Song dynasty History of Chinese cuisine

dried jujubes such these imported song china south asia , middle east. official canton invited home of arab merchant, , described jujube thus: fruit color of sugar, skin , pulp sweet, , gives impression, when eat it, of having first been cooked in oven , allowed dry.

the song saw turning point. twin revolutions in commerce , agriculture created enlarged group of leisured , cultivated city dwellers access great range of techniques , materials whom eating became self-conscious , rational experience. food historian michael freeman argues song developed cuisine derived no single tradition but, rather, amalgamates, selects, , organizes best of several traditions. cuisine in sense not develop out of cooking traditions of single region, “requires sizable corps of critical adventuresome eaters, not bound tastes of native region , willing try unfamiliar food.” finally, cuisine product of attitudes give first place real pleasure of consuming food rather purely ritualistic significance. neither ritual or political cuisine of court, nor cooking of countryside, rather think of “chinese food.” in song, find well-documented evidence restaurants, is, places customers chose menus, opposed taverns or hostels, had no choice. these restaurants featured regional cuisines. gourmets wrote of preferences. these song phenomena not found until later in europe.

there many surviving lists of entrées , food dishes in customer menus restaurants , taverns, feasts @ banquets, festivals , carnivals, , modest dining, copiously in memoir dongjing meng hua lu (dreams of splendor of eastern capital). many of peculiar names these dishes not provide clues types of food ingredients used. however, scholar jacques gernet, judging seasonings used, such pepper, ginger, soya sauce, oil, salt, , vinegar, suggests cuisine of hangzhou not different chinese cuisine of today. other additional seasonings , ingredients included walnuts, turnips, crushed chinese cardamon kernels, fagara, olives, ginkgo nuts, citrus zest, , sesame oil.

regional differences in ecology , culture produced different styles of cooking. in turmoil of southern song, refugees brought cooking traditions of regional cultures capital @ hangzhou. after mass exodus north, people brought henan-style cooking , foods (popular in previous northern song capital @ kaifeng) hangzhou, blended cooking traditions of zhejiang. however, records indicate in northern song period, first capital @ kaifeng sported restaurants served southern chinese cuisine. catered capital officials native provinces in southeast, , have found northern cuisine lacking in seasoning tastes. in fact, texts song era provide first use of phrases nanshi, beishi, , chuanfan refer northern, southern, , sichuan cooking, respectively. many restaurants known specialties; example, there 1 restaurant in hangzhou served iced foods, while restaurants catered wanted either hot, warm, room temperature, or cold foods. descendants of kaifeng owned of restaurants found in hangzhou, many other regional varieties in foodstuffs , cooking sponsored restaurants. included restaurants featuring highly spiced sichuan cuisine; there taverns featuring dishes , beverages hebei , shandong, coastal foods of shrimp , saltwater fish. memory , patience of waiters had keen; in larger restaurants, serving dinner parties required twenty or dishes became hassle if slight error occurred. if guest reported mistake of waiter head of restaurant, waiter verbally reprimanded, have salary docked, or in extreme cases, kicked out of establishment good.

a chinese painting of outdoor banquet, song dynasty painting , possible remake of tang dynasty original.

in morning in hangzhou, along wide avenue of imperial way, special breakfast items , delicacies sold. included fried tripe, pieces of mutton or goose, soups of various kinds, hot pancakes, steamed pancakes, , iced cakes. noodle shops popular, , remained open day , night along imperial way. according 1 song dynasty source on kaifeng, night markets closed @ third night watch reopened on fifth, while had gained reputation staying open during winter storms , darkest, rainiest days of winter.

food historians have branded claim human meat served in hangzhou restaurants during song dynasty unlikely.

there exotic foreign foods imported china abroad, including raisins, dates, persian jujubes, , grape wine; rice wine more common in china, fact noted 13th century venetian traveler marco polo. although grape-based wine had been known in china since ancient han dynasty chinese ventured hellenstic central asia, grape-wine reserved elite. besides wine, other beverages included pear juice, lychee fruit juice, honey , ginger drinks, tea, , pawpaw juice. dairy products foreign concept chinese, explains absence of cheese , milk in diet. beef eaten, since bull important draft animal. main consumptionary diet of lower classes remained rice, pork, , salted fish, while known restaurant dinner menus upper classes did not eat dog meat. rich known have consumed array of different meats, such chicken, shellfish, fallow deer, hares, partridge, pheasant, francolin, quail, fox, badger, clam, crab, , many others. local freshwater fish nearby lake , river caught , brought market, while west lake provided geese , duck well. common fruits consumed included melons, pomegranates, lychees, longans, golden oranges, jujubes, quinces, apricots , pears; in region around hangzhou alone, there eleven kinds of apricots , 8 different kinds of pears produced. specialties , combination dishes in song period included scented shellfish cooked in rice-wine, geese apricots, lotus-seed soup, spicy soup mussels , fish cooked plums, sweet soya soup, baked sesame buns stuffed either sour bean filling or pork tenderloin, mixed vegetable buns, fragrant candied fruit, strips of ginger , fermented beanpaste, jujube-stuffed steamed dumplings, fried chestnuts, salted fermented bean soup, fruit cooked in scented honey, , honey crisps of kneaded , baked honey, flour, mutton fat , pork lard. dessert molds of oiled flour , sugared honey shaped girls faces or statuettes of soldiers full armor door guards, , called likeness foods (guoshi).

su shi famous poet , statesmen @ time wrote extensively on food , wine of period. legacy of appreciation of food , gastronomy, popularity people can seen in dongpo pork, dish named after him. influential work recorded cuisine of period shanjia qinggong (山家清供; simple foods of mountain folk ) lin hong (林洪). recipe book accounts preparation of numerous dishes of common , fine cuisines.