The readers are invited to a brief study of the culinary traditions and features of the national cuisine of China. The method of cooking some exotic dishes is given taking into account the smallest details and little oriental tricks! The recipes are simple in execution, do not imply the presence of rare or exotic ingredients and are selected in such a way that an ordinary housewife can cook them without special training and qualifications in ordinary European cuisine, while using the usual utensils and equipment.
A decent person in the kitchen can make a career for himself.
Intelligent people need to be assigned specifically to the kitchen for a greater richness of combinations, because the point is not how to cook, but how to combine all this with love, seasoning, for example, and the like. Take gravy, for example. An intelligent person, making a gravy from onions, will first take a little of all the greens, stew it in oil, then add the roots and pepper, a little nutmeg, and ginger. An ordinary, simple cook will boil an onion, and then pour flour fried in beef lard into it – and you’re done!
An uncultured person is tolerant in everyday life, in any ordinary occupation, but in cooking without intelligence, you will be lost. Last night in Budejovice, in the Officers’ Assembly, among other things, kidneys were given to us in Madeira. The one who was able to prepare them in this way – may the Lord God forgive him for all his sins! – was an intellectual in the full sense of the word …
Safety rules”
When traveling to countries with a hot tropical climate, you should follow some fairly simple rules that will save you from stomach troubles and help maintain health and good mood throughout the rest.
Remember! If you are going to any country in Southeast Asia, it is imperative to make the appropriate vaccinations in advance (!), About which you will be given comprehensive information in any district clinic. After all, cholera, hepatitis.
dysentery and malaria in Southeast Asia are as widespread as the flu in our temperate latitudes! And sanitary standards, which are very strictly adhered to in Europe, simply do not exist in this region. And although China, unlike India, Pakistan and Malaysia, has always been considered the land of clean chefs, try where possible to refrain from eating at a roadside café, no matter how hungry you are!
There is a fairly common category of travelers who simply love to taste the most unusual, original and exotic. We urge such lovers of the thrill of culinary sensations to be merciful to their stomach, which, out of habit, may simply refuse to digest unusual oriental delights, no matter how “sterile” they are! Remember that every nation has some kind of food predisposition, which is inherent in the genetic level.
Trying to change this order of things during a short vacation is not worth it! On the menu of the average Russian, fried cockroaches, pickled earthworms, wild cat stew and swallow’s nests are not provided. Your body’s response to these foods can be unpredictable.
Believe me, in China there are a lot of other, no less exotic and at the same time delicious and absolutely safe dishes – this is Peking duck, and pork ribs, and carp in sweet and sour sauce – there is no counting! You will not stay hungry …
Those who are going to travel to the south of China are strongly advised to pay special attention to unusual citrus and lychee-type fruits. Completely healthy people who have never suffered from food allergies may find with horror that their body, tired of acclimatization, refuses to put up with seemingly harmless “tangerines”. Therefore, when buying any exotic vegetables or fruits on the market, always ask (and remember!) Their name in the native dialect! This will greatly facilitate the work of local doctors.
The following are fairly simple “safety precautions” that will help you not to get trapped, ruin your stomach or, even worse, not bring a serious gastrointestinal disease from abroad!
Remember!
You should always (!) Drink, brush your teeth and wash your face only with boiled water or with mineral water from a bottle bought in a “reliable” store. This rule should be adhered to by all travelers without exception, because the “star rating” of a hotel in Southeast Asia is a relative concept! Any vegetables and fruits purchased at the local market should also be thoroughly washed with boiled water.
When you come to China, try to find out the reputation of the restaurants or cafes in which you intend to eat. We advise you to abandon the intention to make culinary excursions around the city, and even more so not to buy anything in a roadside tavern, from which you can hear tantalizing aromas of unknown origin!
Under no circumstances should you buy ready-made food (no matter how attractive it may seem to you) and drinks from street vendors! This ironclad rule also applies to fresh vegetable and fruit salads, dairy sweets, ice cream, desserts, cocktails and any sandwiches. We strongly recommend not to order food for yourself according to the principle: “The same as the gentleman at the next table.”
Read the menu carefully, paying particular attention to the ingredients! It is better to have a pleasant time enjoying delicious and unusual food in an inexpensive and reliable restaurant somewhere in Shanghai or Beijing than returning home to become a regular customer of the infectious diseases hospital in your hometown. Know! Many gastrointestinal diseases in the tropics in Europe are poorly understood and are difficult to treat with homegrown Aesculapius. Compared to Western Europe, food in China is very cheap, so don’t skimp on yourself, darling!
