, and they always say that without hot Sichuan pepper, it becomes completely different. If you are a spicy lover, then you should try the dish prepared according to the original recipe, and if not, you can always ask to make it without pepper, you just have to say bu yao lazi (不要辣子bùyàolàzi)

Ho-go (火锅 huǒguō)

There is another interesting dish in China, it is called ho-go (or samovar). It is interesting because visitors cook their own food. Either one large container with broth or several small ones (depending on the number of people) and raw prepared foods are brought to the table. It can be various types of meat, seafood, tofu, mushrooms, vegetables, herbs. The container is placed on a heating surface, and when the broth boils, it means that it is time to throw food there. When the products are cooked, they need to be taken out and eaten with special sauces. Broth and sauces are different, spicy and not, with various additives. Actually, this is very nice way spend time in the company, and the Chinese very often go to eat ho-go, and at the same time sing karaoke right there.

"Spicy Pan" (麻辣香锅 málàxiāng guō)

For this dish, you must first choose products, as on a buffet. It can be vegetables, mushrooms, meat, seafood, tofu, and then they are cooked in a special sauce and spices. The price depends on the number of selected products. Usually the price for vegetables is one, for meat and seafood another. When you have chosen the ingredients, they are weighed, and the price is determined by weight.

Pork in fish sauce (鱼香肉丝 yúxiāng ròusī)

For this dish, the meat is cut into strips and fried for big fire adding sauce, garlic and hot peppers. According to the most Chinese, the sauce gives the dish fishy smell, therefore, in literal translation, the name sounds like "pork with the taste of fish." In fact, the fishy taste is not felt there, and the dish is quite tasty and interesting.

If you do not eat meat, then in China this will not be a big problem, because there are quite a lot of different vegetarian dishes, in this case you need to know the word - su 素 sù, which means lean, or vegetarian. Meat will be hun 荤 hūn. For example, you can say wo bu chi hong de 我不吃荤的 (wǒ bù chī hūnde) I don't eat meat, or show them this phrase, they will understand you and offer food for vegetarians.

Chinese desserts

As such, there are no desserts in Chinese restaurants, and in traditional Chinese cuisine, there is no abundance of sweets even in stores. In fact, the Chinese do not really like everything sweet, somehow it has not worked out for a long time. Therefore, I would say that China is not a country for the sweet tooth. delicious sweets here, except for imports. But they found an excellent and healthier substitute - fruits.

Fruits

As a dessert, restaurants often serve sliced ​​papaya with some kind of sweet syrup, or sometimes it can be other fruits, such as mango or pineapple.

Most often, a Chinese festive meal ends with big dish beautifully laid out fruit, although fruit can be served at the very beginning, there are no strict rules on this. Fruit plates are ordered even in bars for beer.

Street vendors everywhere sell other fruit treat tanhulu - fruits on a stick (糖葫芦 tánghúlu) filled with either caramel or sugar syrup. Any fruit can be used, but most often these are small Chinese apples. Worth a try for a change. By the way, the Chinese also refer to the cherry tomato as a fruit, so it can be found in fruit juices, and in sweet salads, and even on cake decoration, and in such tanhulu too.

Even before coming to China, when I went to our Chinese restaurants, I tried just amazing dessert - fruits in caramel (拔丝水果básīshuǐguǒ, and was very surprised that I could not find them in my supposed homeland. If you are lucky enough to see something like this on the restaurant menu, be sure to try it, it must be very tasty.

Bakery

Pastries and cakes 蛋糕

IN Lately in China, various confectionery and European cafes have become very fashionable, which offer a variety of cakes, pastries and other desserts. But I can't call them delicious. Chinese cakes and pastries look insanely beautiful and appetizing, each cake is a work of art, but, unfortunately, they do not have special taste qualities. So different in appearance, they all taste the same: a biscuit, a lot of cream and fruit on top, this is where the fantasy of Chinese confectioners ends. Under the influence of the West, in recent years, the Chinese have begun to buy birthday cakes, although there was no such tradition before.

Egg cream tart (蛋挞 dàntà)

Among the Chinese, these tartlets are in great demand and are sold both on the streets, supermarkets, confectioneries, and in cafes and restaurants. Puff pastry base filled with tender egg cream and baked. Such a delicacy is also cheap, from 3 yuan apiece.

