What are traditional forms of the fan and cai？

3 min read

In China，the food stuffs are commonly classified as along tracks of fan ，staple foods and cai ，prepared dishes.The former refers to grains and other staple starch grains；the latter to supplementary vegetable or meat dishes.Fan is the more fundamental.Chinese have the habit of eating more of this food and less o non-staple dishes.Grains make up most of one’s caloric intake，and an adult may consume two or three bowls of rice or a large bowl of noodles.At the daily dining table，everyone has his or her own bowl of fan；but when there are a lot of cai dishes，some may prefer not to have any fan.

In the preparation of cai，the rule is to use multiple ingredients and several flavors.These dishes are usually placed at the center of the table to be shared by a11.This is conducive to family togetherness and friendship.In restaurants，“public”chopsticks or spoons are used to take food from the dishes to prevent the spread of disease.

What are the features of traditional Chinese staple food？

China has abundant resources and extensive land where different areas produce different staple food.Generally speaking，the staple food in the North includes wheat，rice，corn，soybeans，millet，beans and peas.And people in the South traditionally take dry cooked rice or rice porridge as their staple food due to the fact that rice mainly grows in the South.One type of rice called glutinous rice is usually used to make traditional Chinese rice-pudding ，eight treasures congee and various types of desserts.

In ancient times wheat flour and rice were mainly supplied to the upper classes of society，and coarse cereals or side crops to ordinary families.Gradually wheat flour and rice were considered as“refined grains ，”and maize，sorghum and millet as“coarse grains .”At that time only on the festival days did ordinary families have rice food or meat dumplings made by wheat flour.The“coarse grains”were their daily staple food.

After 1949，China carried the planned economy.In 1955 the food coupons and ration booklets appeared in cities.A grain ration book was issued each month by local government grain stores.For example，in Beijing local citizens got 50%of their grain ration in wheat flour，20%in rice，and 30%in coupons good for buying bowls of rice or noodles in restaurants.In rural areas，for example in northwestern

China，peasants usually had more wheat-flour-made food after a summer wheat harvest；in the second half of a year the other types of autumn grains like maize and soybeans are more consumed in place of wheat.

Such a situation lasted until earlier 1990s after China started carrying out the policies of the domestic reform and market economy，which led to the abundant supply of“refined grains”and“coarse grains”in food markets，supermarkets，and department stores across the country.At present，people either in cities or rural areas have a diverse choice of staple food according to their daily menu.