A Bite of China(2012–)

Gifts from Nature

This episode explores the rich bounty of food that is nature's gift to the Chinese people. Elf ear mushrooms gathered near Shangri-La on the Tibetan plateau, bamboo shoots from Zhejiang and Guangxi, traditional salt production and Nuodeng hams in Yunnan, lotus roots from Hubei and Henan, ice fishing in northern Heilongjiang, and finally trawling in the South China Sea.

The Story Of Staple Foods

This episode explores the staple foods that comprise the base of the Chinese diet. Examples are shown of the five traditional grains of China: rice, wheat, broomcorn millet, millet, and beans. Uses for all of the grains are also shown, from sticky rice cakes to noodles, dumplings and breads. It also explores the cultural divide between the southern preference for rice and the northern love of wheat.

Inspiration for Change

This episode looks at several traditional methods of processing food to produce distinctly Chinese delicacies, in particular fermentation. Explore many different varieties of tofu in central China and several varieties of fermented dairy products in Inner Mongolia. Other food processes include alcohol in Shaoxing, preserved meats in Zhejiang and fermented vegetables in north east China.

The Taste Of Time

This episode explores both modern and traditional ways to preserve food - from salting and drying to stewing and smoking. Learn to make kimchi with the Korean ethnic minority of north east China. In Hong Kong sweet cured meats are popular. In mountainous Hunan, discover the famous Souse fish of the Miao ethnic minority. Learn about the Hui style smelly fermented perch. Other foods include Jinhua ham, dried seaweed, dried mullet and shrimp paste.

Secrets of the Kitchen

This episode looks at the various cooking traditions peculiar to the Chinese. In the Tibetan village of Nixi, handmade black pottery pots are the favoured form of cooking. In the Guangdong town of Shunde, Ouyang Guangye cooks a traditional country banquet, including a whole steamed pig. In Yangzhou, Chinese chefs demonstrate their knife skills. In Hunan we visit a Chinese cooking academy and the home of one of the teachers. In Hong Kong, artist Liang Yihu runs a social club where she collects stories and recipes from elderly Hong Kong residents.

A Perfect Blend of Five Flavors

This episode examines the flavours that dominate Chinese cuisine. Sweet, salty, spicy, sour and bitter. In Guangdong we see the traditional production of sea salt. In Shanxi we see the traditional production of vinegar. In Sichuan, the chilli and Sichuan pepper vie for supremacy. Foods featured include sweet onion pancakes, sweet preserved duck, Wuxi style sweet pork ribs, Macau style tangerine peel duck, salt water chicken, fish aroma pork strips, broad bean chilli paste, Sichuan hotpot, fishball and seaweed soup.

Utensils

From pottery, bronze, iron, porcelain, Chinese cooking utensils all the way, along with the continuous advancement of civilization, the invention, discovery and application of new materials, barbecue, steaming, frying also appeared one after another, and Chinese cooking methods have taken a leap. Sometimes it is kitchen utensils that create cooking methods, and sometimes the needs of cooking methods promote the innovation of kitchen utensils and utensils. In the long history, how to make better use of ingredients and cook the best taste, from kitchen utensils to tableware, the Chinese have developed unique tool wisdom and aesthetic awareness.

Fragrance

Water and soil on one side and people on the other. China's rich natural resources have brought a variety of unique snack categories. These foods are often made from local materials, are the most friendly, can best reflect local characteristics, and are also the most evocative. They have a prominent position and strong vitality in Chinese food culture. Snacks condense the customs of a place and become a unique local folk symbol, reflecting the local material and social life style.

Banquet

Chinese people are used to turning joys, sorrows and joys in life, weddings and funerals, and socializing into eating activities. As the so-called "reciprocity of etiquette" improves the relationship between people, the style of banquets and parties has greatly developed. People closely connect diet and social interaction, and the matter of diet is devoted to the expectation of family harmony, state governance, and world peace. Through banquets, people not only enjoy the art of food, but also enhance affinity and achieve harmony.

