Beijing: Fact Sheet
China is famed world wide for its cuisine and there are few
countries where it has not become part of the established dining
scene.
We travelled to Beijing, China's political, cultural and
gastronomic capital where imperial cuisine, Peking duck, hotpot and
dumplings are the main items on the menu.
Mongolian Hotpot
The main external influence on the food of Northern China has been
the Muslim cooking of the Mongol invaders who broke through the
Great Wall from the North and brought their hotpots and
BBQ's. We visit a famous hotpot restaurant by Tiananmen
Square for a lesson in how you eat one.
Contact: Donglaishun Restaurant
East Side Tiananmen Square
Beijing
Tel: +86 10 6524 1042
Imperial Cuisine
Beijing was the centre of power for most of China's long imperial
history. The presence of court not only encouraged a huge
diversity of cooking styles in the city from every province in
China but also elevated cooking to a standard probably not seen
anywhere else in the world. Food was as important to the myth
surrounding the emperor as his armies and he employed hundreds if
not thousands in his kitchens. There are now a few
restaurants in Beijing that specialize in imperial cuisine; the
very grand Behai Fangshan Restaurant is one such spot. The
restaurant was founded 80 years ago by cooks who had worked in the
imperial kitchen. All dishes are elaborately prepared and
range from delicate pastries to sea cucumber with deer tendon
peppery inkfish's egg soup and camel paw with scallion. There
are also rare delicacies such as birdsnest soup, abalone, turtle
meat and of course shark fin soup.
Contact: Fangshan Restaurant
1 Wenjin Street
Xi Cheng District
Beijing 100034
Tel: + 86 10 6410 1879
Peking Duck
The complex recipes of the imperial kitchens date back many
hundreds of years as does the recipe for Beijing's most famous
dish; Peking Duck.. It is said that the original recipe was
scribed over three hundred years ago and ran to 15,000 words.
What we do know about the preparation is that the duck is blanched
and marinated in a mixture of malt honey vinegar and corn flour
before it is roasted in a hot oven to make it crisp. Serving the
duck is also conducted in a time honoured way. First the bird
is ceremoniously wheeled out to the table by the chef. The
skin is carefully sliced with the merest sliver of flesh and rolled
in a pancake accompanied with spring onions and hoi sin
sauce. For the authentic experience there are a number of
specialist restaurants in Beijing.
Wang Fu Jing Night Market
For its sheer spectacle a visit to Beijing's nightly food market is
a must. Amongst the barbeques, pancakes and stir fries you'll
find all manner of weird and wonderful delicacies to tempt the more
adventurous diner. There are charred locusts with gossamer
wings, spiny scorpions, silkworms in corkscrew cocoons and tiny
whole but headless frogs cooked in oil with star anise and chilli
powder. The market is open daily from 4.30pm to 10.30pm.
Dumplings
The Chinese have been perfecting the art of making dumplings
(jiaozi) since the sung dynasty so naturally they've become masters
of the art. In a country were geography dictates the cuisine
dumplings are the culinary ambassador across all ethnic groups and
religions. In Northern China dumplings are essential holiday
fare. As the spring festival marks the start of a New Year
the Chinese eat dumplings to connote their wishes of good fortune
for the New Year. Traditionally family members make the
dumplings together on New Years Eve - sometimes they will hide a
coin in a dumpling and whoever finds it is assured good fortune for
the New Year.
Most Chinese learn the art of dumpling making as children so by the time they're adults they're experts, particularly at making the wrappings which can be the most difficult part of the process. In Auntie Liu's hutong home Peta learns how to prepare the dough and make two different the fillings and most importantly how to wrap each dumpling.
AUNTIE LIU'S DUMPLINGS
Cabbage and Mushroom Dumplings
Flour
Water
Cabbage
Mushrooms
Garlic
Ginger
Peanut oil
Sesame oil
Pork and Celery
Celery stalk and leaves
Pork
Onion
Garlic
Peanut oil
Sesame
Mix the flour and water together to make the dough. Roll the dough into a sausage and cut into small pieces. Roll each piece until you have a circle about 7cm in diameter. To make the filling, finely chop the rest of the ingredients and combine with a little peanut and sesame oil. Place the filling in the centre of each circle and fold the edges towards each other to make a crescent or 'cornish pastie' shape. Dumplings can be steamed, fried or boiled but Auntie always boils hers for 3 to 4 minutes until they're done.