Gold and silver mantou (金银馒头 jīnyín mántou)

In general, mantou is a kind of Chinese unleavened bread, but there is also a kind of dessert. Steamed buns are served with condensed milk. Buns of two colors are laid out on one dish, hence the name. Golden ones are covered with syrup and baked in the oven, they are more tasty, white buns are quite bland.

holiday sweets

Safety and cleanliness

Compared to our cafes and restaurants, many Chinese establishments look extremely unpresentable, they are not particularly clean, and a lot is cooked right on the street, the seller immediately takes the money, cuts the meat with the same hand. Plus, visitors themselves litter a lot, and it is not always cleaned properly, the only exceptions are expensive restaurants. Many first-time visitors to the country experience shock and horror, and I myself was like that. I always tried to imagine, if it's such a mess in the hall, then what's going on in the kitchen? But, to be honest, neither with me, nor with my acquaintances and friends, any food poisoning or other food-related troubles have happened here in 4 years of my life, no matter where we ate.

Most importantly, try to choose crowded and relatively clean places. If the cafe is tasty, then every day there will be a lot of people there, if the place is empty, this is already suspicious. However, the attendance of a place must be judged by time, because, as you remember, the Chinese observe the regime. If the cafe is empty during dinner or lunch, this should be alarming, but if it is empty at other times, then this is almost normal.

Personally, I have doubts about the quality of China's food products, in fact, everyone knows that this is a country of fakes, and products are no exception. Every now and then I read in the news about another scandal, then fake meat went on sale, then fake eggs, then banned substances are found in the products. Sometimes the news is also broadcast about unscrupulous owners of establishments who put drugs in food in order to ensure a constant influx of customers. So you always need to be careful, because health depends on it.

When you live here all the time, it's not funny at all. Many Chinese prefer to buy more expensive but higher quality imported products. But still I hope that not everything is as bad as it seems, and at least some useful material in Chinese products all the same is. Of course, if we compare it with home-made ones, then our products are of higher quality, and somehow everything is tastier.

Food prices

Food prices in China are completely different, it all depends on the status of the institution and the city. The cost starts from 1-2 USD per serving of rice with vegetables or noodles and goes up to infinity. Naturally, in large cities, such as Shenzhen, Guangzhou, food prices not only in establishments, but also in stores will be higher, in small towns they will be lower. The price also depends on the quality of the ingredients.

The most cheap food at street vendors. In addition to the fact that in every city there are entire streets and markets where food stalls are located, every day, hourly, hawkers go to universities, schools and other public places. For breakfast here for 1-2 USD you can buy a sandwich with an egg, sausage or vegetables, soy milk, boiled egg, corn, fruits on a stick. At other times, kebabs, vegetables are fried here, they sell cold noodles, different cakes and other snacks. I would advise you to try the local hamburger, it is called "joujiabing" (肉夹饼, ròujiābǐng) flatbread, inside of which they put fried meat with spices, very tasty and satisfying.

In seaside towns, hawkers prepare seafood and fish; in Muslim towns, various shish kebabs. In general, of course, in every city on the streets you can find very tasty and interesting dishes, and most of the time eating street food in China is quite safe. You should not be afraid to buy food on the streets, but, of course, hygiene must be observed and places chosen carefully.

It will cost a little more to eat in small cafes and eateries. But also within 2 USD you can order a portion of boazzi or jiaozi. For the same money you can buy a portion of fried noodles or rice with egg and vegetables, or with meat, but there will be very little meat. Usually meat dishes are more expensive, vegetarian ones are cheaper. In most establishments, a portion of boiled rice costs 2 yuan - 0.31 USD, you can take any other dish with it, for example, the average price for pork in sweet and sour sauce in an inexpensive cafe will be 20-30 yuan (3-5 USD), if you take, for example, eggplant in fish sauce (鱼香茄子yú xiāng qiézi), it will be less than 20 yuan.

But prices depend on the city and location of the establishment. In tourist places, everything will be about 2 times more expensive. With the exception of rice, which is served individually, portions in China are large enough for two to fill up.

