Food - more than just a meal - a journey back from China

In China, food is never just food. It is an important part of daily life: it feeds you, yes, but it also brings real joy, and it is believed to bring harmony and closeness to families and relationships.

Germany, on the other hand, is not exactly a food-celebrating nation. I don’t mean there is no delicious food here. (The smell of fresh bread and warm coffee in the house reminds me of being home like nothing else.) I mean that how food is celebrated in China and how it is celebrated in Germany are two very different things.

Ingredients, preparation, flavour, presentation and the way food is shared are just a few of the big differences.

What goes into the pot

Chinese cuisine uses a wide variety of ingredients: rice, noodles, soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, and a long list of vegetables and meats. German cuisine leans heavily on meat (pork above all), potatoes, bread and dairy such as cheese and butter.

The fridge mystery

It took me a while to understand why in some rural households people don’t have a fridge. The answer is simple: they buy everything fresh on the same day, so nothing needs cooling. Cold drinks are mostly not on the menu at home either. Chinese people simply don’t favour cold drinks, mainly for health reasons.

We had a fridge, of course. One look inside made it obvious that a European lived in the house.

Walk through a German supermarket and you will find most of the food behind closed doors or already processed. And a farmers’ market once a week in Germany, versus fresh food available every day of the week in China, is a huge difference in convenience.

How it’s cooked

Chinese cuisine is known for stir-frying, steaming and deep-frying, techniques that are quick and keep a lot of flavour in the ingredients. German cuisine focuses more on boiling, roasting and baking. Chinese cooking also uses a much wider range of spices and seasonings, while German cooking tends to stay simple and let the natural flavour of the ingredients do the talking.

Eight cuisines versus “Italian or Greek?”

Ingredients and preparation lead to flavour, and Chinese cuisine has a remarkable range of it. In Germany, I never hear anyone pick a specific local region for lunch or dinner. It is either German, Italian, Greek or something along those lines. Chinese cuisine, on the other hand, is traditionally divided into eight regional cuisines: Sichuan, Hunan, Shandong, Zhejiang, Fujian, Anhui, Cantonese and Jiangsu.

The differences between them are huge (China’s vast geography and varied climate shaped the ingredients and techniques of each region), and often only locals can really tell them apart. The flavours are typically bold and complex, with sweet, sour, salty and spicy all in the same conversation. German cuisine is more subtle, with a focus on hearty, comforting dishes that are rich and filling.

Food as medicine (and symbolism)

Chinese cooking also pays close attention to the health benefits of food. That is one of the main reasons, besides flavour, why so many dishes include ginger, garlic, green tea or mushrooms. Then there is the meaning of certain dishes: dumplings at Chinese New Year, for example, symbolise wealth and good fortune. For most of my life in Germany, I never experienced food carrying that much meaning.

So, both cuisines are delicious in their own right. They simply differ in ingredients, methods and flavours.

Around the table

The way food is celebrated differs as well. Germany is a structured country, so you get an appetiser, then a main course, then dessert. Hardly anyone shares their individual dish with the table.

Much of Chinese life, by contrast, revolves around food, so it is no surprise that there are many Chinese customs around dining. Coming from China to Germany can be quite a change, especially when the people around you are not curious about the differences or open to adapting.

One example is the round table, which lets everyone eat facing each other, with no head of the table. Another is the soup in the centre, believed to be nutritious and a source of energy, with the other dishes arranged around it.

Even going out with friends works differently. In Germany, an invitation to someone’s home for dinner is probably the highest sign of respect and closeness. In China, the choice of restaurant for such an occasion says a lot about the status of your relationship with the people you are going out with, whether business or private.

Back home, with chopsticks in the drawer

After about three and a half months back in Germany, it has been an interesting journey so far: discovering local ingredients much more consciously, finding more fresh food, and keeping some Chinese eating habits and traditions alive while settling into a completely different food culture.

If you would like to read more about Chinese food culture, I can recommend The Last Chinese Chef by Nicole Mones.

Bread and Rice is an ongoing series about life between two cultures: a German husband, his Chinese wife, and the small negotiations, misunderstandings and discoveries that fill a bicultural life.