BLOGGING

                 

      Blogging was an interesting experience. My partner and I were ecstatic when we found out we had the chance to blog for the first time. Our original thoughts on what our blogging experience was nothing compared to actually doing it. We loved blogging. We also learned many things about food cultures of Chinese people.

            My partner and I found out that Chinese people and Americans have similar eating habits but have completely different food choices. Like Americans, Chinese love to eat Ice cream and meat. However they eat Jellyfish, Lotus seeds and other native foods. While we eat lots of unhealthy food. Lots of their foods are based on traditions and religious practices.

            Naturally where you live affects your food choices. Which is why they eat differently than we do. There are approximately zero similarities in the way Chinese and I eat

Magno.!

               
                                                                              Blogging

 Blogging was an interesting experience. My partner and I were ecstatic when we found out we had had chance to blog for the first time. I had fun doing it because I had the chance to discover and know more about China and also some of their foods like Ice Cream I never knew that ice cream originated from China. Also I had the chance to look at some of the peoples blog and what culture they are doing some of them had really good pictures in it and I enjoyed it even though some of the blog has no pictures in it and also some of them the picture is not showing up

food fact about on China

Ice Cream Is Chinese Food!

• When the famous explorer Marco Polo returned to his homeland of Italy, from China in 1295, he brought back a recipe (among other things). The recipe, was a Chinese recipe for a desert called "Milk Ice." However, Europeans substituted cream for the milk, and voila..."Ice Cream." Ice cream has been a hit ever since!

Chinas Tradition dishes / religious practices

Holidays

• Chinese New Year: (Chunjie, also known as "The Spring Festival") First day of the first lunar month. This 15-day long holiday is the most important in the Chinese calendar. And of the 15 days of celebration, the family dinner on New Year's Eve is the most important point. Usually people try to serve the best foods they can possibly afford during this time. There is also a strong emphasis on fried goods since oil was always quite scarce and expensive in Ancient China.
  • Jiaozi: Also known as Chinese style dumplings, or "gyoza" in Japanese, or "mandoo" in Korean, or "Peking Ravioli." By including meat and requiring a good deal of time to make (back before one could buy prepackaged wrapping skins at the local Asian market), jiaozi was too impractical and luxurious for most people in Ancient China to have except for the New Year's Eve feast. Also the shape of jiaozi resembles a type of gold ingot. Jiaozi is more common in Northern China. It is more standard to boil jiaozi, but if you pan-fry them, they become potstickers (guotie jiaozi). And jiaozi is not the same as wonton.
  • Chinese Fried Meatballs: (Rou wan) Usually made from ground pork, they are seasoned differently than Italian meatballs by including a lot of minced ginger, Shaoxing wine, and soy sauce. They symbolize reunion and togetherness of family members. Fried fish balls is a variation of this concept.
  • Whole Fish: The word for fish (yu) sounds like the word for "abundance" or "surplus." Serving fish helps to ensure that one will not lack anything in the coming year. It is also important that the fish remain whole to symbolize "togetherness."
  • Whole Chicken: Again, by being whole, the chicken symbolizes "togetherness." Also in some dialects, the word for "chicken" sounds like the word for "fortunate."
  • Spring Rolls:(Chunzhuan) Also referred to as "egg rolls." Fillings may vary, but spring rolls are always fried. The color and shape make them resemble a type of gold bullion.
  • Abalone: (Baoyu) In addition to being expensive, the Chinese word for abalone sounds like the phrase "assurance of surplus."
  • Oysters: (Haosi) In Chinese, the name is a homonym for the phrase "good things."
  • Chinese New Year Cakes: There are two main types of cakes. Nian gao is a sticky, chewy steamed cake made from rice flour. This cake is not leavened. It is quite a bit like mochi but is usually more stiff and dense. Sometimes it's referred to as a pudding. "Nian gao" also sounds like the phrase for "high year" in Chinese. Niangao is more common in Southern China and Taiwan. There is also fa gao which is made with wheat flour and very fluffy. The name sounds like the phrase "to prosper."
  • Pomelo: (Youzi) A large citrus fruit related to the grapefruit but much sweeter and more fragrant. The Chinese name for the fruit is a homonym for the word "to have."
  • "Lucky" chocolate: which is chocolate molded into "lucky" shapes and covered with gold foil. Common shapes include fish, pineapples, hulu gourd (a gourd traditionally used to hold wine in ancient times), peaches, gold coins, and gold ingots.
  • Candied hawthorn fruit: are a bright and glossy red, the size of a very large marble, and served skewered three or five on a small wooden stick. The fruit is only seasonally available during January and February. When candied, it is called bing tang hulu and are a very traditional, ancient candy treat.
  • Various Seeds and Candied Fruits and Melons: Since it's traditional to visit friends and relatives during Chinese New Year, Chinese families will make or purchase a prepared tray of nuts and candied fruits. This tray is offered to all guests to snack on while visiting and is called the "tray of togetherness" or the "eight treasure tray." The tray is most often in a circular or octogonal shape and usually contains 8 items although there are more than 8 possible items to choose from--it just depends on the family's preference. Each item has a specific meaning:
    • Candied melon symbolize good health.
    • Lotus seeds represent fertility and having many children.
    • Candied lotus roots signify family unity and harmony.
    • Lychee nuts symbolize strong family relationships.
    • Candied water chestnut
    • Candied kumquat represents prosperity since the Chinese name for kumquat (jingua) is literally "gold melon."
    • Dried red dates (actually a jujube) signify an early realization of goals.
    • Dried persimmons
    • Coconut symbolizes togetherness. Also sounds like the phrase "more sons."
    • Peanuts represent longevity. They don't have to be real peanuts--gold foil covered chocolates in the shape of peanuts are mighty popular.
    • Longan symbolizes having many good sons.
    • Melon seeds that are dyed red to symbolize joy. Also signifies many descendents since a melon has lots of seeds. The trendy new style is to "flavor" melon seeds with green tea, rose, lavender, etc.
    • Pistachios are called kaixinguo which sounds like "happy fruit" or "light-hearted fruit."
  • Foods to Avoid: Anything bitter or sour is avoid to prevent any bitter or souring experiences in the coming year. Anything in groups of four since the Chinese word for "four" sounds like "to die."
• Lantern Festival: (Yuanxiaojie) 15th day of the first lunar month, to conclude the New Year's celebration. It is traditional to eat chewy little round dumplings (tang yuan or yuan xiao) made from rice flour and boiled in water. The dumplings may be plain or have sweet or savory fillings. Plain tang yuan can also be fried and dipped in syrup. The dumplings symbolize peace and unity. In our home we've always called them "tang yuan," but I've heard that the other name, "yuan xiao," is derived from the name of a royal hand-maid in the Han Dynasty.
• Clear Brightness Festival: (Qingmingjie or "Tomb Sweeping Day") April 5th, or April 4th on leap years. Traditionally, people will clean the graves of their ancestors and leave some bits plain food at the site. But at the altar tables within the home, people will usually place whatever foods that were favorites of the deceased ancestors. This is a somewhat minor holiday and not celebrated very much among modern Chinese people.
• Dragon Boat Festival: (Duanwujie) 5th day of the 5th lunar month. Eating zongzi (rice dumplings or "Chinese tamales") is of central importance on this holiday because of the actual role it played in history.
• Mid-Autumn Festival: (Zhongqiujie or "Moon Festival") 15th day of the 8th lunar month. The moon cake (yue bing) is eaten during this holiday and is another food that had a role in history.
• Winter Solstice: (Dongzi) Curiously enough tangyuan is also eaten during this time, 6 weeks before Chinese New Year, to promote family unity and prosperity. During this time some places in Northern China have wontons (hun dun) instead.