In a restaurant, the price for one dish on average will start from 50 yuan and more, it all depends on the restaurant itself and the quality of service.

Recently, many buffet restaurants have opened in China. The Chinese call them establishments of European cuisine, although, in my opinion, there is no smell of European cuisine there, but you cannot call these dishes traditionally Chinese either. Everything is served there: from appetizers to desserts, there are often different seafood. The entrance fee varies from 50 to 200 yuan, but it can be more expensive.

Chinese cuisine is truly amazing, diverse and multifaceted. Because of this, the Chinese National dishes have long been widely known and loved outside of their homeland. It is worth coming to China at least to taste its best dishes, no one will remain indifferent with such an abundance of choice. Here you can really find food for every taste and budget. And even after many years, China will not cease to amaze, because it is simply impossible to try everything.

China not only creates everything in the world, but also fakes everything around. See how it happens and what comes out of it.

Cardboard buns

To soften cardboard, Chinese street vendors soaked in industrial chemicals. What happened is wrapped in dough and steamed.

In 2007, the China Daily reported that the Beijing police had detained a television broadcaster for an article about cardboard pastries. It came at a time when food quality in China was under intense international scrutiny.

At the same time, a story filmed by Beijing TV about the illegal sale of dumplings in eastern Beijing with cardboard soaked in caustic soda with the addition of pork flavoring, spun on China Central Television.

Read:

Melamine milk

NEARLY 53,000 CHINESE CHILDREN AND NEWBORN BORN SICK DUE TO DAIRY PRODUCTS CONTAINING MELAMINE

A terrible scandal with melamine milk in China happened in 2009. Nearly 53,000 Chinese children and newborns have become sick due to dairy products containing melamine. 40,000 were treated as outpatients, 14,000 were in hospitals across China. 4 newborns died.

By mixing milk with melamine, you can artificially increase the protein in milk and deceive dairy producers.

*Melamine is a decorative, water and mechanical damage resistant coating, a synthetic material, which is also called artificial veneer. Melamine is a plastic high strength, which can successfully imitate natural wood veneer, at the same time, it is much cheaper.

Read:

artificial eggs

And China is famous for its famous counterfeiting scandal. chicken eggs. The change was discovered by the buyers themselves. Eggs, by the way, were sold all over China.

Their eggshells are made from calcium carbonate, the yolk and albumen are made from sodium alginate, alum, gelatin, and edible calcium chloride. In what happened, add water and food coloring. Oh how!

First you need to pour a certain amount of sodium alginate into warm water and mix with yolk to shape. Then all this is mixed with gelatin and benzoic acid, alum and God knows what else to make egg white. To color the yolk its color, simply add lemon food coloring.

To recreate the egg shell, all this porridge is placed along with calcium chloride in a special form. The shell is made from paraffin, gypsum powder, calcium carbonate and much more ... .. yum-yum.

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fake rice noodles

According to the local press, in 2010, in the south of China, great amount rice noodles made from rotten grains and potentially carcinogenic additives.

The Beijing Youth Newspaper then wrote: “Nearly 50 factories in the southern Chinese city Dongguan produces about 500,000 kilograms (1.1 million pounds) of colored rice noodles a day using stale and moldy grains.”

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artificial rice

In 2011, according to Weekly Hong Kong, a newspaper published in Korean- in the Chinese city of Tuan, in the province of Shaanxi, the production of fake rice is flourishing. This “rice” is a mix of sweet potatoes and…plastic. It is created in the process of mixing potatoes and sweet potatoes in a special “rice mold”. Well, “it” is kneaded on industrial synthetic resins. Since this “miracle of the human brain” does not behave like normal rice, it remains tough even after cooking. It is clear that one can not even talk about the dangers of such a product.
The Chinese Restaurant Association said that eating three bowls of this rice is like eating a plastic bag.

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glowing pork

In the same 2011, a woman bought a kilogram of pork for grocery market northern road Yang Gao.

After dinner, the hostess put the leftover pork in a bowl and left it on the kitchen table. At 11 pm, Ms. Chen got out of bed to go to the bathroom and noticed a faint blue light in the kitchen. The radiance radiated from the pork.

