Ingredients for Chinese Food Flavors
Other styles of cuisine may go in and out of fashion, but Chinese is a perennial favorite throughout the world. American style Chinese food flavors differ widely from traditional Chinese food in terms of the way that foods are prepared and the style of foods that are available. In addition to this, there are a number of different regional variations, both with traditional and Western style Chinese food. However, despite this there are a number of commonalities as well, especially when it comes to the dominant flavors of these types of cuisine.
The widespread popularity of Chinese food flavors means that it is available in many different forms. While Chinese restaurants not surprisingly remain the most popular way for people to get the Chinese cuisine that they crave, these dishes are also available in grocery stores as both frozen meals and prepackaged meals. Chinese style noodles, powdered sauce mixes, and bottled sauces are all available for consumers who want to make their own Chinese dishes at home.
Chinese food flavors may contain any number of base ingredients for their sauces. Beef, pork, chicken, and a number of different seafood items are all commonplace in Western style Chinese cuisine, and as such beef, pork, chicken, and fishy bases are all popular flavor ingredients. Strong vegetable bases are also popular, especially when used to produce vegan or vegetarian dishes. Additionally, bases are available that can provide a strong “oriental” flavor.
These bases can be used to create the sauces that go into the creation of these dishes, while they can also be used to create pre-made sauces and marinades for meat. They are also common additions to prepackaged Chinese foods such as microwavable Chinese style noodle dishes. Vinegar flavor ingredients are also commonplace, and can create the distinct flavor of a number of different types of sauces.
A number of other flavor ingredients are commonplace in Chinese style cuisine as well. Onion is popular in both traditional and Westernized Chinese cuisine. Green bell pepper is also a popular flavor addition. Also popular are vegetable type flavors such as carrot, corn, and mushroom. However, one of the distinct things about Chinese style cuisine is the addition of fruity flavor ingredients, and especially citrus flavors such as lemon and orange, which are popular in the creation of sweet and spicy as well as the sweet and sour foods that are common to this style of cuisine. Even sweet flavors such as honey have a strong place in the Chinese cuisine market, and can be used in the creation of a number of delicious dishes.
Another thing for companies and restaurants that produce Chinese cuisine to keep in mind is that, at present, many different types of cuisine from every corner of the world are flooding the market. Foods from other Asian countries are strongly being represented in the foods industry, with many flavors common to cuisine such as Thai and Vietnamese making their way into the Chinese food flavor market. That means there has been a rising popularity of flavors such as coconut and mint, which can be used to create fusion dishes. The market for Chinese food flavors is rife for experimentation.