Practices
Over the centuries, as new food sources and techniques were invented, the Chinese cuisine as we know it gradually evolved. The "Silk road" is the conventional term for the routes through Central Asia linking the Iranian plateau with western China; along this trade route passed exotic foodstuffs that greatly enlarged the potential for Chinese cuisines, only some of which preserve their foreign origin in the ideogram for "foreign" that remains in their name: "it would surprise many Chinese cooks to know that some of their basic ingredients were originally foreign imports," Frances Wood observes: sesame, peas, onions, coriander from Bactria, and cucumber were all introduced into China from the West during the Han dynasty". Chopsticks, which are made from all sorts of materials and which are one of the hallmarks of the Chinese table, have been used as eating utensils at least as far back as the Zhou Dynasty. Stir-fried dishes became popular during the Tang Dynasty. The stir-fry method of cooking was invented out of necessity, in order to conserve expensive and scarce fuel.
Read more about this topic: Historical Chinese Cuisine
Famous quotes containing the word practices:
“Of all reformers Mr. Sentiment is the most powerful. It is incredible the number of evil practices he has put down: it is to be feared he will soon lack subjects, and that when he has made the working classes comfortable, and got bitter beer into proper-sized pint bottles, there will be nothing left for him to do.”
—Anthony Trollope (1815–1882)
“Money made through dishonest practices will not last long.”
—Chinese proverb.
“They that have grown old in a single state are generally found to be morose, fretful and captious; tenacious of their own practices and maxims; soon offended by contradiction or negligence; and impatient of any association but with those that will watch their nod, and submit themselves to unlimited authority.”
—Samuel Johnson (1709–1784)