After that, one after another, the residents of Changsha began to notice the blue “pig glow” at night from meat from supermarkets. As soon as this information reached the press, the Changsha Food Safety Supervision Commission raised every conceivable department of business, trade, industry, animal husbandry and health to its ears. Experts and teachers were involved in the investigation.
Through the separation of scientifically cultured bacteria, the experts found that the “blue pork light” was nothing more than secondary bacterial mixing. Shanghai Health Department experts say the pork was contaminated with a phosphorescent bacterium.

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fake wine

In March 2012, according to Reuters, wine connoisseur Ginny Cho Li discovered a fake drink at a gala dinner in Hong Kong.

“What do we see across the country? Many imitators and outright fakes in the rapidly developing winemaking market. And the victims of the fakes are the inexperienced Chinese consumer.”- said Ian Ford, managing director of the company

Summergate Fine Wines Shanghai is one of the major players in the premium wine market.

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Fake rat meat. Photo source: idesigntimes.com

More than 900 people have been arrested in China for their involvement in food fraud crimes. For example, the sale of rat, mink and fox meat instead of beef and lamb.

A total of 382 counterfeit cases in the food industry were uncovered in three months of active campaigning by the Chinese Ministry of Public Security.

In addition to false labeling, the criminals used banned substances in meat processing. According to the Xinhua News Agency, meat products infected with any disease, went to the shops without checking. And for weight, water was pumped into the meat.

During the cleansing operation, the security forces seized more than 20,000 tons of illegal meat products.

The ministry says it will continue its campaign to combat crime and violations in the food industry.

Although, fake meat is a problem not only in China. Just recently in Europe there was an incident with the substitution of expensive beef: horse meat stuffed with a prohibited drug got into the house of buyers.

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Nuts with cement instead of a kernel

The plan of the scam is quite simple - the nut is opened, the contents are taken out of it and cement and paper are poured. Then the shell is glued again. To double sales, scammers need only sell real nuts mixed with fake ones.

Such a trade appeared in China after the price of nuts went ridiculously sky-high - from 350 yuan 10 years ago to 3,500 yuan, or 20,000 - 30,000 (almost $ 5,000) last year.

There are a wide variety of Chinese dishes that you might be interested in cooking, but before you start mastering the preparation of this Chinese food, there are a few basics that you should learn. Each recipe changes, but there are some ingredients that you will see more often than others and some methods that you should be aware of in order to use. There is also a special kitchenware, the question of the acquisition of which you must.

Steps

Part 1

Stock of basic ingredients

Buy lots of rice and noodles. Rice is definitely one of the key elements in Chinese cuisine, so you need to have plenty of it on hand when you want to prepare a dish. There are also some varieties of noodles commonly used in Chinese cooking. These noodles are usually rice-based.

Use the right vegetable oil. Many cooking methods used in preparing Chinese food require special cooking oil. You need to make sure that the oil you choose can withstand the heat you plan to use when cooking. Also keep in mind that some oils have a stronger flavor than others.

Familiarize yourself with common sauces and liquid seasonings. As you cook more Chinese food, you will most likely be working with a range of sauces, pastes, and other liquid seasoning ingredients. Soy sauce is one of the ingredients that even novice cooks recognize, but there are a few more that are worth knowing about as well.

• Soy sauce is used in marinades and sauces, and some even use it as a condiment. He has a salty spicy taste And the best varieties tastes fresh. Look for brands that are naturally brewed.
• Dark soy sauce is fermented longer than standard soy sauce and as a result has a sweeter, less salty taste.
• Tamari is similar to soy sauce in that it is made with big amount soybeans. It is thicker and has a smoother, more complex taste. You can also get a gluten-free version if your dietary needs require it.
• At rice vinegar light color and very mild taste. It is used to provide acid in Chinese cooking, but its acid content is often lower than american vinegars. Chinese black vinegar, on the other hand, is similar to balsamic vinegar and it has a richer flavor.
• Fish and oyster sauces made from seafood extracts and various spices. They can have a sweet, even savory taste, and are typically added to seafood and vegetable dishes.
• Chili sauce - fast way add more spiciness and flavor to the dish, but the amounts you use should vary depending on how spicy you want the final dish to taste.
• Hoisin sauce is another sauce with a sweet, smoky flavor. You will typically use this spreadable sauce with stir-fry or with ribs.
• Rice wine adds a little more flavor to sauces and marinades. It is more common in Japanese cooking than Chinese, but there are a few Chinese recipes that call for some rice wine. If you don't have it and can't find it at your local grocery store, you should replace it with dry sherry.

