Posts Tagged ‘style’

California Style Cooking

Article by Adrien Gilleran

California cuisine is known as a stylish genre of cooking that is growing in reputation. Many people have heard the term before, but few can define just what it means. In the same way California is a mixture of many cultures, so too is its cuisine. At a simple level, California cuisine comes from local and organic food that is cooked using many different spices and techniques found all over the world.

California has a lengthy history of immigration and the food found there echos decades of cultural integration. Because of the state’s diversified background, California cuisine is actually a fusion of food from around the globe. For example, because California was a part of Mexico until 1848, its food continues to mirror Mexican and Spanish traditions. Additionally, the Gold Rush and the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad drew several Chinese immigrants to the area who have influenced the flavors found in food on the West coast. Recently, the flock of hippies to San Francisco in the 1960s localized popular food movements, such as vegetarianism, along with the philosophy of peace and love. One last and crucial component to California cuisine is the use of French cooking approaches. This is because many cooks that champion California cuisine went to culinary school in France. California cuisine remains inspired by all of these elements and the food is a mixture of ingredients and flavors.

When defining a cooking style as diverse as California cuisine, you will need to note the common thread is the preference to use fresh ingredients. Since California soil can support different types of food, one rarely has to look far for seasonal produce. This constant availability of local ingredients creates endless menu options. Furthermore, the cuisine is marked by the use of organic produce and animals raised without hormone injections or antibiotics. Finally, the popularity of vegetarianism is significantly reflected in California cuisine to satisfy its health and wellbeing aware population. At its best, California cuisine is a celebration of fresh, sustainable, and healthy food.

Core foods in California cuisine are avocadoes, citrus fruits, herbs, seafood, and tofu. Meat and Chicken are popular proteins, with lamb and pork occurring less regularly. Cooking techniques involve cooking the food fast on a grill or stove in order to maintain color and freshness. Presentation and physical appearance of the food are essential factors of the cuisine. A traditional instance of California cuisine is the California roll offered in many sushi restaurants. These rolls contain crab meat, cucumber, and avocado wrapped in nori (seaweed) and rice. Countless diners have tried California rolls before venturing out to try other, more exotic food.

Alice Waters is long thought to be the guardian of California cuisine. Her restaurant, Chez Panisse, has set a high bar for the movement since the 1970s. Another famous chef who made California cuisine more mainstream is Wolfgang Puck. These chefs and their restaurants are magnificent examples of the variety one can accomplish using local and seasonal ingredients. Due to the increasing desire to eat fresh and local ingredients, California cuisine is here to stay.

About the Author

If you enjoyed reading this article, culinary student Adrien Gilleran suggests further sources of information linked to San Francisco catering and Napa catering that you could find beneficial.

Enjoy the real taste of Asian cuisine in the truly Malaysian style!

Article by awaisminhas

Malaysian food is the representation of different aspects of Malaysian culture which differentiate every region and area. Malaysia has many diverse Ethnic groups which possess a different variety of dishes according to their region. But Malaysian food is also persuaded by Indonesian, Chinese, Continental, and Indian food. So speaking collectively, you might be coming from any part of the world; you can access all varieties of food here according to your taste. If you want to have food of your own region, you can have it and if you want to taste the typical Malay food that is already available. So all international travelers! Just forget all your worries about food when you are in Malaysia. Just think about planning vacation there and catching flights to Malaysia.

Illustrated by intense use of flavors, most of Malaysian food include staple food with rice, curries, boiling food, meat, poultry, pork, mutton, sea food, vegetables, and fruits. Malaysian cuisine is striking with an exhilarating collection of spices and cooking patterns providing the delicious and everlasting gastronomic experience. All these scrumptiousness are just at the distance of a flights to Malaysia Malay food is full of aromas and spices emerging from the utilization of intense and moisty spices by a combination of “rempah” and coconut extract. Famous Malay cuisine include Nasi Lemak which are creamy rice and making your breakfast complete, Rendang which is also famed as dry curry, Sambal which includes many sauces, Satay which is termed for barbequed meat, Mee Rebus which are chilli noodles, and lot more. All food lovers must avail the opportunity to catch flights to Malaysia and explore the wonderful cuisine of Malaysia. Chinese food varieties in Malaysia are very much admired not only by locals but also by the international travelers. These include some specialties like Bak Chor Mee, Bak Kut tee, Char Kui Teow, Chee Cheong fun, fish ball noodles, Hainanese chicken rice, Lok Lok, Steamboat etc. Indian food has very large impact on the Malay food due to its great taste. Famous Indian food includes fish head curry, Nasi Biryani, putu mayam, Rooti Canai etc.

