Chinese Food Recipes

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Beef and broccoli

To discuss Chinese food recipes is a great undertaking, there are so many varieties and definitions that it can be quite confusing - distinct kitchens were already developed during ancient times - regional and cultural differences have played a big role in this. Common features, if you want to generalize, is rice, noodles and pastries - the balancing of taste and colour - specific cooking methods are steaming and stir frying. Meat or dairy products have traditionally never been big, the use of tofu (processed soybeans) has its origins in China. Tea, rice wine and beer are popular beverages, the latter a quite recent influence from Europe. Spices like black pepper, cinnamon, garlic, ginger and sesame oil are common, condiment sauces like hoisin and oyster sauce are widely used.

Classification Of Cuisines
In its crudest sense you can separate Northern from Southern cuisine. A typical feature in Northern Chinese food recipes is that they many time are wheat based. You have noodles, pancakes, steamed pastries and frivolous use of garlic and oil. Southern Chinese food recipes are most of the time served with rice. Fast cooking methods like stir frying strive to keep vegetables crispy. The likeness to bordering cuisines in Southeast Asia is quite big.

In China further more exact distinctions are often made, most of them with a geographical origin. Although sometimes up to 10 major schools are recognized I will limit myself to briefly describe the Four School Classification (which you can understand as traditions) - in each of these several cuisines are included.
Shandong or Lu, is the most influential of the four and has inspired many other cuisines in China. The famous Beijing cuisine is included here. Typical is abundant use of seafood, grains, peanuts and corn - the latter two ingredients are have their origins in the Americas and are as such post-Columbus (they started to be common from the 19th century). Common vegetables are cabbages, aubergine, onions, garlic, bell pepper, potato and tomato (the three later also post-Columbus). Mushrooms are also common ingredients. Production and use of vinegar is also typical and is an ingredient you find in many other Chinese food recipes from other regions.
Cantonese has its origin in the region Guangdong (in other countries known as Canton). It has become very influential abroad partly from the fact the two former colonies Macau and Hongkong are situated here - another reason is that Guangdong is a region from where large numbers of the population have emigrated (mainly from the 19th century until the mid 20th). Thus Chinese food as known in many countries is most of the times Cantonese food (with regional adaptations to palate). The Chinese food recipes from this region often distinguish themselves with having ingredients like exotic meats and organs. Spicing often include imported ingredients (due to the history of the trading ports in the region) but is moderate. Garlic and coriander is common. Many cooking methods are used including steaming, deep frying, stir frying and boiling - oil is used but in moderate amounts. The use of fresh ingredients is emphasized. The above mentioned hoisin and oyster sauce have their origin here, as quite a few other spice mixes in various forms - actually Ketchup has its roots here. The proximity to the ocean has made seafood and fish a common feature. What can be noted in general is that ingredients are quite ecclectical, the history of trade again the reason for this. Although noodles are used, rice is the most common accompaniment.
Jiangsu Here colour, shape, texture and seasonal variations strive to create harmony. Soup is often used to enhance the flavours.
Sichuan has its origin in Southwest China. Chinese food recipes from here show strong resemblances to recipes in neighbouring Vietnam, Laos and Thailand - strong flavoured dishes dominated by chili, ginger and garlic as well as sesame oil, Sichuan peppercorn and coriander. The common use of preserved food that has been pickled, salted, dried or fermented has its probable cause in the warm climate. Stir frying, braising and steaming are the dominating preparation methods.

Submitted Chinese Food Recipes

Ingredients:
Marinade:
1 tsp rice wine (can be substituted with any wine)
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp corn starch
1 tsp oil
- 500 g finely sliced beef; flank or sirloin
Sauce:
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp sesame oil
salt and pepper to taste
Recipe:
- cooking oil
- The previously marinated finely sliced beef
- 1 tsp crushed fresh ginger
- 2 sliced scallions
- 500 g kai-lan Chinese broccoli with stems peeled and sliced
- 75 ml broth (chicken, beef or vegetable)

Preparation:
Blend the ingredients for the marinade and add the sliced beef, mix well and set aside.

Prepare sauce, preferably with a whisk, set aside.

Add cooking oil to a hot frying pan or wok, fry the now marinated beef until slightly undercooked. Remove meat and set aside. In the same pan, add a little more oil, ginger and scallions. Cook slightly and add the broccolis, stir-fry until slightly undercooked and add broth, cover with lid. When broccolis are crisp and tender add beef and sauce (if sauce is too thin just add more corn starch mixed in a bit of water). Cook until beef is ready.

Serve with rice.

Peter's Comment:
This is a Chinese food recipe that my mom learned when she was living in Jamaica. I consider it Chinese-Jamaican, but it really is a typical American dish since we have such an ecclectic cuisine. Both of my parents were born and raised in Jamaica. Both of my father's parents were born in Jamaica as well. Not too much is known about his grandparents, except that they were of Chinese descent, but lived (born maybe??) in Central America. My mom's father was born in Jamaica, and his family can be traced back to Panama and Guyana. One generation before that (that would be my grandfather's grandparents) were from China. My parents met in New York, married in Kingston, JA, and eventuallysettled in Miami to have us. I am not sure how the recipe was learned or exactly when. I think food is one of those ingrained family cultures that constantly evolve, and figuring out exactly when/where a recipe was "invented" is sort of impossible. From my perspective, I can say that this dish is one that has always been there. A constant in my growing up.

My comment:
This Chinese recipe has travelled from China through Central America, the Caribbean all the way to Miami. I agree that it might be hard to say who invented the recipe, but it can quite easily be said that it is a Chinese recipe from the Cantonese school. There are many varieties of Beef and Broccoli, it is a very common dish in modern Hong Kong, it is actually a type of fast food there. Many Chinese emigrated from the Guangdong (Cantonese) region to the Americas during the 19th and the early 20th century, they brought with them their recipes. Oyster sauce, is as Peter notified me, a condiment sauce you can find in most well sorted super markets - it has its origins in Guangdong (Canton) as well - it is a common ingredient in many other Chinese food recipes. Worth to note is how Peter emphasizes the use of Kai-lan (Chinese broccoli), in many Western recipes European broccoli is used with a quite different final result.