“What is your favorite Chinese dish?” Ask any foreigner this question, and most answers you get must be Kung Pao chicken! But how much do you know this foreigner’s favorite Chinese dish?

What is the meaning of Kung Pao? We need to look at the four Chinese words. ”gong“ means ”palace”; “bǎo” means guard “(保卫)”; “jī” means chicken; “dīng” means small pieces. If we put them together, it can be understood as “palace guards” chicken pieces“.

But where did the name come from? We need to talk about Ding Baozhen-the man who gave us Kung Pao chicken. Ding was a governor of Sichuan during Qing Dynasty. When Ding was a child, be fell into a river. He could not swim, but a family passing by saved him and brought him home. At their home, they served Ding a delicious chicken dish(the earliest Kung Pao chicken). Ding loved it very much and always remembered it. Years later, when Ding became a rich and powerful man, he invited that family to his house. The family cooked him the same dish and Ding soon made this dish popular all over Sichuan. In the late 1800s, Ding was given the title of ”gōng bǎo“(the person who guards the palace). Soon, people started calling him Ding Gongbao, and giving his favorite dish a name after him-Gongbao chicken. The English name Kung Pao sounds just the same as Chinese.

This dish appears on the menus almost everywhere in the world. Different countries and even cities in China have different ways to cook it. ▲ You have to ask some old cooks in Sichuan. They think three things-dried Sichuan peppers, sugar and vinegar—are the key to the most traditional Kung Pao chicken. The Sichuan pepper is the most important one. It is hard to buy it for many people outside Sichuan. That is probably why they cannot get the best taste.

Next time, when you are eating Kung Pao chicken with others, you can tell them many fun facts about this dish!

Dumpling is a Chinese cuisine. Actually, the tradition of eating dumplings during winter solstice has its     1     (originate) in early times.

It is said that dumplings were invented by Zhang Zhongjing, a     2     (fame) physician from the Eastern-Han Dynasty. He was once     3     official in Changsha.When he returned home for private life, he saw people lived an     4    (extreme) hard life and that their ears were red with cold in the snowing winter. He was sad and let his follower cook     5     (drive) out the chill with mutton, hot pepper and some medicine. Zhang let him boil them first and cut them up, then wrap them with flour. After     6     (boil) them, he gave the medicinal food to the people there on the day of the winter solstice. Zhang Zhongjing called it “cold dispelling dumpling soup”. By eating this kind of ear-like food, people’s ears     7     (cure).

Thereafter, every winter solstice Zhang Zhongjing made “cold dispelling dumpling soup” in order to prevent and cure ailments     8     (cause) by the cold. Then there became a saying that     9     you eat dumplings during the winter solstice, then you won’t freeze your ears off.

Afterwards, Zhang Zhongjing died on the day of winter solstice.     10     honor of him, every household makes dumplings every year on the day of the winter solstice.

Jianbing is one of China’s most popular street breakfasts.    1    Chinese dumplings have spread well beyond the country’s borders, Jianbing might be China’s best-kept culinary secret. Every neighborhood has its own Jianbing vendor(摊贩) serving breakfast from dawn through mid-morning, satisfying hungry    2    (local) on their way to work.

Contrary    3    what you might think, Jianbing is no grab-and-go street breakfast.    4    (preserve)the crispness(酥脆) of the pancake, Jianbing is never cooked ahead of time, so waiting in a line is part of the culture. But     5    (basic), Jianbing is a breakfast worth waiting for.

Jianbing has a longer history than almost any other Chinese street food. Thought to have originated in Shandong Province during the Three Kingdoms Period, military strategist Zhuge Liang had his soldiers cook food on shields(盾)    6    (hold) over the fire.

Of course, if Jianbing were that easy to make, it would have taken the world by storm long before now. Part of     7    challenge in copying the dish is that the recipe for a Jianbing differs by region, and even by vendor. Many consider it     8    (possible) to make your own Jianbing without months of practice and tuition from a master. Yet a few committed foreigners have made it, who     9    (inspire) to bring Jianbing to a hungry audience after their first taste in China back in the 1980s. In the UK, twins Melissa and Oliver Fu, owners of Mei Mei’s Street Cart are bringing the joys of jianbing first to London and now Manchester despite all the difficulty they have in    10    (perfect) their technique.

7 . Food plays an essential role in our lives and rightfully so: The food we eat is related to our culture.     1    . Don’t believe me? Here’s why food is the best way to understand a culture:

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It doesn’t matter where you’re from-you have to eat. Your social culture most likely developed from the need to eat. Once they surpassed hunting and gathering, many early civilizations organized themselves in ways that promoted food distribution and production. That also meant that the animals, land and resources you were near governed what you’d consume and how you’d prepare and cook it.

Food preservation techniques are unique to climates and lifestyles.

Ever wonder why the process to preserve meat is so different around the world?     3    . In Morocco, if preserved correctly, Khlea, a dish, is still good for two years when stored at room temperature. That makes much sense in Morocco, which has had a strong nomadic(游牧的)population, desert landscape, and extremely warm, dry temperatures.

The main local cuisines illustrate historical eating patterns.

Some societies have cuisines that are entirely based on meat, and others are almost entirely plant-based. India’s cuisine is extremely varied from region to region, with meat and wheat heavy dishes in the far north, to spectacular fish delicacies in the east, to rice-based vegetarian diets in the south.     4    .

Food tourism.

    5    . A food tourist won’t just focus on having a pint at Oktoberfest, but will be interested in learning the German beer making process, and possibly how they can make their own fresh beer. Since their interest in food is more than meal deep, the tourists have the chance to learn local preparation techniques that can lead to other aspects of a particular region’s culture.

9 . Traditional Chinese tea ceremonies are often held to welcome guests into one’s home. If you want to perform one, start by gathering all the tools you’ll need.    1    Once you get hold of one, follow the steps for performing a traditional Chinese tea ceremony.

Prepare the Chinese tea set and appreciate the tea.

To prepare the Chinese tea set, heat water in a kettle. Then place the teapot and teacups in the bowl and pour the heated water over them to warm up the tea set.     2     In a traditional Chinese tea ceremony, the tea is passed around for participants to examine and admire its appearance, aroma, and quality.

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Using the tea-leaf holder, pour the tea leaves into the teapot. This step is called “the black dragon enters the palace”. Heating water to the proper temperature is important when making Chinese tea, and ideal temperatures vary by tea type.

Next, place the teapot into the bowl, raise the kettle at shoulder length, and pour the heated water into the teapot until it overflows. Place the lid on the teapot.

Discard the tea and pour to brew (泡茶) again.

Pour the brewed tea into the tea pitcher. Using the tea pitcher, fill the tea cups with tea. But do not drink the tea. Instead, it is discarded.

Keeping the same tea leaves and holding the kettle just above the teapot, pour the properly heated water into the teapot. The water should be poured just above the teapot so as to not remove the flavor from the tea leaves too quickly. Place the lid on the teapot.     4    

Time to enjoy your tea.

Pour all the tea into the tea pitcher, and then pour that tea into your tea snifters. It is good manners that tea drinkers hold the cup with both hands enjoy the tea’s aroma and take a sip.     5     The first sip should be small; the second sip is the largest main sip; the third is to enjoy the after taste and empty the cup.