Celebrations

• Weddings: The Chinese wedding banquet is truly a big deal. Getting married without hosting a giant, lavish banquet just is not done. It just isn't. It is a completely necessary part of a Chinese wedding. Luckily, Chinese custom also holds that each guest is suppose to give money in red envelopes to whoever is paying for the banquet (usually the parents).
  • Whole Roast Suckling Pig: A whole pig represents the bride's virginity. And......I'll stay away from a lengthy discussion about the implications of that.
  • Chinese Wedding Cakes: The traditional Chinese wedding cakes are small, individual-sized cakes quite similar to moon cakes. They have become a rarer sight now, since the trend among Chinese people is to have a regular Western-style, multi-tiered, buttercream frosted wedding cake instead.
  • Dragon and Phoenix: The dragon and phoenix represents the ying (the female phoenix) and yang (the male dragon) that come together in a marriage. Showing this combination in a banquet can be done various ways. Usually a chicken dish represents the phoenix. Lobster or sometimes eel can represent the dragon. Also a "cold platter" of jellyfish and various meats arranged in dragon and phoenix shapes may also be served.
  • Duck: Ducks represent fidelity. The famous Chinese roast duck (kaoya) is a common sight at wedding banquets.
  • Whole Fish: For the same reason it is served at Chinese New Year.
  • Shark Fin Soup: Definitely a luxury item. There has been more concern in recent years about how the fins are harvested, but this soup is still widely consumed in Chinese circles during wedding banquets.
  • Hard Liquor: Needs no explanation, really. Cognac seems the norm.
• Birthdays: By eating long noodles (usually in a soup), one is supposedly ensured of having a long life. Chinese children in America, however, usually expect a birthday cake.
• New Baby: When a new baby is born, the family will host a feast. They can serve most any dish they want, but there are two that are almost always served on this particular occasion:
  • Seaweed Soup: This soup uses a particular type of seaweed (fa cai) called "black moss" in English. This type of seaweed looks like strands of black hair. The soup is supposedly very nourishing for the new mother and the guests. And "fa cai" is also a Chinese homonym for "prosperity."
  • Red-dyed Eggs: Chinese people consider red an auspicious color. But red also represents the blood and pain of child-birth. An even number of eggs is handed out if the child is a boy; an odd number if the child is a girl.