Red Capital Club
Discretely located in an immaculately restored hutong is
a very unique bar and restaurant called The Red Capital Club.
Step through the doors of Red Capital and you're transported to
1950's China when the country was driven by the sweeping idealism
of the Cultural Revolution and Chairman Mao. The furnishings
are genuine pieces from central government and the offices of
Madame Mao. The menu is comprised of the favourite dishes of
the party elite and each has its own story. There is Chairman
Mao's favourite meal of red roast pork with bitter melon and Deng's
family recipe for chicken which comes with black and white cat
sculptures carved out of beets and turnips, in honour of Deng's
famous economics axiom 'it doesn't matter if the cat is black or
white as long as it catches the mice'.
Contact: Red Capital Club
66 Dongsi Jiutiao
Dongsheng District
Tel: 86 10 8401 6152
Website:
www.redcapitalclub.com.cn
Time for Tea
In this city of sweeping change, one thing has stayed the
same, the ability to enjoy a cup of tea in a traditional
setting. At the Lao She Teahouse customers relax in an old
world Beijing setting, enjoy the finest teas in China, watch
traditional Chinese performance art and are treated to delicious
traditional snacks and delicacies the likes of which were eaten by
the Emperors of the Qing Dynasty.
Contact: Lao She Teahouse
Qianmen Xi Dajie Bldg 3, 3rd Floor
Beijing
Tel: +86 10 6303 6803
Club Lush
In a country so steeped in the traditions of tea the
search for a good cup of coffee can be tricky, but we found one at
a café called Club Lush. Owned by kiwi entrepreneur
Jade Gray, Club Lush is a haven for expats seeking a taste of
home. The menu is classic kiwi café food meets
American diner fare with familiar staples such as burgers, bagels
and breads.
Contact: Club Lush
2nd Floor, Bldg#1, Huaqingjiayuan, Wudaokou,
Beijing
Tel: +86 (010) 8286 3566
www.lushbeijing.com
The Great Wall
Jade joined our crew for a day to take us on a special
road trip. We hadn't travelled far from Beijing before we
encountered the most scenic countryside and meandering through the
landscape was the Great Wall. In the valleys below the Great
Wall are many unspoilt and rustic villages including one called
Jian Kou where Jade has made his version of the kiwi bach.
The view of the wall from Jian Kou is spectacular although you
won't find many western tourists here. Most head to the
public section at Mu Tian Yu where visitors can access the wall via
a cable car and have the option of descending by a toboggan.
Trout is a popular specialty in this region and through the river valley on the way to Jade's village are dozens of trout farms which are collectively called the Golden Mile. Here diners catch their meal before it is roasted whole with chilli powder and spices.
TOFU AND CHILLI STIR FRY
Jade introduced us to Mr Lu the village's best local cook
who prepared for us one of the most incendiary stir fries we had
encountered. Simply fry whole chillies in soya oil. Add
tofu, peppercorns and finally soy sauce with corn flour to
thicken.
DEEP FRIED AUBERGINE
Mr Lu's cooking was so good we asked him to share the
recipe for another of his specialties; deep fried aubergine.
Eggplant peeled and chopped
Carrots (chopped)
Green pepper (chopped)
Spring onions
Garlic
Ginger
Corn flour
Sugar
Soy sauce
Pinch of MSG
Pinch of salt
Walter
Soya oil for frying
Heat oil in a pan. Dip the aubergine in water then roll in corn flour before deep frying in the pan. Add green pepper and carrot to the pan, when the vegetables are cooked, strain them and set to one side. In the pan stir fry the spring onions, garlic and ginger. While these are cooking make a sauce by combining the corn flour, sugar, soy sauce, MSG, salt and water. Add the sauce to the spring onions and ginger then toss through cooked vegetables.
Additional Information
Travel specialists Adventure World assisted the 'Taste'
team with their China arrangements. Adventure World is a
niche travel company with an in depth knowledge of less traditional
tourist destinations. For more information about their
products and tours contact Adventure World at:
Contact: Adventure World
101 Great South Road, Remuera, Auckland
PO Box 74008 Market Road
Auckland
Tel: +64 9 524 5118 or 0800 ADVENTURE (0800 238 3622)
Email:
discover@adventureworld.co.nz
Website:
www.adventureworld.co.nz