Desserts are very popular and very much admired in Malaysia. Most of them are made in coconut milk and presents a very delicious taste. Few famous desserts are Cendol, Pulut Hitam, Bubur Cha cha, Pengat and a huge variety of pinapple tarts.

About the Author

Save money on your traveling to Malaysia by taking cheap flights to Malaysia and visit the country of delicious food in its unique style.

Dinning Out In Style in Food Haven New Delhi

Article by Pushpitha Wijesinghe

SHANGHAINESE STYLE SWISS CONTEMPORARY TOUCH

The 5-star Swissôtel Grand Shanghai is located in Jing An, the leading business district of Shanghai, and is a few steps from the famous Nanjing West Road, home to some of the city’s high-end commercial properties and exclusive shopping venues such as Jiu Guang City Plaza, Plaza 66 and CITIC Square.

A 575-square metre Grand Ballroom, a 390-square metre Junior Ballroom and six multi-functional rooms are the ideal venue for all kind of buiness and social events.

A desirable location, luxurious accommodations, superb service, and unique Swiss hospitality, blended with a Chinese touch, make the Swissôtel Grand Shanghai the best choice for both tourists and business travellers alike.

1 Yu Yuan Road, Jing An District, Shanghai 200040, P.R. China

Tel +86 21 5355 9898  Fax +86 21 6288 9638

Reservations:  www.swissotel.com/shanghai

China Golden Week Package

Urban Hideaway

Have a specially-memorable National Holiday break swathed in luxury and comfort. Any day from 25 September to 10 October 2009, stay in a plush Premier Room and receive complimentary buffet breakfast at Café Swiss, 20% discount on in-room Internet and free car parking. Or at minimal additional cost, stay in an Executive Club Room and enjoy use of the Swiss Executive Club Lounge providing complimentary breakfast, snacks and cocktails plus free Internet.

From 1–11 October 2009, Café Swiss takes part in this national celebration by bringing you the best of Chinese regional dishes on the buffet for lunch and dinner.

 Room Package rates at

· RMB 820 + 15% service charge a night for a Premium Room

· RMB 1,200 + 15% service charge a night for an Executive Club Room

 For room reservations: dial 6288 1133 or email reservations.shanghai@swissotel.com

 For reservations at Café Swiss: dial 5355 9898 ext. 6360

Chinese Style Beef in a Rice Cooker

Article by Jon C

In this article I shall describe a Chinese beef recipe that I cooked a couple of weeks ago. The seasoned strips of beef provide a tasty source of protein. While the rice and vegetables complete the meal to make it healthy and balanced. It cost under £5 to feed 3 hungry workers. And one of them ate enough for two.

I shall not list quantities in the ingredients list as I just take a guess and chuck things into the pot. Just use a sensible estimate and experiment until you have the balance of flavours that you require.

Ingredients

For beef:

rump steakgingergarlicsesame oillight soya sauceground black pepperChinese 5 spice

For the rest:

ricewaterbean sproutsmushroomsbell pepperBouillon vegetable stockchopped coriander

Instructions

Beef Marinade

Slice the beef into thin strips about 1 inch with.Chop the ginger and garlic finely, and mix with the garlic, sesame oil, light soya sauce and ground black pepper to form a delicious marinade.Mix the sliced beef with the marinade and set aside in a fridge for a few hours. If I’m planning on serving lunch at 12pm, I’ll normally prepare the beef at 9am.

Cooking

Rinse the rice in the rice cooker a few times, and fill with water until there’s about a finger nail’s breadth of water above the top of the rice.Add about half a teaspoon of vegetable stock to the rice,Chop the mushrooms and bell pepper. I normally chop them into lumps between 0.5cm and 1.0cm in diameter.Add all the chopped mushrooms, bell pepper and unchopped bean sprouts to the rice.Add the marinaded beef to the rice.Mix everything up.Turn on the rice cooker start cooking.When the food is cooked (this normally takes about 30 minutes), turn off the rice cooker, add the chopped coriander, and give it all another good mix.Serve!

About the Author

My name is Jon C, and I am the office chef at http://www.dawjee.com. Due to health and safety regulations, the only cooking utensils we’re permitted are a rice cooker, egg steamer and combination microwave oven (it can do grills and roasts). I try to use these tools to provide our staff with cheap healthy meals. Local dining establishments serve low quality, expensive food, that can have a noticeably negative impact on the afternoo