1. Also store dry seasonings. Dried herbs and spices are not as important as they end up as liquid seasonings, but there are a few that you will use often in your dishes so you should be aware of them beforehand.

   Know what fruits and vegetables to include. While some of the foods you'll find in Chinese cuisine may seem familiar, others may be a new area for you. Use fresh fruits and vegetables when possible, and when that is not possible, buy high quality canned food.

   Use the right protein sources. Eggs are a common source of protein in Chinese cuisine. Tofu is another popular choice. However, it should be noted that Chinese food can include large amounts of meat, poultry, and seafood.

   Part 2

   Grab special cooking utensils

   1. Take the wok. A wok is a specific type of bowl-shaped pan used for cooking on the stove. With its high sides and strong base, it is suitable for most cooking methods that involve hot oil or other hot liquids. The shape itself is designed to distribute heat evenly.

      Practice using chopsticks. Chopsticks are an essential food item if you want to eat Chinese food in a traditional manner, but they are also great. kitchen utensils. Make sure to use chopsticks made for cooking, as they tend to be longer and can be tied at the end with a strip to make them easier to hold together.

      • Use chopsticks when you need to flip and lift fried food, mix fried foods, or mix soups.
      • Although, if you don't have chopsticks, you could do the same tasks with standard set tongs, mixing with a spoon or spatula, depending on the task.

   2. Use a cleaver. A Chinese cleaver is essentially a large knife that you use to cut vegetables and meat. It has a heavy, smooth blade and is very sharp, making it capable of slicing through even the toughest vegetables.

   3. Invest in a rice cooker. While a rice cooker isn't absolutely essential, having one will certainly make your life easier if you plan on cooking Chinese food frequently. These devices come in many sizes, so make sure you choose one based on the number of people you tend to end up serving food to when you cook.

      • However, if you don't have a rice cooker, you can cook rice on the stove with a standard pot with a lid. This way, it may be harder to cook the rice evenly, but it's certainly doable.

   4. Learn how to use the steamer. If you plan on steaming a lot of Chinese food, invest in a traditional bamboo steamer. These steamers come in stackable layers so you can cook up to four or five meals at once. Dishes that take longer to cook are placed on the bottom layer, while those that cook quickly are placed on a higher level.

      • You can use other types of steamers if you don't have a bamboo one. A standard metal steamer will work well. In a pinch, you can also put a fine mesh sieve inside a saucepan with a little boiling water and a lid.

   Part 3

   Practice key cooking techniques

   1. Master the art of frying. This is the most important cooking technique you should know, so learn it as thoroughly as you can. You will heat some oil in a wok or similar pot and quickly cook your food over high heat.

      • You will usually need to cut your food or grind it into small pieces. Small pieces cook faster and more evenly, so they are suitable for this technique.
      • Oil is added to a preheated wok. Fragrant Ingredients cooked after that, followed by the main ingredients. Add the sauce and spices just before the meat is browned, then remove the meat and cook any vegetables.

   2. Check out other forms of frying. Even though frying is the culinary technique most often associated with Chinese food If you want to master Chinese cooking, you should also learn a few other frying techniques.

      • Flash frying is similar to standard frying, but you use a base sauce to cook the ingredients instead of cooking oil.
      • Flash frying is also similar to frying, but you use even more heat to cook food almost instantly. The meat is usually coated with egg and starch to hold the juices.
      • Deep-frying is done in a heavy-bottomed saucepan with plenty of oil. This oil must be kept close to the smoke point throughout the cooking process and food must be dry when dipped in oil. Foods should also be cooked in small portions at a time and fully immersed in oil.
      • Paper-wrapped deep-fry is similar to standard deep-fry, but small pieces of fish or meat are wrapped in cellophane before being immersed in hot oil.
      • Pan frying or shallow frying is done with a little oil and low heat.

