A Bite of China - Ep 2 - The Story of Staple Foods Explore in China - Food

The Story of Staple Foods (主食的故事)

China has diverse natural conditions across its land. As a result, Chinese people living in different areas enjoy absolutely different but rich staple food. From the south to the north, the diverse staple foods provide energy for human bodies. Moreover, they influence people's feelings towards the change of four seasons and enrich the lives of the Chinese.

Rich in mountains while lacking rivers, Shanxi is scarce in its vegetable varieties. Housewives cannot do much to enrich the non-staple food. So they figure out different ways of making flour food to increase the family's appetite. Flour is processed into various delicacies on the table. These diverse and delicate foods remind people of the women's nimble fingers and rich imagination.In Northern Shanxi. Today, minor cereals and wheat are the main ingredients on the table. The yellow steamed buns are made with this main ingredient. Due to its drought-enduring nature, glutinous millet became the most important crop on the loees plateau.

For thousands of years, Chinese people gain food and clothing from the five cereals. Heilongjiang Wheat was introduced into the Central Plains through the Hosi Corridor.This species originated from West Asia and has become the most important staple food for the Chinese. Naan is the most favorite staple food for Uyghur people.Five cereals in China have always been a changing concept. No matter how things have changed, the leading status of rice remains unchanged.

In Dimen,Rice noodles are the most important rice product in Liping, Guizhou. They can be seen everywhere on the local markets. People here love the noodles in soup the most. The most popular rice noodle product among the Cantonese can be this stir-fried rice noodles with beef. This dish is a test of a Cantonese chef's basic skills.

People in North China like eating flour products. The noodles in the south are made of rice.China was divided by the Qinling Mountains and Huaihe River in terms of the rural pattern:Rice in the south and wheat in the north. Therefore,people in the south love eating rice and those in the north can not live without wheaten food.

In Xi'an, a type of baked bun is the most widely accepted staple food. The marinated meat in baked bun is the most classic way to enjoy the buns.The buns Xi'an people eat are baked on fire. The meat is made with -plus seasonings and is stewed with gentle heat. So it tastes soft and glutinous. Today, Xi'an remains a heaven of staple foods for the Chinese. Paomo, another staple food in Xi'an, originated from the baked buns.

In Northwest China, chopped-up baked buns in lamb or beef broth is a perfect combination of staple food and soup. Another example can be the Lanzhou beef noodles.The best beef noodles should acquire the following five features: Clear soup, clean white turnips, brilliant red chili oil, green parsley and yellow noodles.

Noodles are the most popular staple food on birthdays for the Chinese. At the birthday banquet in Ding Village, a ritual requiring the participation of all people is ongoing. Before eating the noodles, all the people pick out the longest noodle in their bowl and put it into the bowl of the one who celebrates the birthday.

The methods to make the ingredients for the Qishan saozi noodles are very particular. Meat is chopped into thin and even dices and dry-fried until they turn transparent. Add vinegar and chili and fry the meat on slow fire. The good-quality ingredients for Qishan saozi noodles are red in color, sour and spicy in the taste. The bright color and spicy taste are the essence of Qishan saozi noodles. The trimmings for the noodles have five colors. Fungus and tofu mean black and white. Eggs represent wealth. Red carrot symbolizes a prosperous life. Garlic sprouts mean vitality. The five colors, red, yellow, green,white and black represent Qishan people's best wishes for life.

Jiaxing natives start their day with a hot meat zongzi,a traditional Chinese food, made of glutinous rice with different stuffing.Every year in early lunar May, people memorize the poet Qu Yuan on the Dragon Boat Festival. Families in South China dip glutinous rice, wash bamboo leaves and make zongzi. Rice cake is a traditional food that Ningbo people make to celebrate the Spring Festival. Ningbo rice cake is made with the fresh late rice. Dipping, grinding, steaming and pounding, the molecules of rice get restructured and the taste gets improved. After pounding the rice flour dough, people need to knead it. A most ordinary strip rice cake is made.

If you always eat something in your childhood, the taste of it would stay with you. You'll never easily forget it.Place stuffing into a ready flour skin and wrap it into the shape of a crescent, a simple but special jiaozi is made. Jiaozi means the end and beginning of time. No matter how the past year is like, eating jiaozi is a must at the year-end Spring Festival.It symbolizes family reunion. When a lot of food have been put onto the production lines for manufacturing, the Chinese people, who treasure the concept of family the most in the world, repeat the same things every year at their homes.In the mind of the Chinese, nothing is more important than being together with their family. This is all their hope. This is how the Chinese people are like. This is the tradition of the Chinese. This is the story about staple food for the Chinese. (Source - wikipedia)