THE CHARACTERISTICS OF CHINESE, ARABIC AND FRENCH CUISINES – INTRODUCTION
Chinese cooks prefer not to boil vegetables until they are soft; instead, they leave them about 20 per cent raw. In this condition they may taste somewhat bitter and so must be properly seasoned to make them more palatable. But the Chinese cooks know their job and prepare their food in such a way that you will enjoy it, even though you may have to chew more than with food prepared the European way. They also use a wider variety of spices and condiments, for example, curry and soy sauces, various kinds of peppers and all sorts of spicy pods that resemble red and black chillies. Moreover, they almost always include a little seaweed, which, although not much of a taste in itself, adds something to Chinese dishes that is unique.
Centuries of tradition lie behind Chinese cuisine and its habitual use of seaweed, and this ingredient is appreciated for the sake of its minerals and trace elements that are so necessary to our health. This goodness is present in very small quantities, or not at all, in other plants, and the ancient Chinese must have used seaweed instinctively as they would not have known about these substances. However, they must have been good observers and noticed that nature offers us many things that may not be visible to the eye, nor tangible, but are nevertheless of vital importance to us. This precious gift of observation has no doubt contributed to the way in which Chinese cuisine has developed. Even though much else has been forgotten that once was an intrinsic part of their culture, the Chinese people still benefit from this tradition, as they have for thousands of years.
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