What is the "hot" and "cold" category that Chinese culture separate their food into?

What is the "hot" and "cold" category that Chinese culture separate their food into? - A Family Eating Together

I am unsure if this categorization of food exist only in Chinese culture or if it exists in other (Asian) cultures. In China, a lot of the food is separated into either "cold" or "hot".

Some examples of "cold" food types are:

  • most fruits (apples, pears, etc)
  • tea
  • some herbal remedies(gingseng, ram horn water, etc)

Some examples of "hot" food types are:

  • some fruits (mangoes, pineapple, etc)
  • deep fried foods
  • pan-seared/ pan fried foods
  • coffee

Generally since I was young, I've been brought up to eat a balance of the "hot" and "cold" food. I was curious if this "hot" and "cold" categorization can be quantified into anything concrete? Can this categorization be backed by any sort of food science that finds a similarity between all the "hot" foods and all the "cold" foods.



Best Answer

Per AsianResearch.org's article The Ancient Theory Behind Chinese Food:

Generally speaking, foods that have a higher water content are considered cool, or yin, in nature. These are often foods that are boiled or steamed. Foods that have a higher energy content, particularly from fat, are considered warm, or yang, in nature. These are often foods that are fried or roasted.

[...]

From [Chinese traditional element theory] comes the idea of the five flavours ? bitter, sweet, spicy, salty and sour.

These flavours are subdivided into yin and yang. Sweet and spicy foods are considered to be yin, while bitter, sour and salty foods are considered to be yang. The five elements also correspond with the colours red, yellow, white, blue and green, which are all considered when choosing ingredients.




Pictures about "What is the "hot" and "cold" category that Chinese culture separate their food into?"

What is the "hot" and "cold" category that Chinese culture separate their food into? - Unrecognizable women cooking Asian dumplings with meat and veggies in kitchen
What is the "hot" and "cold" category that Chinese culture separate their food into? - High angle of crop anonymous female folding dumplings while preparing traditional Chinese jiaozi in kitchen at home
What is the "hot" and "cold" category that Chinese culture separate their food into? - Crop unrecognizable ladies folding traditional Chinese dumplings in kitchen



What are the 4 main cuisine regions in China?

There are two major classifications of Chinese cuisines based on geographical locations and cooking styles. First up are those termed the Four Major Cuisines: Lu cuisine from Shandong province; Chuan cuisine from Sichuan; Yue cuisine from Guangdong; and Su cuisine from Jiangsu.

What are the 3 regions of cuisine in China?

Eight Major Regional Cuisines
  • Sichuan Cuisine. Sichuan cuisine is best known for being spicy in flavor, but it doesn't end there. ...
  • Cantonese Cuisine. ...
  • Hunan Cuisine. ...
  • Jiangsu Cuisine. ...
  • Zhejiang Cuisine. ...
  • Fujian Cuisine. ...
  • Shandong Cuisine. ...
  • Anhui Cuisine.


What is the Chinese culture food?

Rice is the staple food in southern China, for southern China is the rice farming areas. People always eat steamed rice. While in Northern China, which is a wheat farming area, people normally eat flour-based food, like noodles, mantou (a kind of steamed buns) and dumplings.

What are the different types of Chinese food?

These eight culinary cuisines are Anhui, Cantonese, Fujian, Hunan, Jiangsu, Shandong, Szechuan and Zhejiang.
  • Anhui (Hui) ...
  • Cantonese (Yu) ...
  • Fujian (Min) ...
  • Hunan (Xiang) ...
  • Jiangsu (Su) ...
  • Shandong (Lu) ...
  • Szechuan (Chuan) ...
  • Zhejiang (Zhe)




Roma and Diana Pretend Play Food Stories




Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Images: Angela Roma, Angela Roma, Angela Roma, Angela Roma