Traditional Foods
Written by Paul and Jennifer
There are many delicious foods
in the Chinese culture. Chinese meals often consist of a generous
portion of rice, a little bit of poultry, seafood, soup, vegetables,
noodles, and a fruit or gelatin for a dessert.
Many Americans are familiar with the common take-out Chinese food
restaurants. Chinese food is appealing to many Americans.
It's a common take-out food for a quick home meal. Many
of the
dishes you'll find in America are egg rolls, mai fun, or fried
rice.
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There are many types of
egg rolls that are variants of the spring roll. Contents in an
egg roll can range from pork to dried mushrooms, bamboo shoots, to
veggies, or even bell peppers. These egg rolls are
extremely moist and have a succulent
texture. On egg rolls many
people ad seasonings to make them more flavorful. Common
seasonings are soy sauce, rice wine, white peppers, sugar, or salt.
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Mai fun (pronounced Me
f-un) is a white rice noodle eaten throughout most of China, especially
southern China. This particular type of noodle is stringy and
very thin; it can be boiled, fried, or possibly even deep-fried.
Most people add vegetables, meats, or mushrooms for a richer flavor,
and for a more filling meal. Often you will find Mai fun is often
a light brown or tan, this is because people add soy sauce to the
noodles while they are cooking.
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Fried rice is a type of
pan-fried rice eaten in both China and America. Fried rice can
have anything from vegetables to eggs added in it for flavor.
When you add eggs to fried rice, the eggs are usually slightly
salte |
In China what you eat can
depend on where you live. For example, in China the southern
region foods are usually rice-based. Unlike the southern region
of China, northern Chinese foods are often based on wheat and flour,
this is the reason they usually eat more breads there than southern
China.
Some of the main fruits China include some that we find at our everyday
grocery store. They have apples, pears, mandarins, melons, and
more. These fruits are usually eaten for dessert. |
| During the Chinese New Year celebrations many different foods are
prepared. In North China, steamed wheat bread and small meat dumplings
are preferred. They eat a traditional vegetarian dish called jai. In
some dishes whole fish stands for togetherness. Chicken stands for
prosperity. The chicken must be presented with its head, tail, and feet
to represent completeness. More food is eaten during the New Year than
at any other time of the year. Noodles cannot be cut, for uncut noodles
stand for long life. In South China the most popular and typical dishes
are niango, sweet steamed glutinous rice pudding, and zong zi
(gltinous rice wrapped in red leaves). |
Sources
http://www.foodsubs.com/Photos/ricesticks.jpg
http://www.winterjade.com/pics/imbb.rice.07.jpg
http://www.educ.uvic.ca/faculty/mroth/438/CHINA/chinese_new_year.html
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