Nutrition

The Chinese use diet to maintain health, have developed a unique system of botany, medicine, and nutrition, and created health-preserving delicacies with natural philosophy. Food nourishes righteousness, and the common ingredients that are readily available contain the mysteries of health, guarding the road to the physical and mental safety of the Chinese nation. Discuss nutrition, hope to help everyone build a healthier lifestyle

Food

Chinese food culture has distinctive features and displays unique values. Food has been integral to our culture for thousands of years. Chinese people perceive and grasp the world around them through food. This episode will highlight the human factor in food, focusing on the relationship between people and food. Regardless of family survival or clan glory, food constitutes the foundation of our cultural existence. Only those who work hard can make delicious food. We find the true meaning of life from food.

Pastries

Dim sum is an important part of Chinese cooking, known for its long history, excellent production, rich variety and changeable flavor. People love to eat dim sum because they are not only delicious, but also entrust the Chinese people's yearning and expectation for a better life. A large number of Chinese pastries are still an indispensable gift for the Chinese people to communicate with each other. It is like a mirror, reflecting the changes of the times and human etiquette. It can be said that dim sum accompanies people through the festivals throughout the year, and also witnesses the growth and perfection of every life. It entrusts happiness and carries the spirit of love and mutual assistance.

Season

Everything in the world changes with the seasons, and China's agricultural work also follows the rhythm of nature. The world's intangible cultural heritage "Twenty-Four Solar Terms" is a unique system used by the Chinese to guide farming and life, and it is also the embodiment of Chinese food culture and life wisdom. To this day, the Chinese continue to maintain their physical and mental health with solar terms and diets. They follow the weather, plowing in spring, cultivating in summer, harvesting in autumn, and storing in winter.

Unique Skill

Fireworks

The life of Chinese people is centered on the vegetable market. It is the entrance to a local customs, always bustling and hot. It is also a lively circle of friends, content with trivial matters and family affairs. In the alleys and open-air sheds, everyone is a poet of ordinary life, picking ingredients and cooking fireworks. The days are warm and cozy between the chopping board and the stove. There is a road in the market, and there is true love between fireworks. People cannot live without the vegetable market.

Revitalize

Our taste inspiration often appears in some hidden places. The new knowledge gained from storage is passed down from generation to generation, forming food customs and sculpting the Chinese food civilization. Little do we know that behind the experience is a dialogue with time and a bond with microorganisms, which trains us to have a pair of eyes that can penetrate changes. Open the channel between the microscopic world and taste aesthetics, and let us embark on a journey to explore the mystery of natural transformation.

Heaven Made

Chinese pastoral stories often happen when people and nature meet on a narrow road. Can they always survive? In the mountains, on the alkali beach, on the sea, in the forest, people transcend limitations and build for generations. Those unique products and unique eating styles light up the food map of the Chinese people and bring unlimited space for survival.

Scenery

The county town carries the homesickness of half of the Chinese people. It may be simple and unpretentious, or it may be fashionable and avant-garde; it may be little known, or it may be famous all over the world. Although some people jokingly call it a "small place", in the hearts of countless wanderers, this city is extremely grand and an irreplaceable hometown. The extraordinary origin of ordinary food, the rural China hidden on the tip of the tongue.

Different Worlds

Chinese kitchens are often "a different world": drifting on the vast ocean, shuttling between the vast forests; there are ancient fire pits that use the sky and the earth as furnaces, and there are super kitchens with steel gears. From severe cold to scorching heat, from micro to macro, Lahu chicken, fish ball soup, braised eel, water chestnut roasted meat, sponge cake, dragon boat cubes, milk tofu and nearly dozens of other Chinese delicacies have appeared in turn, not only exploring traditional characteristics, but also paying attention to the new tastes born under technological changes.

Seasons

Most of great food is fissile spectacle resulting from combination and crash of different ingredients. If compare it with human relationship, some would be regarded as amazing perfect match. Some meet by chance but touched us deeply. Some can only make us regret not letting them meet sooner. Human activities lead to the gathering of food. The separation and reunion of food, on the other hand, also controls people. What Westerners called "destiny", is called "Yuan fen" by Chinese.

Footsteps