   3. Know how to boil and stew. There are a few various methods cooking methods used in Chinese cuisine that involve several forms of simmering or simmering.

      • Stews are quite common, but most Chinese stews have only meat instead of meat and vegetables. Traditionally, these stews would have been cooked in clay pot on slow fire charcoal, and the result is a thick stew that is almost like jelly (in terms of softness).
      • You can blanch or simmer your food. During this process, food is quickly cooked in boiling water or simmering broth. Blanch foods in liquid only for a few brief moments when cooked foods cooked to readiness.
      • Boiled foods are cooked in boiling water, as you would expect. The building blocks of a brew include several different ingredients when boiled together.
      • Pickling is the most important for knowledge. Standard pickling is used for fruits and vegetables in Chinese cuisine, and involves soaking these ingredients in wine, soy sauce, vinegar, and various seasonings. Wine soaking is a particular kind of pickling that uses some form of wine.
      • Dry marinating is usually done with meat. Dry spices and seasonings are rubbed onto the ingredients and left to soak before cooking.
      • Puree pickling is a special type of pickling that involves placing ingredients in a fermented mash of grains left over from the winemaking process.
      • Beating - refers to the process of beating meat with the flat side of a cleaver or the end of a cleaver. This softens the meat before cooking.

Once in China and sticking their nose out of the hotel, tourists are initially in a state of shock. Surprise is everything - architecture, people, hieroglyphs on signs. Particularly striking street food: looks like a sausage, but tastes like rice. It seems to be sweet pie but with bacon. The Chinese have a peculiar relationship with food. For example, they consider tomatoes and red beans to be fruits and add them to the cake with pleasure. Therefore, it is better to get acquainted with the features of street food in advance. Read our article on unusual street food in China to get more impressions of the wonderful country!

For a snack - duck and snake heads, cockroaches, larvae

The tourist streets of Chinese resorts are full of stalls with marinated skewers made from cockroaches, grasshoppers, locusts and other evil spirits. Curious, yes. But tasteless, disgusting and quite dangerous.

Do not eat dried reptiles on the streets. Is not traditional food for the Chinese, and a classic lure for tourists.

"Normal" Chinese establishments also serve shocking dishes - duck heads, snake heads, fried little birds and pickled embryos. They are invitingly lying on the distribution smorgasbords and no one is horrified. For a European, such dishes are not something that would not be tasty, rather incomprehensible. Try fried sparrows or chicks crucified on skewers - it's up to you.

Did not like? Try century eggs!

Of course, these black eggs with amazing aroma not 100 years, but only a few months. The Chinese soak chicken, duck, quail eggs in an alkaline solution, then wrap them in polyethylene and leave them alone for several months. When the eggs are properly spoiled and become a beautiful black color, they are served at the table.

For the main course - soup with giblets, a bull's penis and a pig's uterus

The Chinese have their own understanding of the meat dish, from which it is easy to become a vegetarian. They eat not only fillets, ribs, shoulder blades, but also the insides of the animal. If you ordered soup, it can be with heart, stomach, lungs. fried chicken giblets or paws is a classic of Chinese cuisine. They are marinated in soy sauce, then fried or grilled, and then served in street cafes.

In barbecue bars in China, you can unknowingly order the uterus of a pig. And then guess what kind of meat it is and why it does not chew. Bull penis is another classic of the genre. We have not tried it, but tourists admit that the meat is not bad - porous and soft.

Did you miss human food? Try traditional flatbread and dumplings!

If you see a cook on the street preparing round white cakes, take it without hesitation. These are quite familiar pies with onions, very tasty and juicy. Just make sure the merchant makes you as much food as you need. Often they name the price for one unit, prepare two at once, and then pay you. Be alert!

When homesickness has stuck, you can have a bite to eat with Chinese fried dumplings. Unlike Russian dish, seafood, fish, spinach, meat are added inside. The dough is made from rice flour. Dumplings are tasty, juicy, but often spicy. In general, eat without fear - no cockroaches are put inside!

Pea ice cream for dessert!

