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| Traditional Chinese | 御膳 / 宮廷菜 | ||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 御膳 / 宫廷菜 | ||||||
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Chinese imperial cuisine is derived from a variety of cooking styles of the regions in China, mainly from the cuisines of Shandong and Jiangsu provinces. The style originated from various Emperors' Kitchen and the Empress Dowagers' Kitchen, and it is similar to Beijing cuisine which it heavily influenced.
Imperial cuisine was served mainly to the emperors, their empresses and concubines, and the imperial family. The characteristics of the Chinese imperial cuisine are the elaborate cooking methods and the strict selection of raw materials, which are often extremely expensive, rare or complicated in preparation. Visual presentation is also very important, so the colour and the shape of the dish must be carefully arranged. The most famous Chinese imperial cuisine restaurants are both located in Beijing: Fang Shan (仿膳; fǎngshàn) in Beihai Park and Ting Li Ting (聽鸝廳; tīng lí tīng) in the Summer Palace.[1]
Styles and tastes of Chinese imperial cuisine vary from dynasty to dynasty. Every dynasty has its own distinguishing features. The two famous styles of Chinese imperial cuisine are from the Ming and Qing dynasties. Many famous dishes emerged in these dynasties, such as Wensi tofu and Peking duck.[2]
- ^ "The History of Chinese Imperial Food". Beijing Tourism. Beijing.com.cn. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2014-11-12.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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