Come to China and expect a great traditional chinese food? It should be, it should be one of the highlights of any trip.
For starters, forget about the dishes you know and trust at home. Although they go by the name of Chinese cuisine, they are often pale shadows of the original and authentic Chinese dish. Sweet and sour, loved by many in the West, is considered too easy to cook, which is why many true Chinese chefs are ashamed of any order for this dish.
In order for the local restaurant staff to really show off their skills, you need to know a lot more about traditional Chinese food.
Traditions in China go back a long time. Civilization here probably started 7000 years ago. The records don’t date that far, but even the oldest records give food a central role in the Chinese way of life. Of course, food back then was simpler, but there were already attempts to understand the effects of diet on health.
During the various dynasties, the variety of dishes and the philosophical concepts underlying their relationships with each other expanded rapidly. Trade brought new ingredients and wealth provided the opportunity for specialist chefs who competed with each other for royal favor. Those who could produce the best dishes and justify their creations in terms of health benefits (actual or purported) could expect the greatest rewards.
The most popular of these dishes left the royal courts and became the common dish of the wealthy in China. As travelers’ inns changed and became restaurants in the Western sense, these dishes became available to regular Chinese diners. Now, with modern transportation and a large migrant population, even regional specialties that did not make it to the royal courts can be widely enjoyed.
Many of these great dishes have wonderful names (Ants climbing trees, Phoenix and Dragon) or special stories associated with them. Discovering them greatly increases meal times.
The language barrier in China is compounded by the use of characters instead of letters. Menus are generally not translated into English, so traditional Chinese food can be difficult to find. You can rely on pointing out what others are eating, but that greatly limits your options. When I first came here, I had a habit of walking into kitchens and pointing out different ingredients in a hopeful way. Sometimes that worked …
To get the food you want and avoid things you certainly don’t want, having something written in characters is essential. It helps to have local friends who can recommend restaurants and dishes.
If you are not lucky enough to have local friends, use mine. Over the years, I have asked my Chinese friends for tips and advice on traditional Chinese food. Now I have put together a guide to save others the same effort. Not everyone will spend seven years here like me.