Chinese Cooking and Culture

Chinese traditonal dress

The Chinese have spread their food culture not only throughout Asia, but also from Britain to Europe to South Africa, and on the other side of the globe, to North America and the Caribbean. Their herbal teas, techniques of stir-fry cooking, steamed vegetables and deep-fried chicken have become mainstays everywhere. The cuisine originates from different regions in China, and the most popular Chinese foods found worldwide are the Cantonese, Szechuan and Hunan styles.

The Chinese introduced noodles and the wok, which is an important utensil in Chinese cooking, to many countries. They also introduced chopsticks, which take the place of the knife and fork. In Britain, Chinese food is known as the most popular ethnic cuisine. In France, Germany, Italy and many other European countries, you will find Chinese restaurants each offering a unique taste. In South Africa, you'll find Afro-Cantonese cooking, which is a blend of native ingredients with Cantonese cuisine, introduced by immigrant laborers form Canton (now known as Guangdong) during the late 19th century.

Say the words "New York" and you may think of Chinatown. U.S. cities like New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles all boast a Chinatown, with the largest being in New York City. You will find hundreds of Chinese shops, groceries, medicine stores and restaurants in these cities. The influence continues throughout Canada in cities like Toronto, where Cantonese cuisine predominates, and Vancouver, where there is a style called New World Chinese Cooking. This style of cooking takes traditional soups, stir-frys, dumplings and steamed dishes and turns them into a new creation of exciting and unique tastes.

When the Chinese migrated to Jamaica, Guiana and Trinidad to work as plantation laborers during the mid-18th and early 19th centuries, they took with them their cuisine. Here, the blending of foods of various ethnic cultures gives Chinese food its own unique flavor. Rice, which is one of the staple products of many of the islands, was actually introduced by the Chinese, who also introduced mustard and noodles to this region. Chinese restaurants and shops and grocery stores are found in abundance on the Caribbean islands.

The Chinese use of vegetables and their quick methods of cooking (with the most popular being stir-fry) have become a mainstay. Chinese cabbage or bok choy, kale, spinach, snow peas, bamboo shoots, bean curds, black mushrooms, scallions and water chestnuts are popular in Chinese dishes.

All you need for a pork-vegetable stir-fry is some thin-cut boneless pork chops, some stir-fry sauce, a medley of vegetables, some oil and your wok. Put your wok on high heat and you can whip up a meal in ten minutes. You can substitute the pork by using chicken or beef or shrimp.