Strawberry, vanilla, ice cream and chocolate - it's all so boring! In China, you need to try something that you won’t find in your native Pyaterochka. For example, pea-flavored ice cream. You will recognize it by the picture of green peas on the package. They say dessert has enough funny taste, which is not at all like Olivier salad.

What about corn-flavored candies?

If you can't live without chocolate, take Alyonka with you. There are no normal tiles and sweets in China. There are many sweets here - candied fruits and flowers, fresh exotic fruits, but we can’t find chocolate “bears” and “squirrels” familiar to us. Chinese "chocolate" is made up of soy, sugar, and who knows what thickeners and preservatives. There are no problems with caramels and sweets - go to any supermarket and pick a couple of sweets at random. With such purchases, you can arrange an attraction, as in Harry Potter. Someone will get a candy with sesame seeds, someone with pineapple, and the lucky one will get fudge with corn filling.

Wash it all down with tea!

If every time in a restaurant it is difficult for you to decide what you still want more - tea or coffee, then in Taiwan there will be no such problems. Here the locals are very fond of special drink Yuanyang. It consists of 2/3 milk oolong and 1/3 freshly brewed espresso. The drink is universal - in winter it is drunk hot, in summer it is served with ice cubes.

The conclusion is simple: With tender stomach In China, it's better not to try anything! If you're afraid, limit yourself to grilled chicken, noodles and desserts.

Amazing things about food. Meat and eggs, it turns out, can also be a Chinese fake. And already in China itself they recognize that not all of their products are equally useful even for trained athletes.

Dr. Zhou has an assignment of national importance. She finds out which foods are harmless for the Chinese national team, which is supposed to go to the Olympics in London.

"We have already banned them from eating in our restaurants, where the dishes have such additives that it would be simply impossible to pass a doping control in London," says doctor Zhou He.

One of them is clenbuterol. In small quantities, it is an asthma remedy. But in China, it is also added in huge doses to livestock feed - to gain weight. Following the food chain, it accumulates in the human body, causing not only growth muscle mass, but also pressure surges, and even a failure of the immune system.

"If an athlete eats on the side, he must report what and where he ate. You will be surprised, but we will check the restaurant. The reputation of our entire sport depends on this," says doctor Zhou He.

At previous Games in Beijing, there were already doubts that some Chinese athletes honestly earned gold medals. Especially when the weightlifter Liu Chunhong added to the record of the Russian woman Oksana Slivenko not two or five, but all ten kilograms at once. The results of Chinese women in diving competitions were also called unrealistic. Skeptics have hinted that either doping tests are not up to par, or the Chinese are eating something that turns them into superheroes.

"In London, we want to win everyone again. Maybe our athletes should also refuse other products whose quality leaves much to be desired?" - says nutritionist Ma Zhongzhen.

PRC television footage amazed the whole country: in China, watermelons began to explode - in the fields, like land mines. It turned out that it was all about the new fertilizers.

"I only had low-quality products. But we also have counterfeit products in China. They are much worse in quality," says peasant Li Kexin.

The pinnacle of China's food know-how is expensive, marbled beef. It is made from cheap pork using a special paste with the addition of the same clenbuterol. There are also rice made from potatoes and polymer resins, fake eggs, which are made from gelatin, benzoic acid, paraffin and gypsum powder. Even in restaurants, fakes are not always noticed.

"I myself prefer to buy imported eggs. It's more reliable. But the labels in the store can also be re-glued. In general, there is no guarantee," says chef Zheng Tao.

artificial eggs difficult to distinguish from natural. But you can. First, the shell is slightly rough to the touch and sometimes shiny. But the main thing is protein and yolk. After a while, they form a homogeneous mass, as they are made of the same material. But you can understand this only when you break a fake egg.

In China, of course, they support their national team. But this time, concern for the health of the Olympians caused outrage. "Here we are - amateur footballers. What is this? We are now second-class people, and no one forbids us from eating suspicious food?" - says amateur football player Bian Shichun.

According to the Chinese, the authorities do not tighten food quality control just because they are afraid of food shortages. To feed one and a half billion people, and even qualitatively - no public catering in the world has yet taken on such a task.