Top 10 Famous Chefs in Ancient China

2021-02-06 · Comments off

China has a history of more than 5,000 years, and its food culture has been passed down for thousands of years, among which many famous chefs have been born.In this post, I will introduce you to the top ten famous chefs in ancient China. And what are their characteristics in their respective cooking skills, and why they became famous Chinese chefs.

Here are the top 10 famous chefs in ancient China:

1. Yi Yin 伊尹

Top 10 Famous Chefs in Ancient China-Yi Yin
Yi Yin (1649 BC-1550 BC) was born in Kongsang (now Kongsang Village, Qi County, Henan Province). Because his mother lives above the water of Yi, Yi is the clan. A politician and thinker in the late summer of the Shang Dynasty, the founding father of the Shang Dynasty, one of the founders of the Taoist school, and the Chinese chef. When Yi Yin was young, he was fostered at the Pao Ren’s home and was able to learn the art of cooking. When he grew up, he became a master of cooking. Yi Yin has outstanding achievements and comprehensive cooking theory and practice. There are not many records of Yi Yin’s cooking practice, except that he cooked a piece of swan soup (swan soup) when he went to see Shangtang and was very popular. But from the perspective of Yi Yin’s words about soup and flavor in “Lv Shi Chun Qiu · Ben Wei Pian”, his level of cooking theory is absolutely top-notch.

2. Yiya 易牙

Top 10 Famous Chefs in Ancient China-Yi Ya
Yi Ya, a famous chef in the Spring and Autumn Period, was also written as Di Ya. He is Qi Huangong’s favored close minister and serves as the Yong man. Yi Ya is the first chef who uses the blending to operate cooking. He is good at seasoning and good at cooking. As a Yong, Yi Ya is good at seasoning, so Qi Huangong likes him very much. Because he was a chef, he was very skilled in cooking, and he was the first person to open a private restaurant, so he was called the patriarch by chefs.

3. Taihe Gong 太和公

Taihe Gong, a famous chef from Wuxi in the late Spring and Autumn Period, from Wuxi. He is proficient in making aquatic products as raw materials. He is especially famous for roasting fish, especially the favorite of Wu Wang Ji Lao. In order to seek the throne, Lord Wu Ji Guang asked the warriors to get rid of Ji Lao. I learned that Lao Liao loved to eat fish, so he worshipped Taihe Gong as his teacher by the bank of Taihu Lake and learned to be a chef. After 3 months, he finally learned the skill of searing fish. Ji Lao was greedy for this good dish, and came here to attend Ji Guang’s family banquet. He placed his dagger in the belly of the roasted carp, and took advantage of the opportunity to approach Ji Lao and stabbed him to death on the spot.

4. Shan Zu 膳祖

Shan Zu, a famous female chef of the Tang Dynasty. The famous foods in the book “Youyang Zazu” compiled by Duan Chengshi are all from the hands of Shanzu. According to historical records, Shan Zu was the home cook of Duan Wenchang, the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty. Duan Zeng compiled the 50 chapters of “The Classic of Food” by herself. The female chef who presided over Duan’s kitchen at Duan’s kitchen was originally superb, but with Duan’s training, she was even more extraordinary. She has a unique skill in repairing and curing raw materials, blending flavors, and waiting for civil and military skills.

5. Fanzheng 梵正

Fanzheng, a nun and famous female chef in the Five Dynasties, is well-known for creating the “Wangchuan Sample” landscape platter. He integrates dishes and plastic arts into one, so that the dishes are filled with landscape and poetry. The Wangchuan sample is carved and assembled with raw materials such as glutinous rice, dried meat, meat sauce, fruits and vegetables. When putting together, she used the 20 landscape drawings of Wang Wei’s Wangchuan villa as the blueprint to make the villa landscape, so that the dishes have the scenery and the poetry in the plate.

6. Liu Niangzi 刘娘子

Liu Niangzi was a female cook in Gaozong’s palace in the Southern Song Dynasty, in charge of the emperor’s royal food. Ms. Liu has a superb craftsmanship. Although the palace stipulates that the “Shang Shi” as a “five-level” official should be served by a male chef, she was used exceptionally for cooking a good dish loved by the emperor. People respected her as “Shang Shi”. Eat Liu Lady”. Liu Niangzi is the first famous female court chef in my country, the Song Dynasty version of “Dae Jang Geum”.

7. Dong Xiaowan 董小宛

Dong Xiaowan (AD 1624-1651), named Bai with the word Xiaowan, and the name Qinglian, was born in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province. He fell into a brothel due to poverty in his family and was under the name of Nanjing Jiaofang Si Leji, with Liu Rushi, Chen Yuanyuan, Li Xiangjun is equivalent to “Qinhuai Eight Yan”. Dong Xiaowan is also a culinary master. The pickles she pickles can make yellow ones like wax and green ones like green. All kinds of wild vegetables have a peculiar smell as soon as she hands them. The fire meat she makes has the smell of pine and cypress, the wind fish has the smell of deer, drunken clams are like peach blossoms, pine prawns are like dragon’s whiskers, pomfret is like sturgeon, and baked rabbit and crisp chicken are like cake bait. Words. According to reports: The tiger skin meat that people often eat, and the oily meat, is her invention. “Yingmeian Yiyu” records in more detail Dong Xiaowan’s method of making peach paste, melon paste, and red fermented bean curd. And some comments on diet and brewing methods.

8. Song Wusao 宋五嫂

Song Wusao, a famous female chef of the Southern Song Dynasty, Gaozong Zhao Gou took a dragon boat to the West Lake, once tasted its fish soup, and praised her, so she became famous and regarded as the “master” of the fish. Song Wusaozhi used vinegar as the main condiment, supplemented by ginger, garlic, sugar, salt, etc., to cook a unique color, fragrance, and taste “Vinegar Fish”, rewarded by the Lord of Ten Thousand Times They have been imitated everywhere and passed on from generation to generation as a famous dish. The Louwailou and Wuliuju in Hangzhou have been prosperous for hundreds of years because of the vinegar fish business.

9. Xiao Meiren 萧美人

Xiao Meiren, a well-known female pastry chef during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, was famous for making buns, pastries, dumplings and other desserts. Yuan Mei highly praised her. She praised her as “small and cute, white as snow” in “Suiyuan Food List”. Thanks to the appreciation of the relatives of the imperial family and the love of literati and celebrities, Xiao Meiren cake became a very popular pastry for Jiangnan celebrities. The snacks made by Xiao Meiren during the Qianlong period were even given as royal tributes.

10. Wang Xiaoyu 王小余

Wang Xiaoyu, the chief chef of Yuan Mei’s family in the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, was a culinary expert, possessing skills and rich theoretical experience. The scent of the dishes he burned exudes “smell the stinky fragrance, ten steps away from the taste”. He has a lot of research on cooking techniques and has published a series of insights. These technical insights have a great influence on Yuan Mei. “Suiyuan Food List” has a lot of space that can be attributed to Wang Xiaoyu’s insights. After Wang Xiaoyu’s death, Yuan Mei wrote an article “The Biography of Chef Wang Xiaoyu” in memory of this outstanding chef.