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What makes chinese soups chinese?
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Puzzled, I told her to just stir fry them with garlic. She looked at me and patiently explained that Sri Lankans typically do not stir-fry their vegetables. It is not a common cooking technique in India. A cooking technique that I took for granted as the simplest and most universal way to prepare green vegetables is actually not so universal afterall. As a chinese I have always taken chineseness for granted. When I started this website, I started thinking about how to define chineseness and what differentiate chinese soups from other soups in the world. I don't think I got it all together yet but here are some of my thoughts: End-productsMost chinese soups are clear soups. The soup ingredients are rarely grounded up to make thick soups. They are mostly cut into bite-sized pieces and "sits" in the soup. (Some people called chinese soups thin soups. I disagree. Thin soup has the connotation that it is bland which is not necessarily true. Clear soup is a much better term.)This is not to say that there are no thick soups. Chinese soups are usually thickened using cornstarch. Ingredients are cut or julienned thinly and cook till soft before cornstarch mixture is added to thicken the soup. It is a soup dish with a complex texture and usually consumed with a dash of vinegar and pepper. Famous thickened soups include shark fin soup, hot and sour soup and westlake beef soup. Herbal soups are also distinctively chinese. A product of a natural approach to food and diet. Although the use of herbs in food or soups is not exclusive to chinese cooking, it is the chinese who developed it into a fairly comprehensive food preparation system. Mention chinese herbal soups, and people think of good health and natural remedies. Ingredients usedThere are many uniquely chinese soup ingredients. A good example is tofu, made from the milk of soy beans.Many people are familiar with chinese herbs like chinese wolfberries (or commonly known as goji berries) and astragalus. Extensive scientific research has been carried out on them. Health supplements like goji juice and astragalus pills are already available for sale. Yet, the best way to consume them is to take them in their natural form. For example, it is so easy to use goji. Drop a few in your hot tea. And of course, use them in your soups, even if they may not be chinese soups. The chinese are quite particular about what can be combined in soups. The yin-yang philosophy of cooking is deeply ingrained in our chinese psyche and there are certain foods that we just don't use together when cooking. Cooking techniquesThe chinese invented many ways to cook. The easiest soup making technique, in my opinion, is the simmering method, where the ingredients and soup are cooked over low heat for several hours.I believe double-boiling and steaming soup is also quite chinese. That is all I can think of at this moment. Do you have a thought about this? Do share with me. |