Chinese Food in America

Question: Fortune Cookie History - Who Invented the Fortune Cookie?

What are the origins of this popular cookie?

Answer: Where does the fortune cookie come from? The easy answer is that the fortune cookie as we know it today - with its distinctive shape and a fortune wrapped inside – is not Chinese at all. Modern day fortune cookies first appeared in California in the early 1900’s. Tracking down who invented the cookie that no Chinese take-out or restaurant meal would be complete without is tougher. Most sources credit either Makoto Hagiwara or David Jung. Of the two, Hagiwara, seems to have the stronger claim.

Hagiwara, a Japanese immigrant who had served as official caretaker of the Japanese Tea Gardens since 1895, began serving the cookies at the Tea Garden sometime between 1907 and 1914. (His grandson, George Hagiwara believes the correct date is between 1907 – 1909). The cookies were based on Japanese senbei – grilled rice wafers. According to some sources; the cookies contained thank you notes instead of fortunes, and may have been Hagiwara’s way of thanking the public for getting him rehired after he was fired by a racist Mayor.

Meanwhile, Canton native David Jung had immigrated to Los Angeles. In 1916 he founded the Hong Kong Noodle Company. He claimed to have invented the fortune cookie around 1918, handing out baked cookies filled with inspiring passages of scripture to unemployed men. However, even the Los Angeles Almanac website admits that there is no surviving documentation showing how he came up with the idea.

In 1983, the San Francisco Court of Historical Review held a mock trial to settle the issue for once and for all. (The Court has no legal authority; other weighty culinary issues they have settled include whether or not chicken soup deserves its reputation as “Jewish Penicillin”). During the trial someone provided the judge with a fortune cookie containing the message: “S.F. Judge who rules for L.A. not very smart cookie.” In fairness to Daniel M. Hanlon, the real-life federal judge who presided over the case, his decision rested on weightier pieces of evidence, including a set of grills. Still, it came as no surprise when the Court sided with Hagiwara and ruled that San Francisco is the birthplace of the fortune cookie.

Equally unsurprising, Angelenos ignored the ruling. Many sources continue to credit Jung with inventing fortune cookies. But for now, Los Angeles (County) will have to be satisfied with being the official birthplace of the Cobb Salad and the Shirley Temple mocktail.

Or maybe not. Yet another possibility is that the fortune cookie was invented by a Japanese American living in Los Angeles. That is the claim of the proprieters of Fugetsu-do confectionary, a family owned and operated bakery in the Little Tokyo district of downtown Los Angeles. According to the Kito family, the idea for the fortune cookie originated with their grandfather, Seiichi Kito, who founded Fugetsu-do in 1903. While the confectionary quickly became famous for its mochi – sweet round rice cakes accompanied with everything from sweet red bean paste to peanut butter – at some point Kito began making fortune cookies and selling them to Chinese restaurants. According to sources his inspiration was omi-kuji – fortunes written on slips of paper found in Japanese Buddhist temples. (Today, you’ll find omikuji-senbei - “fortune crackers” - sold in bakeries in Japan). Their website alludes to a 1927 letter crediting a Japanese American living in Los Angeles with inventing the fortune cookie. Visitors to the shop can still see the original fortune cookie molds on display in the front store window “collecting dust and memories.”

But where does the inspiration for modern-day fortune cookies come from? Despite the fact that fortune cookies have proved about as popular in China as a plate of cooked spinach is to the average five-year old, their origins may be Chinese after all. Every fall (the 15th day of the eighth month in the Chinese calendar, to be exact) the Chinese celebrate the mid-Autumn Moon Festival. Children hear the legend of how, in the 14th century, the Chinese threw off their Mongol oppressors by hiding messages in Mooncakes (which the Mongols did not like to eat). On the night of the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival, the rebels attacked and overthrew the government, leading to the establishment of the Ming dynasty.

Mooncakes sold today don’t contain messages. Still, some believe that during the American railway boom of the 1850’s, Chinese railway workers came up with their own substitute for the mooncakes they were unable to buy: homemade biscuits with good luck messages inside.

 

 

Chinese Breakfast

Rice

Noodles

Soups

Main Courses

Typical mea eaten in China

Chinese food, is a unique, tasty and very common cuisine which usually consists of two main ingredients.  chinese recipies,shanghai, Jiang-Huai The first being a carbohydrate source such as rice chinese rice or noodles noodles. The second component that is used in chinese food can be vegetables, fish or meat.  Chinese Food Varieties Unlike meals from the west that usually consists of a meat as the main dish, spicy food in chinese food meat is not the main dish.

As it is known world wide, rice chinese rice dishes is the most crucial item in  Chinese Cuisine.  On the other hand, in many places in china, vegetarian chinese food wheat based products such as noodles are just as good and is used instead of rice. chinese desserts In South China rice is dominant Chinese Food Dishes and in the north, wheat based products are dominant.  Soup (with some wheat based product) is usually served at the end of the meal various chinese rice.  However the western world influenced the chinese cuisine to serve soups at the start of a meal. beef , vegetables , squid,muscles ,