#8: China's Foods

From the Introduction:
A common greeting in China is “Have you eaten?” This is because eating is such an important part of life in China. Since China is one of the world’s largest countries and is home to one fifth of the world’s population, you can just imagine the variety of ingredients, cooking methods, and dishes available.
What you eat from your local Chinese takeout is just a tiny fraction of what you can taste in China! Chinese people pride themselves on using the freshest ingredients, mastering the finest knife skills, and perfecting the art of timing in their cooking. One Chinese food essayist wrote that a country’s food is a guide to its culture. Tasty cuisine reflects a people’s genius in invention, skill and patience in preparation, and knowledge of how to make life pleasurable. This book will help you and your students/children learn not only the various regional foods with recipes in China, but also the dining etiquette with the culture tradition.
Topics discussed include:
Chinese Banquets and Dining Etiquette
Food as Medicine
Food Symbolism
Traditional Holiday Foods
Inside a Chinese Kitchen
Seasonings and Spices
Snack Foods
Cuisine of Northern China
Cuisine of Eastern China
Cuisine of Western China
Cuisine of Southern China
Cuisine of the Minority Groups
The Culture of Tea
Agriculture
Imports and Exports
Food Recipes
Book includes teacher introduction and planning strategies, bulletin board resources and ideas, class discussion topics and projects, approaches to active learning, student information sheets, student activities, and references and resources.
Included CD-ROM (Win/Mac) features story-telling in English and Mandarin, story handouts in English/Chinese and Pinyin, teacher tips, additional student handouts and activities, photos, internet resources, puzzles, and interviews with Chinese publishers, translators, and a graphic novelist.
The Chinese Culture Active Learning Series is endorsed by Huang Youyi, Vice President of China International Publishing Group and Vice President of Translators Association of China, and Lin Wusun, Retired President of CIPG, Senior Editor and Translator.
Price: $22 plus shipping/handling. Click here to order books from OCDF online, or you may order by calling 309-829-8202 (toll-free: 1-866-460-OCDF). Visa and Mastercard accepted. Checks in US dollars accepted for phone orders.
Our Chinese Daughters Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with offices in Bloomington, IL and Beijing. OCDF Publications is devoted to ensuring educators and parents have access to high-quality, accurate Chinese culture education resources.
Contributors to this volume include Aimee Bothwell, Donna Breniman (West Lake Middle School, Apex, NC), Dr. Jane Liedtke ( CEO, OCDF), Joyce Melton-Ma (Christian Life Middle School, Rockford IL), Dr. Jason Patent (Stanford University), Georgina Van Dort (Western Academy of Beijing), Michelle Wu (The Spence School, New York, NY), and Megan Zaroda (OCDF).
Updated 03.12.2010








