Salads

Salads, the unsung actors in Chinese cuisine, actually play a variety of significant roles. Sometimes a salad is a type of appetizer, served with an assortment of other light dishes on a dim sum display. Other times, especially during the summer months, a salad is a type of main course, composed primarily of cold noodles, rice, or tofu mixed with vegetables.

Occasionally, a salad is used to clear the palate, usually after a particularly spicy dish. Seldom, if ever, does the common garden-variety salad, a popular opening act in the West, make an appearance.

Indeed, a salad’s most favored part is that of side dish, providing a contrast or balance of flavor, texture, and color with the other dishes on the menu, fulfilling the primary principle of Chinese cuisine.

Whatever the occasion, the following chapter features something for everyone in the audience, whether it’s Chilled Asparagus, Mizuna, and Red Leaf Lettuce Salad, Shandong-Style, for an elegant first course; Chinese Potato Salad for a casual picnic; or Warm Tofu and Chinese Spinach Salad for a superb supper—enjoy the show!

hancheng

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