Ambrosia of Ancients

By staff reporter HUO JIANYING

A pottery figurine of a cook (220-280).

IN the year 196 B.C. a Chinese philosopher observed to his ruler: "A lord's top priority is the welfare of his subjects; to the people, food is foremost." Chinese ancients perceived clearly the essentiality of food to the future survival of the population and country as a whole. This is apparent in the premillennial term for "country" -- she ji -- literally translated as god of land and grain. To the people of early agricultural China, land and grain were paramount.

Food Resources

Primitive farming techniques so constrained cultivation and output that keeping everyone fed was a major challenge.

The early Chinese subsisted on the "Five Grains," namely ji (millet), shu (glutinous millet), mai (wheat and barley), shu (legumes) and ma (hemp seeds).  Before discovering they could grind wheat into flour and bake it, people boiled wheat as they would rice today. Hemp seed porridge was poor people's fare, and legumes mainly comprised soybeans. As farming techniques advanced, rice and corn were introduced and gradually replaced other crops as staple foods. The ancient term for cereals changed from wu gu -- five grains -- to six, nine and still later one hundred grains. Wu gu remains in use as the general term for cereals.

Apart from wheat, the original five grains consisted of coarse cereals seldom, if ever, eaten today, although some continued to be staples, even delicacies for centuries. As late as the Tang Dynasty (618-907) glutinous millet was a special dish reserved for honored guests. At the other end of the scale, hemp seed was the essential ingredient for porridge on which the poor survived. They considered themselves fortunate if they had enough to last a whole year. According to The Seventh Moon from The Book of Songs, between the sixth and ninth lunar months when foodstuffs were scarce farmers were generally obliged to eat wild fruits, weeds, calabash and legumes in order to sustain life.

In these remote times, meat was the exclusive reserve of the nobility. Quantities of beef, pork and mutton served at sacrificial ceremonies indicated their degree of gravity and at banquets the level of honor accorded attendees. Beef carried the highest status, followed by pork and mutton. Farmers generally ate mutton once a year, at Spring Festival (Lunar New Year). Many never tasted beef or pork at all.

Cooking Techniques

Almost every Chinese dynasty left written works and monographs on foodstuffs and cookery. Best known is the sixth century agricultural classic and gastronomic encyclopedia Qi Min Yao Shu (Important Arts for the People's Welfare) by Jia Sixie. It examines cooking techniques and their development prior to the sixth century. Of its 92 chapters, 25 are on food and beverages, detailing methods of brewing, fermenting, curing, pickling, cheese making, pastry, and preparation of some 300 dishes.

Bronze cooking utensil from the Spring and Autumn Period (770-475 B.C.).

The book describes the three main methods of meat preparation at that time. There were kuai dishes of finely shredded fish and meat eaten with various sauces and also the zhi method of skewering bite sized chunks of meat and roasting them over an open fire, known today as kebabs yangrouchuan. The third dish was similar to today's meat stew, but without seasonings that later came into use. In addition there was a preserved mashed meat dish made from chopped dried meat mixed with distiller's yeast and salt and marinated in liquor for 100 days.

The book also describes culinary culture of ethnic minorities, particularly of nomadic grassland dwellers, and their influence on the Central Plains area. Baked or fried pancakes were for centuries referred to as hu bing, a direct reference to the Hu ethnic minority of northwestern China. This method of preparation later came to dominate preparation of wheat dishes in the Central Plains area.

The Original Chinese Gourmet

Confucius is considered the father of gourmandism in China. The great philosopher is quoted in the Analects as saying, "There is no objection to the finest food, nor to the finest shredding." In the 2,000 years since Chinese people have taken Confucius at his word, both in his teachings and advocacy of gastronomic perfection.

Scholar-bureaucrats were the main force behind early Chinese gastronomy. Many were gourmets and creators of fine foods who regarded eating as necessary for both spiritual and physical sustenance. Their exquisitely prepared epicurean dishes later became known as literati cuisine.

Kong cuisine from Qufu in Shandong Province, birthplace of Confucius, is famous for its meticulous preparation. For instance, a green bean sprout appearing as garnish may contain a sliver of bacon. One standard Kong course at a family feast is a delectably aesthetic arrangement of chicken, duck, pigeon, and quail.

Accomplished scholar and poet of the Song Dynasty Su Dongpo (1037-1101) was famous also for the Dongpo meat dish, which is still a popular favorite throughout China. Dongpo also gave his name to a bean curd dish and a soup.

Hu pancakes were remarkable for their huge breadth when they first entered the Central Plains area. They are still seen today.

Qing Dynasty writer Yuan Mei (1716-1797) surpassed Su Dongpo for having written a cookery book since considered a gastronomic classic. Originally a county magistrate, Yuan Mei resigned this post at the age of 34 and spent the following 40 years touring the country and writing about his experiences. During this time he described the various styles of cooking he had sampled and also summarized ancient gastronomic writings, all of which he compiled in his book Menu from the Garden of Leisure. The work lists 326 dishes, ranging from luxury main courses to appetizers and porridges to pastries. Besides south China cuisine most familiar to Yuan, the book also details Shandong, Anhui and Guangdong provinces local dishes. It has been translated into Japanese, English and French.

Other jewels in the crown of ancient Chinese gastronomy originated at the very bottom of social strata, and have since been refined by professional chefs into the Chinese equivalent of cordon bleu. One example is Beggar's Chicken. The story goes that a beggar obtained a chicken but had no pot in which to cook it, so he coated it with mud and put it in a fire. After a time, he extracted this mud ball and broke its hard crust. The chicken inside was cooked to tender savory perfection. Later the method was adapted and improved by an unknown chef who stuffed the chicken with mushrooms, bamboo shoots, bacon and other ingredients, first wrapping it in a thin sheet of bean curd and lotus leaves before coating it in mud.

The Almighty Jiaozi

In the 1960s, two jiaozi on a wooden plate were unearthed from a Tang Dynasty tomb in Turpan, Xinjiang. They looked no different from their contemporary versions, other than being completely dried out. "There is nothing so delicious as jiaozi," goes the popular Chinese saying. As an everyday food the popularity of jiaozi has never faltered. This may be due to its ease of preparation -- little more than wrapping fillings in circles of dough -- and versatility, as it can be filled with meat, seafood, egg, or vegetable according to taste. Most significantly, over its long evolution the jiaozi has taken on a significant cultural aspect. It is an indispensable aspect of Spring Festival celebrations as the round dough wrappers tightly embracing their fillings have the happy connotation of family reunion. The shape of the jiaozi is also reminiscent of a silver ingot, symbol of wealth. In the past it was common to put coins, candies, dates, chestnuts and various other tokens inside jiaozi to convey felicitations for the future.

Apart from at Spring Festival, jiaozi are also used to extend good wishes on birthdays and at banquets and parties. At conventional birthday celebrations, jiaozi are an anticipatory treat eaten the day before, while noodles served on the actual day invite longevity. Even the most sumptuous banquets include a jiaozi course, less to satisfy physical hunger than to fill the spiritual need for an auspicious omen.