Week 44/52

Kitchens in China are called (厨房, 膳所). More than 3000 years ago, the ancient Chinese used (ding 鼎) for cooking food. The ding was developed into the wok and pot used today. The earthenware pot, which was commonly used by most people, (砂锅) sand pot is still used in all kinds of cooking or medicine brewing. Many Chinese people believe that there is a kitchen god (灶神) who watches over the kitchen for the family. The kitchen god returns to heaven to give a report to the Jade Emperor (玉皇大帝) annually about this family behavior. Every Chinese New Year Eve, families will gather together to pray for the kitchen god to give a good report to heaven and wish him to bring back good news on the fifth day of the New Year. The most common cooking equipment in Chinese family kitchens and restaurant kitchens are woks, steamer basket, and pots. The fuel or heating resource was also important technique to practice the cooking skills. Traditionally Chinese were using wood or straw as the fuel to cook food. A Chinese chef had to master flaming and heat radiation to reliably prepare traditional recipes. Chinese cooking will use a pot or wok for pan frying, stir frying, deep frying or boiling.

F/4, 1/8 sec, ISO – 100, Photoshop CS6