Even in New York, where the best and greatest variety of ethnic food is easily within reach, it is rare to feast on authentic Chinese food from all five major regional cuisines: Cantonese, Sichuan, Huaiyang, Northeastern, and Shandong.
But local foodies were in luck, as Chinese language television network, NTD’s annual International Chinese Culinary Competition held live in Times Square ended in a 10-course banquet prepared by the award-winning chefs on October 3.
The event attracted many food connoisseurs who were anxious to experience Chinese cuisine cooked in an ancient traditional manner that has largely been neglected and ignored in today’s era of fusion and experimental cooking.
Jeffrey Steingarten, renowned food critic at Vogue magazine and judge for Food Network’s Iron Chef America, was also at the banquet on Sunday. Having made many trips to China, he was disheartened to find that the Chinese food offered in the West was not authentic at all. On one particular trip, he traveled to Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, and tasted authentic Sichuan cuisine for the first time. “I found, when I went to Chengdu for 10 days, there was almost no Sichuan food in America...I was so happy to go to Chengdu and have the real food, and then I was so happy tonight, because after one taste you know that it’s the real thing.”
But local foodies were in luck, as Chinese language television network, NTD’s annual International Chinese Culinary Competition held live in Times Square ended in a 10-course banquet prepared by the award-winning chefs on October 3.
The event attracted many food connoisseurs who were anxious to experience Chinese cuisine cooked in an ancient traditional manner that has largely been neglected and ignored in today’s era of fusion and experimental cooking.
Jeffrey Steingarten, renowned food critic at Vogue magazine and judge for Food Network’s Iron Chef America, was also at the banquet on Sunday. Having made many trips to China, he was disheartened to find that the Chinese food offered in the West was not authentic at all. On one particular trip, he traveled to Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, and tasted authentic Sichuan cuisine for the first time. “I found, when I went to Chengdu for 10 days, there was almost no Sichuan food in America...I was so happy to go to Chengdu and have the real food, and then I was so happy tonight, because after one taste you know that it’s the real thing.”
The Feast
The two gold winners, Yongji Jiang, New York City, and Ze Zheng, Las Vegas, who received $10,000 in prize money dominated the banquet table by preparing Sichuan and Cantonese cuisine. There was a total of 23 awards given to the participating contestants: 2 gold winners, 2 silver winners ($3000 each), 9 bronze winners ($1000 each), and 8 honorable mentions.
A silent auction of ancient Chinese items, including jade necklaces to replicas of Qing dynasty vases from the National Palace Museum in Taipei, preceded the culinary competition banquet.
After the winners were presented with their medals and certificates at the award ceremony, the banquet began with six appetizers from the Huaiyang, Northeastern, Shandong, and Sichuan cuisines. Both of the Sichuan dishes were particularly memorable. The “sea conches in chilly oil” featured the classic numbing spiciness, a sensation that tingles the tongue, thanks to the Sichuan peppercorn. The conches were done to perfection--crunchy but not overly chewy, flavored with just the right amount of spice to shock your taste buds. The “scallops in fragrant scallion oil” was similarly delightful, with the green scallions ground into a paste and topped onto the scallops.
A silent auction of ancient Chinese items, including jade necklaces to replicas of Qing dynasty vases from the National Palace Museum in Taipei, preceded the culinary competition banquet.
After the winners were presented with their medals and certificates at the award ceremony, the banquet began with six appetizers from the Huaiyang, Northeastern, Shandong, and Sichuan cuisines. Both of the Sichuan dishes were particularly memorable. The “sea conches in chilly oil” featured the classic numbing spiciness, a sensation that tingles the tongue, thanks to the Sichuan peppercorn. The conches were done to perfection--crunchy but not overly chewy, flavored with just the right amount of spice to shock your taste buds. The “scallops in fragrant scallion oil” was similarly delightful, with the green scallions ground into a paste and topped onto the scallops.
The Northeastern dish, “braised double mushrooms” was also a wonderful treat, perfect for vegetarians. The mushrooms were just the right texture, not too hard or soft, and seeped with flavor. The mushrooms were complemented with pine nuts, which was a pure match made in heaven.
A personal favorite was the “Nanjing salted duck,” a Huaiyang cuisine dish. The duck was oh-so-tender, and not fatty or oily (a common mishap in duck dishes), which made for a healthy and delectable mouthful.
