Enjoy Exploring The Flavors Of Chinese Cuisine

The Flavors Of Chinese Cuisine Simplified

Thousands of years ago, it was discovered by Chinese cooks and philosophers that a variety of ingredients, mixed together artfully, creates a harmonious meal. When multiple foods  blend together, our taste buds are happy.

But, along with the main ingredients in a Chinese recipes, you'll notice a few pinches of this and a drizzle of that added to the dish. Don't let the dribs and drabs of these ingredients fool you - their importance is huge!

We're talking about the flavors we must incorporate in Chinese cooking if we want our meal to be a delicious success.  Let's look at the basic 5 flavors we all know and what ingredients we might use to achieve that taste:

Salty

Of course you'll find this flavor in table salt, but also in products that are made with salt, such as soy sauce. Experiment with a variety of salts to find a flavor palate you really enjoy. You'll be amazed at the choices you'll find for an ingredient as simple as salt.

Sweet

Refined white sugar, brown sugar, molasses, honey, jams and jellies can be used to produce the sweet flavor in a dish. Raw sugar and sugar cane is a favorite of many cooks who want to produce the purest sweet flavor they can.

Sour

This is the flavor that makes your lips pucker. Sometimes confused with the bitter flavor, sour flavor has more of a mouth-watering effect. Rice vinegar is a good example, but tomato paste and plum sauce are also nice and sour when made properly.

Bitter

When you taste a bitter food, your mouth should have more of a drying sensation. Almond paste, citrus zest, and some herbs will give you this taste. This flavor isn't always understood and often cooks try to avoid it entirely. The next time you zest an orange, give it a taste before you add it to the recipe and see if you can pick out the bitter flavor. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

Hot

This flavor can be confused with spicy. However, a spicy taste is usually a combination of flavors, not just heat. You'll get plenty of heat with chili peppers, Szechuan peppercorns, dry and prepared mustard, and even fresh ginger root. Again, think of the sensation of heat rising up into your sinuses and you'll get the picture.

Each of these flavors is enjoyable on its own, but the real taste treat comes when you combine them. Remember, the idea behind Chinese cuisine is the harmony of flavors. Some simple combinations that every Chinese cook knows how to make and use are:

Sweet and Sour - combine sugar and vinegar

Sweet and Salty - combine salt and soy sauce

Hot and Sour - combine chili sauce and vinegar

Salty and Hot - combine soy sauce and mustard

Once you learn these basic mixtures, you will be able to start blending even more flavors together to create a greater variety. That's the fun of Chinese cooking – there are not limits to the imagination and experimentation. Enjoy exploring these flavors... and more!