Chinese Food Culture 57 --- Imitation Imperial Cuisine
From the Imperial Cuisine to the Imitation Imperial Cuisine, as the head of a state, the emperor enjoys glory, splendor, wealth and rank. There is a very interesting question to be asked: what did the emperor eat every day? How did he eat?
The food prepared for the emperor is known as imperial cuisine. When the emperors of Qing Dynasty had a meal, there was always a table for him to dine alone except for during banquets. Each soup or dish was covered and only when the emperor began to eat, would the cover be removed. There were special department for each kind of food. Different kinds of tea and the milk tea stewed with milk, cream, sugar and tea were served by the Imperial Tea House; while the Pastry House made a variety of pastries. Dinner dishes were served by the Imperial Kitchen. There were two meals a day. In winter, breakfast was served at 6:00 am or 7:00 am; supper was served between 12:00 noon to 14:00 pm and the evening snack was served at about 6:00 pm. Dishes for preparing each meal were all listed and the list was submitted to the officials of each department. There were two officials from the Royal Household Bureau in full charge of the preparations for meals and the budget was more than thirty thousand silver pieces a year. This was mainly spent purchasing chickens, ducks, pigs, fish and vegetables etc. The rice, flour, sheep, milk, delicacies of every kind and dried vegetables etc. were either tributed by various regions or provided by the land estate belonging to the Royal Household Bureau. They were the materials used to cook imperial dishes which required no purchase. There were delicacies from the mountains, game and bird's nests, which were well renowned and precious. Cooking methods included Manchu and Han styles, as well as southern and the northern cooking methods. Imperial cuisine features the essences of famous dishes from all over the country. Color, fragrance and taste are all important elements of imperial dishes. Imperial dishes have an additional characteristic; in that each dish has an auspicious name or one that is peculiar. Examples of such dishes include “the jade phoenix returns”, “the Dragon Boat fish”, “the phoenix in the nest”, “evergreen with clear soup”, “bamboo fungus with Longjing tea” and “golden fried rolls” etc.
When the Chinese revolution took place and the Qing Dynasty was overthrown, imperial chefs left the palace and lived amongst the people. They opened restaurants and since their dishes were a kind of imitation of the imperial cuisine made in the former Qing Court, the dishes were called “imitation imperial cuisine”. Now, the “Imitation Imperial Cuisine Restaurant” is a famous restaurant which specializes in serving imperial dishes. It is located in the former imperial garden – Beihai Park in Beijing and has a history of more than fifty years. The “Imitation Imperial Cuisine Restaurant” was founded by Zhao Renqi, a chef of the Qing court. In 1925, he invited several chefs from the Qing court to open the “Imitation Imperial Cuisine Restaurant”, creating a public sensation as soon as business opened. The restaurant then became famous exclusively serving imperial dishes for customers. If visitors to Beijing visit “Imitation Imperial Cuisine Restaurant” these days, they will have the chance to experience the pleasures of past Chinese emperors.