Fujian Cuisine

閩菜

雙語版

Fujian Cuisine or Min Cuisine is one of the eight Chinese cuisines, popular in Fujian, Taiwan and some Southeast Asian countries. The well-known Min Cuisine dishes include Boiled Sea Clam with Chicken Soup, Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, Sweet and Sour Litchis, and Sliced Whelk in Red Vinasse.

福建菜，簡稱閩菜，中國八大菜系之一，在福建、臺灣和東南亞廣受歡迎。代表菜有雞湯汆海蚌、佛跳墻、荔枝肉、淡糟香螺片等。

The history of Min Cuisine is pretty long. From the late Western Jin Dynasty to the Five Dynasties and Ten States, especially after the Min State was founded in Fuzhou, many people from the central plain migrated to Fujian and Min Cuisine formed its rudiment.

閩菜歷史悠久。西晉末年至五代十國時期，特別是閩國在福州建都后，大批中原人遷入福建，閩菜已具雛形。

As there were more than one important harbor for international trade and Quanzhou in Fujian became the starting point of the Maritime Silk Road in the Song Dynasty, Min food, having absorbed the cooking techniques of other places, developed quickly. The oversea trade also introduced some new seasonings to Min dishes, like satay, mustard and curry, which became important condiments of Min Cuisine later.

宋代時，福建泉州是海上絲綢之路的起點，閩菜吸收了其他地方的烹飪技術(shù)，迅速發(fā)展。海外貿(mào)易也為閩菜引進了新的調(diào)味品，如沙茶、芥末、咖喱等，它們后來也成為閩菜的重要調(diào)味品。

In the late Qing Dynasty, featured restaurants and skilled chefs mushroomed in Fujian. They always tried their best to cook the best and creative dishes. Min Cuisine flourished and formed its own system.

清末，福建涌現(xiàn)出大量閩菜餐館和技藝高超的廚師。他們竭其所能，創(chuàng)意新菜，閩菜蓬勃發(fā)展，形成了自己的體系。

Fujian Province is by the sea, and there are mountains, plains, rivers and lakes in land. As a result, a lot of delicacies from both land and sea become Min Cuisine ingredients, such as mushrooms, bamboo shoots, rice, cane sugar, vegetables, fruits, and freshwater turtles from land, and fishes, shrimps, clams from sea, etc.

福建外臨大海，內(nèi)有高山平原，江河湖泊。山珍野味，海鮮佳品，常年不絕，如來自內(nèi)陸的蘑菇、竹筍、稻米、甘蔗、蔬菜、水果、甲魚等，來自海洋的魚、蝦、蚌等。

As for the condiments, red vinasse, sugar and vinegar are the mostly used. Red vinasse is the vinasse of rice wine or yellow wine fermented with red yeast, which is highly nutritive. The using of red vinasse is a unique feature of Min Cuisine, making the dishes have a wine aroma and beautiful red color. Sugar is used to remove unwanted bad smells; vinegar is used to make food have a refreshing taste. Thus, Min food receive a good reputation of sweet but not cloying, and light but not tasteless.

紅酒糟、糖和醋是閩菜最常用的調(diào)味品。紅酒糟是指用紅曲釀造米酒或黃酒的酒糟，營養(yǎng)豐富?！凹t曲烹調(diào)”是閩菜的一大特色，使菜品帶有淡淡的酒香和誘人紅色。閩菜善用糖，甜去腥膻；巧用醋，酸能爽口。因此，福建菜享有“甜而不膩，淡而不薄”的美譽。

Soups play an absolutely important role in Min Cuisine, distinguishing itself from other cuisines. To keep dishes fresh, tender, elegant, attractive and nourishing, Min Cuisine chefs choose soups as the best way to show Min Cuisine features.

湯在閩菜中占絕對重要的地位，它是區(qū)別于其他菜系的明顯標志之一。閩菜注重菜品的清爽、鮮嫩、淡雅、滋補，而湯則是最好的體現(xiàn)方式。

Min chefs attach great importance to cutting techniques. The shreds should be as fine as hairs, the slices should be as thin as pieces of paper, and the dishes should be as beautiful as lychees. That means the chefs can make food material into the shape of a blossoming flower with a kitchen knife. Dishes of different styles have different demands for cutting methods so that the cooked dishes retain the original taste while better texture.

閩菜注重刀工，講究“切絲如發(fā)，片薄如紙，剞花如荔”,外觀精美，如朵朵盛開的鮮花。不同風格的菜品，采用不同的刀法，不但更好地保留食材的原味，而且口感更佳。