Cultural Activities Project - Chinese Food

For the cultural activities project my class was split into groups. My group decided that we were going to do our project on Chinese food. We split our project into breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert, also looking a little at the Chinese etiquette. My part of the project was to get all the information for what they eat for breakfast and dessert. We presented our project through a PowerPoint presentation.

The section below was the information used in the PowerPoint.

CHINESE BREAKFAST

 It is popular for Chinese people to eat breakfast on the move not in their homes. In the morning there are many markets open selling breakfast, they open at 5am.

 RICE CONGEE AND BEAN JUICE:
• Congee is a type of warm porridge, it is very thick and creamy they eat congee in the morning with warm bean juice.

 YOU TIAO:
• You Tao are deep fried bread sticks made of dough not unlike the Spanish churros. They are served fresh and hot. Unlike spanish churros that are served with hot chocolate sauce, Tiao's are usually served with soya milk.

 BRAOZI:
• Chinese dumplings come with a variety of different fillings, they can be steamed or fried. They are often stuffed with roast pork,beef or vegetables.they are served with sauces such as soy sauce, chilli,vinegar and olive oil.


CHINESE LUNCH
• Chinese people do not each extravagant lunches. Instead they eat rice or noodles with soup or vegetables. Like us they each their lunch between 11:30-2:30. They have lunch at home, at school or at one of the many thousands of street markets all over the country. The most popular lunch fare in China is a type of noodle soup that is served everywhere on the streets.

NOODLE SOUP:
• This common lunch dish is served Everywhere. It often has different toppings or contains small pork balls. This soup is served with either egg or rice noodles.

• Noodle soup is a traditional Chinese dish that has now been adopted all over the world. The light broth contains vegetables, meat and often dumplings.

DIM SUM:

• Dim sum is a Cantonese style of food that is prepared in small portions much like the spanish idea of the "tapas" Small portions of many meals. Dim sum in a common Chinese lunch . Dim sum are most common in southern mainland China. The food comes served on table trolleys with steaming bamboo basket.

• Examples of common dim sum are dumplings,rolled rice noodles,fung zao (fried steamed chicken feet), ngao yuk kau( meatballs) and pai gwut

( steamed ribs).

CHINESE DINNER

SWEET AND SOUR PORK:
• pork was used originally because of high demand other meats were not available, however, chicken beef and pork ribs are now used also.

• The legend says that Qin Shihuang the emperor in ancient times held a competition to find the best sweet and sour chef because he loved the dish so much. An old lady won, hers was the best by far so her son was promoted in the army as promised.

GONG BAO CHICKEN:
• This is a famous Sichuan style speciality, popular with both Chinese people and foreigners,the major ingredients are diced Chicken, dried chilli and fried peanuts.

• The legend says that this dish was created by Ding Baozhen the governor of Sichuan during the Qing dynasty. He was very interested in cooking and created the dish Because he loved the
flavours. It was originally a family dish however word got out and it is now a much loved national dish.

MA PO TOFU:
• Ma po tofu is one of the most famous dishes in Chuan cuisine with a history of more than 100
years. Ma describes a spicy and hot taste which comes from pepper powder a common component in Chuan cuisine.

• The legend says that the dish was created in 1865-1875 by the wife of a small restaurant owner
in the suburbs of Chengdu mapo is the way to describe a Chinese women with a pitted face.

WONTONS:
• Can be dated back to the Han dynasty over 2000 years ago. Wontons are crescent shaped and were originally used in activities of worship and sacrifice.they were eaten during the winter solstice festival.

• They are similar to the Italian tortellini. They are commonly boiled and served in soup or deep fried. They can be filled with minced pork or diced shrimp.

PEKING ROASTED DUCK:
• Peking duck is probably the most world famous Chinese dish. It is from Beijing and is considered one of China's national dishes.

• Peking duck is savoured for its thin crispy skin. It is often served with pancakes,sweet bean sauce and finely chopped vegetables.

• The way in which Peking duck is served is also unique.the chest presents you with the whole duck before taking it away again and slicing it into 120 thin slivers.the duck must be white of superior quality and Beijing variety.the duck is cooked on fruit tree branches to give it that fruity flavour and red colour.

CHINESE DESSERT
• Here are three of the commonly eaten

 DOUHUA:
• Douhua is a type of tofu pudding. It is fresh tofu topped with sugar syrup and peanuts. In the interpret it is served heated.

BAO BING:
• Bao bing is a type of shaved ice. It is topped with red azurite beans,mung beans,taro beans, peanuts and condensed milk. This tasty dessert is eaten all year round.

FENGII SU:
• Feng in such is a pineapple cake. They are usually small and square in Shape. They have a butter crust and are filled with pineapple paste.they are eaten all year round and are said to bring good luck and prosperity.

CHINESE DINING ETIQUETTE

Lazy Susan

• Many Chinese families have a system called a lazy Susan in the center of the table that holds all of the food and can be spun around so everything is within reaching distance of all the guests.

• Chinese people eat there meals with chopstick of soup spoon instead of using European cutlery

• You must leave the ordering in a restaurant in China to your host

• You serve tea from oldest to youngest and yourself last as the elders in China are greatly respected for their wisdom

• If you were invited to a meal you must be served by the person who invited you

• If there are no serving utensils you must take food from the center of the table with the back end of your chopsticks.

• It is very rude not to finish all your rice. The legend says if you do not finish all your rice your future spouse will have angry boils on their face .