Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-10-06
CHINESE COOKERY.
KITCHEN SUPPLIES OF A RESTAU-
RANT ON MOTT STREET.
A Great Variety of Spices and Condi-
ments-A Stock of Standard Foods,
Many of Which Arc Not Familiar to
AruericonS-saucaS

A. Great Variety of Spices and Condi- |
ments-A Stock of Standard Foods, |
Many of Which Arc Not Familiar to
s Americans-Sauees. |
Long before Lucullus immortal;zed him |
self by regaling the jeunesse doree of Rome
with his hundred thousand dollar dinners his
prototypes were indulsing in the same pleas
ures on similar scale in Pekin and Fook
Chow, for gastronomy has been among the
fine arts in China almost from tine beginning
of Chinese history. The Chinese chef has an
official status of at least forty centuries du-
ration. Two thousand years before the Chris
tian era he was esteemed as highly and paid
as literally as he is today, and now he is eX-
ceedingiy well paid
For example, the chef in a restaurant in
Mott street came to New York from San
Francisco under a contract by which he re-
ceives 800 month, besides his board and
| lodging, for his services. All things consid
cred, this salary is fully equivalent to the
| Sc 900 year paid to such chefs as preside in
the kitchens of the Hoffman house, Delmoni-
| cos, the Union League club and the Wander
bilt mansion. The Mongolian chef, to judge
by Lee All, who IS the distinguished individual
mentioned, is curiously like his Caucasian
colleague in that he is dignified, egotistical,
petulant and thoroughly independent. I'm
like the Caucasian, however, the great man
of the Chinese kitchen believes in working
himself at the simplest tasks in order to keep
himself in practice.
In taking charge of the kitchen of great
restaurant his first work is to supply himself
with a great variety of spices and condi-
ments and in this particular he is fully
qualified to give points to the jaded sybarites
OF the Occident In his stores will be black,
white and red pepper, as well as the pimento
of the tropics; curry, chutney, mustard,
ginger tho favorite spice of the east, green,
dried, picked, sweetened and pulverized;
see-yu, which is the father of SOY and the
grandfather of Worcestershire sauce; olive
oil, peanut OIL cotton seed oil, clarified butter
(the ghee Of lndial onions, shallo;s, chives,
leeks, garlic fu-qua and su-qua highly cul-
tivated bitter cucumbers; natal, for which
there is no English name; orange and lemon
peel, vinegar, lemon juice, powdered crat
and lobster shells, a curious preparation con
tanning iron, half a dozen forms of dried
mushrooms, and not less than fifty powerful
condiments and spices unknown 10 American:
and having no English names.
In every kitchen is a stock of standard
foods, but few of which are familiar to tht
American eye. Among the more interesting
are smoked chicken, duck and pigeon, which
unlike our smoked meats, retain the natura
color and appearance; shrimps, prawns
oysters and clans which have been dried BY
some mysterious process, unknown to us
until they are as hard and durable as wood
L a fish that suggests sardlnes in OIL but whicl
e is foot in length, from two TO three pound
in weight, packed in sardine box cubi
:, foot in size; dried fishes which range from
IL tiny sprat smaller than but similar to tn
I English whitebait, to monster eight fee
long, two feet wide, and two inches thick
preserved cabbage, which is rolled up so as t
t suggest a ball of yarn: bean, pea and whea
gluten in long candy like sticks, which ar
made by crushing the cereal and removin
) the starch by often repeated washings; cd
sausages of which each one is suspended b
brilliant colored cords. and is stuffed, nc
with aa indistinguishable hash or past,
but with alternating dice of fat an
eau meat; huge cans filed with tt
famous edible bamboo tips, which loo
and smell like huge asparagus, but tasi
unlike anything in Christian market
water lily Leaves, which are used both as
food and as coloring material, imparting
beautiful green to any white food with whiC
they may be cooked; preserved eggs, {
which each one is embalmed In rough ma
a. | of quick lime, charcoal and fish glue 81
sprouts, which resemble a string bean tw
. feet in length
Occasionally in the wealthiest establis
ments may be seen the celebrated bird
nests, which look for all the world like ire
ular masses of coopers' glue; sharks fin
which are greenish white pieces of desiccat'
soft cartilage; beche-de-la-mer, mollusk
n high order, which is a first cousin of Vict
Hugos devil fish; and dried sea anenone
which bear the same culinary resemblance
birds nests that swapping turtles do to t
diamond back terrapiu. Some idea of t
luxuriousness of the Mongol is afforded
the prices he charges for these delicacit
Dried clans cost 81 pound; dried oystel
SL50; sharks fins, 81 to S., according
quality; beche-de-la- amer, from 40 cents to
and birds nests, from $50 to $50 dozen.
J. In Chinese cooking sauces play as impol
~ ant part as in the cuisine at Les FreI
Proveneeau For the preparation of the
as well IS for the thickening of soups and t
concoction of made dishes,n there will
bowlfuls of the finest wheat -four a
starch, and of that finest of all amylacec
Il foods. rice -four In this and in other
spects the stores of the kitchen contain I
~ same articles as first class American rests
~ rant kitchens Whatever is to be found
our larders finds a place there, and I
numerous articles mentioned add the vari.
which is the main Distinguishing feature
the Chinese cuisine
The furniture of the kitchen presents
cur; ;ous instance OF the invasion of the e
by the west, for the cast iron stove CT RAJ
is found beside the brick bench Used
China, which greatly resembles the one 7
commended by Count Rumford in his fam
studies at the beginning of the century.
bench is about four feet high, four feet W
J. and from ten to twenty feet in length.
one end OF it is a large fireplace cylindri
. in shape, two or three feet In diameter {
three feet deep. This is used in roasti
KIN The remainder of the top of the bench
several circular openings of different si
In the sides and ends there are smaller (
IN places, seldom more than eight inches squl
|Q, The fuel used in cooking is kiln dried VIC
hickory or some similar variety being
as ~ ferred.-Harper's Bazaar.