The main courses began with “soup with sea delicacies” of the Shandong cuisine, made with shrimp, scallops, and oysters. For the main courses, the Sichuan dishes were once again the most exceptional, no doubt because of gold winner Yongji Jiang’s extraordinary skills. The “dry-sautéed prawns” offered an explosion of spicy, savory goodness in every bite. In fact, one could distinctively taste the spices used in the dish. The “Chilean sea bass in Yushiang sauce” was a sweet and tangy delight, with a touch of spice. The fish was soft but not mushy, and even a reluctant fish-eater like myself found it enjoyable. The “Sichuan dumplings,” drenched in red chili oil, was also of the sweet variety. The dumplings were juicy and not too meaty, and also wrapped beautifully.
The Huaiyang “yuba fortune rolls” was also a fun dish. Made with a crispy tofu skin (also called “yuba”) on the outside, and filled with crunchy water chestnuts and other vegetables inside, the rolls were delightfully lighter than the other pungent, flavor-heavy courses on the menu.
The most decadent course of the evening was certainly the “abalone in imperial oyster sauce.” This highly prized seafood product is well-known among the Chinese as a luxury food item, and the Cantonese are especially fond of using abalone in their cuisine. The abalone was very big (around the size of the palm) and thick, and topped with just the right amount of oyster sauce for a hint of flavor. Though chewy, it was not tough and made for an effect the Cantonese like to call “daan nga,” or “bouncy to the teeth.”
Dessert was a soup made of lotus seeds, jujube, and a white fungus called the “tremella fuciformis,” known to the Chinese as “snow ear,” “silver ear,” or “white wood ear.” The warm, lightly-sweetened (with crystal sugar) soup, along with the soft and slippery snow ear, was a most wonderful finish to a most scrumptious feast.
Steingarten was very pleased with the dishes at the banquet: “By and large it was better than, I think, any Chinese food I’ve had in New York...I’ve been to a lot of banquets. I think this was the best food at a banquet I’ve ever had of any kind. And usually at banquets, it’s hard to feed this number of people…the idea of the big stir-fry dishes, for this number of people, is very, very hard. So I was very impressed.”
The most decadent course of the evening was certainly the “abalone in imperial oyster sauce.” This highly prized seafood product is well-known among the Chinese as a luxury food item, and the Cantonese are especially fond of using abalone in their cuisine. The abalone was very big (around the size of the palm) and thick, and topped with just the right amount of oyster sauce for a hint of flavor. Though chewy, it was not tough and made for an effect the Cantonese like to call “daan nga,” or “bouncy to the teeth.”
Dessert was a soup made of lotus seeds, jujube, and a white fungus called the “tremella fuciformis,” known to the Chinese as “snow ear,” “silver ear,” or “white wood ear.” The warm, lightly-sweetened (with crystal sugar) soup, along with the soft and slippery snow ear, was a most wonderful finish to a most scrumptious feast.
Steingarten was very pleased with the dishes at the banquet: “By and large it was better than, I think, any Chinese food I’ve had in New York...I’ve been to a lot of banquets. I think this was the best food at a banquet I’ve ever had of any kind. And usually at banquets, it’s hard to feed this number of people…the idea of the big stir-fry dishes, for this number of people, is very, very hard. So I was very impressed.”
At the same time, Steingarten was disappointed that the Chinese government did not allow 11 chefs from the country to participate in the competition. Some were denied visas, while others had their passports confiscated. He remarked: “I am disappointed, although I didn’t really think of it before, that mainland China would not allow any of their chefs who had applied and apparently, had given the money and all that, and they would not allow them to come here. It’s silly, maybe they’re afraid they’d lose...they’re obviously suspicious of your television network because they don‘t control it the way they do in China. So maybe they were doing it to...try to injure you people. That’s a little disappointing, because wouldn’t it be nice also to have the best from China?”
Overlooking the Hudson River on a chilly autumn evening, the scenic atmosphere added an extra touch of elegance to the fantastic celebration of food and the great chefs who dedicate their lives to making them.
Overlooking the Hudson River on a chilly autumn evening, the scenic atmosphere added an extra touch of elegance to the fantastic celebration of food and the great chefs who dedicate their lives to making them.
