page_title: Chinese cuisine
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Chinese cuisine / History
caption_attribution_description: Chicken with Chiles 300 gram chickenbreast cut into 2 cm cubes. Marinate for 30 minutes in mixture of: 2 t shaoxing ricewine 1 t light soysauce 1 t dark soysauce � t salt Deepfry in very hot peanutoil for about 4-5 minutes until cooked through, golden brown and a little crispy on the outside. Drain well and set aside. Heat 3 T oil (I used sichuanpepper oil) in wok over a moderate flame and add 2 cloves garlic, sliced 4 cm ginger, sliced Stirfry until fragrant and just taking color. Then add 50 gr dried chiles 1 T sichuan peppercorns And stirfry for 10-20 seconds until the oil is spicy and fragrant. Take grate care not to burn the chiles. Add the fried chicken and 2 spring onions, cut into 4 cm pieces 2 t sugar 1 t salt Stirl well so that the chicken is coated with the fragrand oil. Finally, remove from the heat and add 2 t sesame oil. This was the first time I tried to recreate this dish. It's been 6 years since I had it. And actually, I didn't eat it very often then, as in China they use chopped chicken. So you have little pieces of chicken with bones, fat and skin. And that's too much for me. Although there was this little restaurant where they made it with chickenbreast. And so does Fuchsia Dunlop. The recipe tells you to deepfry the chicken and I did. But I wasn't too happy with that. I think the chicken was overdone and I don't think I have the skills to prevent that in future. So next time I will just stirfry the chicken. Maybe even add some cornstarch or eggwhite for the velvety texture. Come to think of it, the deepfrying is probably necessary when you do use the pieces of chicken including bones, fat and skin. But when you use chickenbreast, there is no need. And maybe, just maybe, I will leave out all the chillies. I know this is so very typical for this dish, but the purpose it to flavour the oil. So I can just as well use the sichuan-chili-oil for this..... Which I already did this time. I only added the extra chiles and sichuanpeppercorns for decoration, hihi. And extra flavour, of course. It was hot. What I did eat a lot, while I was in Beijing, was this dish, but with fried green beans instead of chicken. That was brilliant too. From&#160;: Land of Plenty by Fuchsia Dunlop Update! My third attempt was much better. See the result and recipe here: www.flickr.com/photos/fotoosvanrobin/2866923293/
context_page_description: Chinese cuisine is an important part of Chinese culture, which includes cuisine originating from the diverse regions of China, as well as from Overseas Chinese who have settled in other parts of the world. Because of the Chinese diaspora and historical power of the country, Chinese cuisine has influenced many other cuisines in Asia, with modifications made to cater to local palates. Chinese food staples such as rice, soy sauce, noodles, tea, and tofu, and utensils such as chopsticks and the wok, can now be found worldwide.
  The preference for seasoning and cooking techniques of Chinese provinces depend on differences in historical background and ethnic groups. Geographic features including mountains, rivers, forests and deserts also have a strong effect on the local available ingredients, considering that the climate of China varies from tropical in the south to subarctic in the northeast. Imperial, royal and noble preference also plays a role in the change of Chinese cuisines. Because of imperial expansion and trading, ingredients and cooking techniques from other cultures are integrated into Chinese cuisines over time.
context_section_description: Chinese society greatly valued gastronomy, and developed an extensive study of the subject based on its traditional medical beliefs.  Chinese culture initially centered around the North China Plain. The first domesticated crops seem to have been the foxtail and broomcorn varieties of millet, while rice was cultivated in the south. By 2000 BC, wheat had arrived from western Asia. These grains were typically served as warm noodle soups instead of baked into bread as in Europe. Nobles hunted various wild game and consumed mutton, pork and dog as these animals were domesticated. Grain was stored against famine and flood and meat was preserved with salt, vinegar, curing, and fermenting. The flavor of the meat was enhanced by cooking it in animal fats though this practice was mostly restricted to the wealthy.
  By the time of Confucius in the late Zhou, gastronomy had become a high art. Confucius discussed the principles of dining: "The rice would never be too white, the meat would never be too finely cut... When it was not cooked right, man would not eat. When it was cooked bad, man would not eat. When the meat was not cut properly, man would not eat. When the food was not prepared with the right sauce, man would not eat. Although there are plenty of meats, they should not be cooked more than staple food. There is no limit for alcohol, before a man gets drunk." During Shi Huangdi's Qin dynasty, the empire expanded into the south. By the time of the Han dynasty, the different regions and cuisines of China's people were linked by major canals and leading to a greater complexity in the different regional cuisines. Not only is food seen as giving "qi", energy, but food is also about maintaining yin and yang. The philosophy behind it was rooted in the I Ching and Chinese traditional medicine: food was judged for color, aroma, taste, and texture and a good meal was expected to balance the Four Natures ('hot', warm, cool, and 'cold') and the Five Tastes (pungent, sweet, sour, bitter, and salty). 
  Salt was used as a preservative from early times, but in cooking was added in the form of soy sauce, and not at the table. 
  By the Later Han period (2nd century), writers frequently complained of lazy aristocrats who did nothing but sit around all day eating smoked meats and roasts.
  During the Han dynasty, the Chinese developed methods of food preservation for military rations during campaigns such as drying meat into jerky and cooking, roasting, and drying grain.
  Chinese legends claim that the roasted, flat bread shaobing was brought back from the Xiyu (the Western Regions, a name for Central Asia) by the Han dynasty General Ban Chao, and that it was originally known as hubing (胡餅, lit. "barbarian bread"). The shaobing is believed to be descended from the hubing. Shaobing is believed to be related to the Persian nan and Central Asian nan, as well as the Middle Eastern pita. Foreign westerners made and sold sesame cakes in China during the Tang dynasty.
  During the Southern and Northern Dynasties non-Han people like the Xianbei of Northern Wei introduced their cuisine to northern China, and these influences continued up to the Tang dynasty, popularizing meat like mutton and dairy products like goat milk, yogurts, and Kumis among even Han people. It was during the Song dynasty that Han Chinese developed an aversion to dairy products and abandoned the dairy foods introduced earlier.
  The Han Chinese rebel Wang Su who received asylum in the Xianbei Northern Wei after fleeing from Southern Qi, at first could not stand eating dairy products like goat's milk and meat like mutton and had to consume tea and fish instead, but after a few years he was able to eat yogurt and lamb, and the Xianbei Emperor asked him which of the foods of China (Zhongguo) he preferred, fish vs mutton and tea vs yogurt.
  The great migration of Chinese people south during the invasions preceding and during the Song dynasty increased the relative importance of southern Chinese staples such as rice and congee. Su Dongpo has improved the red braised pork as Dongpo pork.
  The Yuan a
caption: Làzǐ Jī, stir-fried chicken with chili and Sichuan pepper in Sichuan style
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