[Awe inspiring music playing]
From Beijing’s back alley restaurants, where Peking ducks crisp to perfection
in slow wood- fired ovens… to the pots of bubbling chile oil at one
of Szechuan’s communal dining tables....
…to a fast-paced feast of bite-sized fare at a traditional Hong Kong tea house.....
….The world of food takes us places beyond imagining.
[Ambient sound from live performance]
[Narrator] Join us on this culinary tour of China, as we shop some of the world’s most enchanting markets
and peek into secret kitchens where chefs are taking restaurant food in astonishing new directions.
Come along as we enter the private banquet rooms of Yu Bo, a chef helping to shape China’s emerging modernist cuisine.
With our expert guide K. F. Seetoh, we’ll visit a historic Beijing restaurant
that delivered take-out food to the Imperial Court 250 years ago.
[K. F. Seetoh speaking] So, you're looking at a culinary [.....] Which goes back to the Emperor's days....
[Narrator] Fuchsia Dunlop, cookbook author, journalist, and a world authority on Sichuan cooking,
will be our guide to the specialties of that acclaimed regional cuisine.
[Fuchsia Dunlop speaking] When I was invited to take part in this project, I was quite excited.
I've been researching Chinese food and culinary culture for more than 15 years,
and I've always been amazed by how kind of misunderstood China and Chinese cuisines are in the West.
And so, to have the opportunity to come here with an American master chef,
who's very accomplished in in Western cuisines, but who doesn't really know much about Chinese,
and to sort of show him some of the flavors and some of the places and
some of the people but that I've become so fond of over the last 15 years....
It was a great chance to see China once again through the eyes of an outsider.
[Narrator] And we’ll make a stop at the enormous Hong Xing Restaurant in Chengdu,
where we’ll learn the finer points of wok cooking with the restaurant’s
master chef as he prepares fish-fragrant pork slivers and Gong Bao chicken with peanuts.
For food lovers, every journey brings new tastes,
new ingredients, new skills and inspiration.
The more we see, the more we grow.
So fasten your seat belt for a whirlwind tour of China’s delectable flavors.
“Savoring the Best of World Flavors: China”
is the sixth edition of The Culinary Institute of America’s World Culinary Arts Series:
a first-of-its-kind video reference library documenting the “gold standards” of world cuisines.
In this volume, we’ll explore the kitchens, markets and restaurants of Beijing, Chengdu, and Hong Kong,
as their leading chefs and food authorities discuss ingredients
and demonstrate culinary techniques in step-by-step detail.
Every country has a few signature dishes that illuminate its culture.
We’ll be focusing on these foundation recipes,
watching as the masters make perfectly roasted Peking duck
and Dim Sum favorites like steamed shrimp dumplings.
We’ll gather new ideas for healthy vegetarian menus from China’s ancient Buddhist cooking traditions.
And we’ll interview some of the nation’s top chefs to gather insights for your own kitchen.
In recent years, the American food scene has changed faster than anyone would have thought possible.
Diners are fascinated with ethnic flavors and eager for a challenge.
Through this revolutionary video series,
we document authentic foodways, preserving them for future generations
and arming you with new ideas to dazzle your guests in the years ahead.