The Chinese Cookbook. Shiu Wong Chan
CONTENTS
| PAGE | |
| MEAT BISCUIT…………………………………………… | 184 |
| Chinese Meat Biscuit………………………………... | 184 |
| CAKE………………………………………………………. | 186 |
| Almond Cake………………………………………… | 186 |
| Chinese Sponge Cake……………………………….. | 187 |
| PUDDING…………………………………………………. | 188 |
| Water Chestnut Pudding…………………………… | 188 |
| Lily Root Pudding………………………………….. | 189 |
| Gray Potato Pudding………………………………. | 190 |
| CANDY…………………………………………………… | 191 |
| Peanut Candy……………………………………….. | 191 |
| Sesamum-seed Candy……………………………… | 192 |
| CONCLUSION: THE CHEMISTRY OF FOODS……… | 193 |
| CHINESE GROCERY STORES AND NOODLE SHOPS… | 198 |
| PRICE LIST OF CHINESE GROCERIES……………….. | 199 |
THE CHINESE COOK BOOK
THE HISTORY OF CHINESE
COOKING
In ancient times stoves were very different from now; hence cooking was crude and less elaborate. The food was broiled over coals or buried in hot ashes. The portable stoves of Pompeii which were dug up during the uncov- ering of the buried city show how these stoves were made. Others were the oven fireplace, the brick oven, and the Franklin stove invented by Benjamin Franklin. The cook-stoves adapted to wood were very different from the gas and electrical appliances of to-day.
It was but a step for primitive man, from baking in hot ashes, or in a covered kettle set on coals, to a simple form of oven. Often one served a community. Sometimes a fire was built directly in the oven, and when it was burned down the oven was swept out and the food put in to be cooked by the heated bricks. The later brick oven, still used in some old houses, had a space underneath for a separate
THE CHINESE COOK BOOK
fire. Charcoal was the primitive form of fuel used in some countries, especially in those hav- ing a mild climate.
This difference between the stoves of long ago and now has helped to improve our cook- ing.
The Chinese method of cooking was invented by the Emperor of Pow Hay Se in the year 3000 B.C. Confucius, the great philosopher, taught how to eat scientifically. The propor- tion of meat should not be more than that of vegetable. There ought to be a little ginger in one's food. Confucius would not eat anything which was not chopped up properly. To-day, unconsciously, the Chinese people are obeying this same law.
It is this scientific custom which makes Chi- nese food particularly nourishing and beneficial. In ancient days the Chinese used knives and forks. Later, they found that sometimes these impaired the delicious flavor of the food; hence their use of chop-sticks and spoons.
China has always been noted for its cooking. Many Americans prefer Chinese cooking. In fact, many Americans have Chinese cooks in their kitchens. After having tasted Chinese
THE CHINESE COOK BOOK
food, one realizes how delicious it is. It has been said that if the