The Chinese are a fascinating culture when it comes to food. They have a unique approch to eating and there is a ton we can learn from them.
The Chinese are very good at bringing balance to their cuisine. Their foods are often categorized according to their cooling or warming properties. For example, spicy or warm foods like ginger may be paired with cooling ingredients like cucumber in their food. This is very pleasing to the palate – think about adding something cooling to a spicy or strongly flavored dish.
Secondly, the Chinese emphasize using fresh ingredients; anything that is whole, and not dried or frozen. They like to use fresh and seasonal ingredients. In the summer, for example, they might eat cooling dishes with watermelon. In the winter, perhaps they’ll eat hearty, warming foods, like soups or stews, using vegetables that are in season.
The Chinese believe in food as medicine, and that food helps with longevity. They view food as an essential element in maintaining your health. They believe that many ingredients can have medicinal properties, for example, herbs like ginseng and goji berries are used in their food, not just for flavor, but for the medicinal properties that they bring, to boost energy, immunity, and vitality.
In their cooking, they’re also dependent on having ingredients prepared and ready to go. I like this approach: you get everything ready, you wash everything, then you chop everything into uniform pieces. You chop all your vegetables, your onion, and your other ingredients, get them all ready, and organize them, so that they’re ready to dump and go as you cook. I think that’s quite a good way to do it.
Then, there’s the importance of freshness and quality – I’ve already mentioned freshness. The Chinese place great importance on fresh, high quality ingredients, whether they’re fresh vegetables, tender cuts of meat, the right kind of tofu, or anything else that’s carefully chosen to enhance the dish. Freshness is very important. They like to use fresh herbs and spices, not pre-ground or dried ones.
They use a lot of vegetables, and have a lot of variety in their vegetables, but they’re not overcooked – they’re not mushy and overdone. They’re nice and crisp, and the color is bright and they have the right amount of cooking.
I would definitely say that the Chinese are good at flavor – the art of flavor. Chinese cooking balances the five flavors: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami, the less common one. Their dishes use ingredients like soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, and spices to engage the senses. They place a strong emphasis on balancing those flavors – the sweet, the sour, the salty, and the umami – often even in a single dish. For example, a stir fry might include the sweetness of a hoisin sauce, soy sauce brings saltiness, there’ll be something like rice vinegar, bringing the acidity, and then savory flavors of garlic and ginger.
They’re also very good at using texture. The stir fry won’t be overcooked, as I said, but it’ll also be well cooked, it’ll be crispy, contrasting with the soft tender meat, and the sauce added to that. There’ll be the crispy, the tender, and the chewy elements in a dish, bringing that satisfying contrast. They’re also skilled in the art of adding seeds to their meals, like sesame seeds.
The Chinese are so good at unusual things using pastry, such as spring rolls, wontons, and dumplings. Those are all so delicious.
Stir frying is one of their foundational cooking methods. I’m sure you’ve sampled stir fried rice, stir fried vegetables, and stir fried chicken with good flavors, like sweet and sour sauce, teriyaki, or sweet chili. All stir frying requires is a hot wok and an egg lifter type implement. These help to cook the ingredients quickly, but preserve their flavor and their texture.
Braising, steaming, and slow cooking techniques are also used with Chinese cuisine. These methods allow the ingredients to tenderize, and absorb deep flavors over time. Perhaps they would braise meats like pork belly or beef in a soy based sauce. They steam rice and dim sum. They learn patience, and understand how to get just the right amount of cooking, the right amount of texture, and the right amount of flavor.
They’re very good at using aromatics – garlic, ginger, spring onions, and scallions. In many Chinese dishes, they’ll use a flavor base, infusing oil or broth with these aromatics.
One of the things I think Chinese are really brilliant at is broth. One of my favorite soups has chicken and sweet corn in broth – it’s so good. We like to have that when we have a Chinese meal. Of course, we get it as take out, not made at home, because they do it so perfectly. We also love things like sweet and sour chicken, or soy chicken. They really do use oils like sesame oil, and flavoured broth to enhance the flavour of a dish. Broths will be so rich in flavour, with such a depth of it. And then, when they add the broth to any other part of the meal, it really elevates it, and makes it so good.
