Chinese Cantonese Cooking - Part 1

Chinese Cantonese Cuisine is among the most enlightened in the world in that easily destroyed precious vitamins are retained intact in the cooked dish.

Canton is in southern China, on the coast. A mild climate and access to the sea gave the province a vast variety of foodstuffs and ingredients and it is credited with the invention of the greatest number of dishes---some say around 250 different ways of cooking pork alone!

Especially, has stayed close to the Taoist principle that food should be eaten as near to its natural state as possible, with as little cooking and seasoning as possible. Chemical tenderizers such as vetsin (monosodium glutamate) are avoided, and cutting and scoring the meats, vegetables and fish in such a way as to achieve the required tenderness preferred.

This relies, of course, not only on a knowledge of the 'grain' of the raw materials but also on a knowledge of 'cooking time' and the correct methods of application of heart. A lot of this becomes instinctive after a little practice and one discovers how very little cooking time Chinese food can take. Often a mere dunking in boiling broth or swirling stir-frying in a very little oil will suffice to achieve the required doneness. In today's health conscious age, this cuisine is among the most enlightened in the world in that easily destroyed precious vitamins are retained intact in the cooked dish.