Uncle Jia’s free talk: Dishes should be named appropriately

Uncle Jia’s free talk: Dishes should be named appropriately (Alberta Times) This year 2012 is a dragon in the lunar calendar. I wish all senior citizens, businesses and friends a dragon and a tiger this year...

(Alberta Times)

This year 2012 is a dragon in the lunar calendar. I wish all my senior mahjong, business and friends a dragon and a tiger this year, dragon and tiger eyes, dragon and horse spirit, dragon flying and dragon dance, dragon sons and grandsons. ． ． ． ． . The Chinese are really lucky. Christmas and the New Year have just passed, and the Lunar New Year is here again, along with the traditional spring banquet of overseas Chinese communities. We enjoy so many long festivals and a series of meals and drinks. It would be strange not to eat more for three or four months. Therefore, Chinese restaurants, whether they are large restaurants or home-style restaurants, take advantage of this festive season to give full play to their expertise and prepare a variety of dishes to attract customers. Chinese cooking is a kind of culture and art, and the naming of Chinese dishes just reflects part of the culture and art. Big restaurants such as Luk Fook Restaurant, New World Restaurant, Fucheng Restaurant, and Blue Sky Restaurant. ． ． ． ． Wait, they cook banquet dishes, and the dishes are often named with meanings. They are based on the curiosity of customers, highlighting the characteristics of the dishes and rendering them, and using beautiful and poetic names to achieve a fascinating effect. Because the names have deep meanings, they need to be interpreted by someone to understand them. In fact, the ingredients and preparation methods, such as the name of the dish: Flowers are blooming and rich, the house is full of gold and jade, the carp leaps over the dragon gate, the grand plan is displayed, the peacock spreads its tail, the colorful lotus approaches the emperor, the pearl in the palm, the beauty hidden in the jade, the magpie liquid in the galaxy, the peach garden sworn brotherhood, the king's farewell my concubine, the blessing and longevity, the white hair and eyebrows. ． ． ． ． wait. Ordinary small restaurants among restaurants have average labor and cultural levels, so their naming of dishes is different from that of large restaurants. Most of them are based on the names of real ingredients, and they strive to be true to their names, try to reflect the characteristics and full picture of the dishes, and keep the names concise and clear at a glance. The names should be three or four characters with harmonious tones, which are easy to pronounce and remember, and avoid using local dialects that are rare and difficult to understand. Ordinary snack restaurants such as Hong Kong House, Tsui Yuen, Tao Yuan, Fulin, Duofu, Jade House, Café de Coral, etc. are mostly named using the main ingredients plus ingredients, container, preparation method, characteristics, texture, medicinal materials, condiments, founder and place of origin. Common ones we have; main ingredients plus ingredients, such as Caiyuan beef, pineapple sweet and sour pork, onion pork chop. ． ． wait. Containers for main ingredients: such as sizzling beef tenderloin, clay pot beef brisket, and xiaolongbao. ． ． etc. Addition of main ingredients: such as steamed ham, boiled shrimp, and fried oysters. ． ． wait. Main ingredients and specialties: such as strange-flavored chicken, hot-boiled beef, and crispy duck. ． ． wait. Ingredients and textures: such as crispy squab, crispy fried chicken, and crispy pancake. ． ． wait. Main ingredients plus medicinal materials: such as American ginseng chicken, tangerine peel beef, and cordyceps fish maw. ． ． wait. Main ingredients plus condiments: such as southern-roasted chicken, fish-flavored eggplant, and pepper-flavored squid. ． ． wait. The main ingredients plus the founder: such as Mapo tofu, Dongpo pork, Ah Yi abalone. ． ． wait. The main ingredients include the place of origin: such as Beijing stuffed duck, West Lake vinegar fish, and Yangzhou fried rice. ． ． wait. Methods for adding main ingredients and auxiliary ingredients: such as braised pork with pickled vegetables, steamed pork ribs with black bean sauce, and braised scallops with minced garlic. ． ． wait.