They’re also good at tempering the aromatics, the garlic, the ginger, the spring onions, etc. by lightly frying them before mixing them into the dish. Layering flavors through sauces is also something they’re known for, using soy sauce, oyster sauce, rice wine, Hoisin sauce and more. They use these as the base for many dishes, and they’re layered in different stages to build the richness and the depth of flavor. Learning how to use and balance these sauces is a great skill.
Then, of course, rice is the staple of Chinese cuisine – often the foundation of the meal. Also, in some regions noodles are central. Both are prepared and served in many variations. Some like perfect steamed rice, whereas others like fried rice or noodle dishes. But the Chinese don’t overdo carbohydrates; they don’t overdo the rice. They use it as the base, but then there’s plenty of meat, broth, and vegetables to balance the meal.
They’re also very good at using pickling and preserving, and these things make the food so healthy. There’s fermented food, preserved meats, and fermented sauces. Fermentation not only adds flavour, but aids in food preservation and contributes to health. Things such as pickled mustard greens and fermented bean pastes add that unique depth to the dishes, and also help to preserve the seasonal ingredients.
The Chinese are very good at balancing their meals by including several dishes served together. There’ll be a protein with vegetables, and there could be soup with rice or noodles. There’s a variety of flavors, a variety of textures, and a variety of nutrients. The fermented food helps with the absorption of those nutrients. There’s harmony in the meal. It’s not just about balancing the flavors, but it’s about creating a complete, satisfying dining experience, where each dish contributes, and then complements the others.
Also, cooking is seen as an expression of tradition and family, and it’s deeply tied to that. Many dishes will be passed down through the generations. Each family or each region would have its own twist on recipes like dumplings, steamed buns, a good stir fry, or soup, or stew. This shows how they value cooking not just for sustenance, but for bonding, for togetherness, and for cultural expression.
The Chinese are so good at creating well balanced, flavorful, and dynamic dishes. They’re very good at knowing when something’s ready – the art of timing. They’re very good at contrasting, including many different flavors, and using their flavors. Old technique and tradition in their cooking are passed down through centuries.
Here are some of the things that I’m really trying to focus on in learning from the Chinese in my cooking: for example, making a broth. I’ve been trying to learn how to make an Asian broth. It involves using the right aromatics, herbs, and spices, and cooking it for the right amount of time, so that it’s just really delicious. Then that can be used as the base of stews and soups.
Then there’s the stir frying technique. I love this technique because it makes the food so delicious without it being overcooked. I’m also trying to learn how to use the different sauces to really complement the food, and not just use all of them, but to learn what each different sauce can do for my meal. Then there’s also the steaming. I have a rice cooker which steams the rice really nicely, and that helps, and then I’ve been learning how to make stir fry rice by adding the egg at the right moment.
Then there’s deciding which vegetables I and the kids enjoy to add to that. And then I’ve been trying to make sure to include fermented foods in the meal, even sometimes adding a little sauerkraut to the stir fry, because that’s what I have on hand.
So, I’m not being strict in trying to fit in exactly to the Chinese structure in the way they would do it, but I’ve been trying to learn from their methods, their concepts, and their flavors, and trying to decide which are the best ones, ones that I want to enjoy. And, as I said before, it’s really interesting how they layer their flavors. So, maybe they’ll cook the broth with good flavor, and then add the broth to the stew to add flavor to that, and then add a sauce for flavor at the end to enhance the dish.
So, what are your favorite things about the way the Chinese cook, and what elements of those can you include in your cooking to enhance your food? And if you were to think of a Chinese meal that you would cook from scratch, or a couple of parts of it, what would you do, or be inspired by? It’s totally fine to get Chinese takeout and enjoy that – notice the flavors of each course, notice the textures, and notice what sauces are used and see what you enjoy.
