Chinese aristocrat cuisine facts for kids

Chinese aristocrat cuisine is a special type of cooking that started a long time ago in China. It began during the Ming dynasty and Qing dynasty when important government officials lived in Beijing. These officials brought their own private chefs with them. Over time, different cooking styles mixed together. This created a unique kind of food, often called "private cuisine."

Today, Chinese aristocrat cuisine is a mix of different styles. These include Shandong cuisine, Huaiyang cuisine, and Cantonese cuisine. Since Beijing was the capital city for many dynasties, most of these fancy dishes first appeared there. There are currently nine main types of Chinese aristocrat cuisine.

Confucian Cuisine: Food for Scholars

Confucius was a very famous Chinese thinker. His family was given special honors and status by Chinese emperors. Confucian cuisine is the food style developed by his descendants because of their important position. This special status grew even stronger when one of Confucius's family members married a daughter of the Qianlong Emperor during the Qing dynasty. Many dishes in Confucian cuisine come from the time of the Qianlong Emperor.

Confucian cuisine uses many different ingredients. It focuses on fresh, seasonal foods that are good for you. Banquets (big feasts) were very grand and showed off social status. Each dish was also presented beautifully, like a work of art. The most amazing Confucian banquet could have 196 dishes! These were served in 404 silver dishes. The most famous dish is the edible bird's nest, which was served to very important guests.

Dongpo Cuisine: A Poet's Delight

Dongpo cuisine (Dong-po-cai, 东坡菜) was created by Su Shi. He was a famous Chinese writer, poet, painter, and calligrapher from the Song dynasty. He even loved food! He created many dishes during his time in exile (when he had to live away from home). The cuisine is named after his special pen name, Dongpo. The most famous dish is probably Dongpo pork.

This cuisine often uses cooking methods like simmering, stewing, and roasting. This helps keep the natural taste of the ingredients. Since Su Shi created these dishes while in exile, he used common ingredients. This is different from other aristocrat cuisines that use expensive foods. Many Dongpo dishes are even mentioned in Su Shi's writings! This cuisine also uses a lot of gravy and sauce.

Li Family's Cuisine: Secret Imperial Recipes

Li family's cuisine (Li-Jia-Cai, 厉家菜) mixes Chinese imperial cuisine with Beijing cuisine. It also includes some unique dishes created by the Li family. Unlike other aristocrat cuisines that come from southern China, Li family's cuisine is based on northern Chinese styles.

The story behind it is fascinating! Mr. Li Shun-Qing was an official during the Qing dynasty. He worked for Empress Dowager Cixi and was in charge of her household. He would secretly memorize the menus of her meals. Then, he would write them down when he got home. These menus were kept in the family for over a hundred years!

A key feature of Li family's cuisine is that all dishes are made from natural ingredients. No artificial colors or chemicals are used. Also, the food is cooked using traditional methods, not modern kitchen tools. They even use a traditional Chinese hearth! Another interesting thing is that there's no menu. Customers eat whatever the restaurant serves that day. Banquets are the only option, usually with fifteen appetizers, seven main courses, and two desserts.

Mei Family's Cuisine: A Peking Opera Star's Favorite

Mei family's cuisine (Mei-Jia-Cai, 梅家菜) was created by Mr. Wang Shou-Shan. He was the personal chef for Mr. Mei Lanfang, a very famous Peking opera artist. This cuisine combines Huaiyang cuisine with another aristocrat style called Tan family's cuisine.

There are about 600 dishes in Mei family's cuisine. None of the dishes have very strong flavors, and the portions are not too big. This cuisine also uses seasonal ingredients. This means the dishes and cooking methods change depending on the time of year.

Red Chamber Cuisine: From a Famous Book

Red Chamber cuisine (Hong-Lou-Cai, 红楼菜) is based on the food described in the famous Chinese novel, Dream of the Red Chamber. The book mentions over 180 dishes! This cuisine mainly comes from Huaiyang cuisine, with some influences from Nanjing cuisine.

People started trying to recreate these dishes in the 1970s. After almost 40 years of research, restaurants in places like Beijing, Yangzhou, Taiwan, and Macau have successfully brought them back. These dishes are often served in special "Red Chamber banquets." A full banquet usually has 48 dishes, while a simpler one in Macau might have 39.

The Jin-Lai-Yu-Xuan restaurant in Zhongshan Park in Beijing is famous for its Red Chamber cuisine. They offer over 60 dishes. Mr. Sun Da-Li, their head chef, was the first in Beijing to research and restore this cuisine back in 1983. His cooking methods have become the standard for Red Chamber cuisine.

Suiyuan Cuisine: A Scholar's Cookbook

Suiyuan cuisine (Sui-Yuan-Cai, 随园菜) was created by Yuan Mei. He was a Chinese scholar, poet, and writer during the Qing dynasty. He wrote down his recipes in a book called Suiyuan shidan.

This cuisine mostly comes from Nanjing cuisine of that time. It also includes dishes from Zhejiang cuisine, Anhui cuisine, and other styles from Jiangsu cuisine. The most important thing about Suiyuan cuisine is that each dish focuses on its main ingredient. This means every dish has its own unique taste, and flavors don't get mixed up.

Suiyuan cuisine also required careful selection of ingredients and cooking methods. Sadly, this cuisine was lost for a while. In the 1980s, Mr. Xue Wen-Long, the head chef of Jinling Hotel, brought all 326 dishes from Suiyuan Shidan back to life after 20 years of research. Another person who helped a lot was Mr. Bai Ji-Chang. He even created dozens more dishes based on the original book. By the end of 2016, over 380 Suiyuan cuisine dishes were available.

Tan Family's Cuisine: A Blend of North and South

Tan family's cuisine is a very important type of Chinese aristocrat cuisine. It is mainly based on Cantonese cuisine but also mixes in styles from northern China. Today, there are more than 200 dishes available.

The most special thing about Tan family's cuisine is its taste. The dishes are not too salty or too sweet, so they suit people from both northern and southern China. Like Cantonese food, it also focuses on the natural flavor of the ingredients. Common cooking methods include roasting, simmering, stewing, and steaming. Tan family's cuisine is famous for dishes made with shark fin, abalone, and sea cucumbers.

Yunlin Cuisine: Fresh and Flavorful

Yunlin cuisine (Yun-Lin-Cai, 云林菜) was created by Ni Zan. He was a famous Chinese painter and food expert in the 12th century. He wrote down 42 dishes in his book, A Collection of Diet System of Yunlin Hall. By 2014, 16 of these dishes had been successfully recreated.

Yunlin cuisine comes from Wuxi cuisine. It shares Wuxi's characteristics of a sweet taste and using a good amount of oil and sauce. However, Yunlin cuisine really focuses on freshness. Cooking methods often include steaming, boiling, braising, and quickly boiling in hot water. To fit modern tastes, some recreated dishes have been changed. For example, less sugar is used to make them less sweet, which is good for health. Another important part of Yunlin cuisine is adding seasonings in a specific order to create layers of flavor.

Zhili Aristocrat Cuisine: Six Centuries of Flavor

Zhili (Chinese) aristocrat cuisine (直隶官府菜) started in Baoding during the Ming dynasty. It became fully developed in the Qing dynasty. This means it has a history of about 600 years! The dishes in Zhili aristocrat cuisine generally have a slightly salty taste.