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Early Chinese CookbooksFood in History
Winter Volume: 2018 Issue: 25(4) pages: 23 to 24
Many early Chinese cookbooks, before the 6th
century CE, have been lost to posterity. Some
are known because they were mentioned in
later books, but many of them do not
have complete citations, exact quotes,
or even their recipes. Therefore, there
are limited references about them. An
example is a fine book by Cui Hao, a
prime minister at the beginning of the
Northern Wei Dynasty (386 CE). But even with those kind words, from
where we know not, very little is known
about this volume other than the author
was executed for treason. In Chinese,
it is called Shi Jing and is said to have
had recipes from the author’s mother
who dictated them to him. What is
known about this book includes that
not a single recipe has been located.
One source did say they include both
banquet and every day dishes, but as
the recipes have never been seen, even
that can not be guaranteed.  
Another very old item is called the
Essential Skills for Daily Life. By
Jai Sixie, the Prefect of the Shandong
Province in Gaoyang written in 533 Ce,
it has the Chinese title of Qi Min Yao
Shu which in English is translated as
the Essential Skills for People’s Daily
Lives. Actually, it is not one book, but
nine volumes, the last two include its
recipes. The other seven show how
advanced Chinese agriculture was in
those days. The information in them
is about making food; the first known
source of instructions for making soy
sauce. It says it needs choosing the
best soy beans. First soak them, to
steam them, then ferment them, in that
order. Another recipe is for roasting a
pig. Yet another is for making salted
black beans. We have never seen any
of its recipes translated into English;
have you? A later book that also survives is simply
called The Book of Recipes. It includes
fifty-eight of them. Some are for a
special feast that includes six recipes of
dishes with lamb. Archeoligists did find another early
book titled Records of Home Cooking. It is by a Mrs Wu;
her first name not known. Her book includes seventy-six
recipes. Yet another book published soon after
this one is by a hermit whose name is
Lin Hong. It is titled Simple Offerings
of a Mountain Hermit. He lived in the
Zhejiang Province. This volume is best
remembered for its Lamb Hot Pot. That
recipe some call ‘Rinsed Lamb’, and we
know not why. I remember eating it
years ago at a restaurant in Hangzhou
that faced the lake. When doing so, I
did wonder why popular other than
for its original source; the taste was
unimpressive.  
A popular painter named Ni Zan,
shortly thereafter, does write a fifty
recipe cookbook called Food System
of the Yulin House. This volume is
written while he lives on a boat on
Lake Taihu. The four wood cuts (one
on the previous page and three on this
one) are from this book. Ni Zan is a
well-known landscape painter who did
like to cook foods in wine or water,
sometimes with broth. We remember
he had a great influence on Yuan Mei.
That chap was a gourmet who did have
influence on Chinese food. You may
recall that this magazine did publish
Yuan Mei’s Iced Bean Curd recipe, and
it was well-received. Look for it in the
recipe list found at this magazine’s
website that lists all articles, recipes,
etc. at: www.flavorandfortune.com. To
date, that web site lists the more than
two thousand recipes this magazine
published since its first issue in 1994,
the more than one thousand articles,
the many book and restaurant reviews,
etc. |
