The Embassy of China in Canada recently hosted a delightful Chinese Cuisine Tasting at Le Cordon Bleu as part of their Chinese New Year celebrations. This is the Year of The Snake, which symbolizes longevity. As an official public holiday, Chinese people can get eight days off from work, from January 28th to February 4th. This is definitely an idea for Canadians to consider!
Le Cordon Bleu Ottawa Culinary Arts Institute is the first Le Cordon Bleu campus outside of Europe and the only campus in North America. Highlighting its excellence in culinary education, it has been distinguished as North America’s best Culinary Training Institution for three consecutive years, 2022-2024. This year, they celebrate their 130 Year Anniversary. I was delighted to receive an invitation to a Chinese Cuisine Tasting at their elegant Ottawa campus.
With such a huge geographical area, there is a great variety of different Chinese foods, with regional and traditional specialities. Chinese cuisine can be divided into approximately eight regional cuisines. We were introduced to Sichuan Cuisine, which is famous for its spicy flavours, and to a dish of Dongbei Cuisine, which originated in the Qing Dynasty. To finish, we watched the preparation of a dessert cake. Guests were treated to a live cooking demonstration for each of three different dishes and enjoyed individual samples of each one.
To start, we watched Chef Wu prepare Steamed Chicken with Chili Sauce, which represented Sichuan cuisine. The tender chunks of chicken were served with an exquisite sauce that was both delicate and complex, with many layers of different flavours. The seasonings included angelica root, star anise and white cardamom. The sauce included chili oil, sesame paste and sesame seeds, vinegar, soy sauce, garlic mash and pepper oil. These were by no means all of the ingredients, but they give you an idea of how intricate the seasoning is for these dishes. The results were fantastic! The chicken chunks were tender and the sauce was spicy, tangy and nutty. Definitely mouthwatering!
ABOVE: Certified Culinary Master and Asian Golden Chef Award recipient, Chef Li.
Next, we watched Chef Li prepare Guo Bao Rou (double-cooked pork slices, also called Crispy Sweet and Sour Pork). After slicing the pork tenderloin into one-centimetre slices, he marinated the meat in a wet starch coating that was based on potato starch together with cilantro, scallions, garlic and ginger. The pork slices were lightly fried twice. The seasonings for this dish included rice vinegar, pepper, ketchup, soybean oil and soy sauce.
ABOVE: Chef Li’s Guo Bao Rou (Crispy Sweet and Sour Pork) decorated with elaborately carved vegetables.
All ingredients are available at TNT—a shopping excursion there is an experience for serious foodies, especially if you like Asian food. Finally, the pork slices were quickly stir-fried together with cilantro, scallions, ginger and garlic for a very fragrant effect. They turned out crispy on the outside and tender inside, with a delicious balance of sweet and sour flavours. Another mouthwatering dish!
Chef Li’s impressive knife skills are very advanced, and we noticed that sometimes, he didn’t even need to look at his cutting board! He chopped the ingredients extremely quickly as he nonchalantly glanced out at us.
ABOVE: Chef Zhang’s Mung Bean Cakes.
Pastry Chef Zhang completed the demonstration by making Mung Bean Cake. The main ingredient is steamed mung beans, which are mashed together with sugar and butter. She added matcha and cocoa powder for a modern twist to a traditional sweet dessert that is often enjoyed with tea. They remind me of a soft shortbread, with a similar texture. Chef Zhang invited us to come up and stamp designs on the cakes, using a cookie press. This was a fun way to wrap up the demonstration.
We were given recipes for all three dishes for those who feel ambitious in the kitchen, along with a goody bag and a fascinating book about food in Chinese culture.
Chef Li is a certified Chinese Culinary Master, having won many awards, including the Asian Golden Chef Award. He also specializes in food carving and we saw several fantastic examples of his work.
Chef Wu specializes in Huaiyang cuisine. He has worked as chef at four diplomatic missions and started at the Chinese embassy in Ottawa in 2021. Chef Wu also writes beautiful Chinese Calligraphy.
Pastry Chef Zhang has extensive experience working at four diplomatic missions and started her post at the Chinese Embassy in Ottawa in 2023. Her professional specialties are pastry and Chinese Dim Sum cooking.
Food represents the essence of a culture and it plays a fundamental role in the life of the Chinese people. By learning about their culinary traditions, we gained a better understanding of China’s rich cultural heritage. This tasting event was highly informative and a lot of fun, too! We all left with full stomachs and smiling faces.
For more wine and food discovery from Jane Staples, visit www.bellovinoj.com
ALL PHOTOS: Jane Staples
