Every journey starts with a single step. Although looking for the five traditional Chinese cuisines in North America is a monumental task, you have to start somewhere.
Chef Cushing starts her journey of discovery where Cantonese first began in North America; on the west coast. She follows the path of Cantonese cuisine, discovering why, when most North Americans think Chinese food, they think Cantonese.
It is said of Sichuan cuisine that "100 dishes will have 100 flavors". So why is it that when North Americans think Sichuan they think hot hot hot?
Huaiyang cuisine is a bit of a mystery. Said to be the cuisine of poets and scholars, and a cuisine which demands meticulous knife skills and elaborate presentations, the cuisine appears to be a personification of the teachings of Confucius. The creative presentation of skillfully combined ingredients expresses the four most important elements in the art of Chinese cooking; color, aroma, flavor and texture. This type of cuisine is refined and delicate, and a far cry from what most North Americans think of coming out of a takeout container! All of this is incredibly enticing, so why then is Huaiyang cuisine so little enjoyed or understood in North America?
What is Northeastern cuisine and what makes it so distinctly different? A huge part of North America has more in common with the weather and agriculture of the northeastern area of China so surely this cuisine would be more prevalent here. But Christine has learned that immigration is everything when it comes to portable cuisines. And, as China is so large and the northeast so remote, it turns out that even the Cantonese might not know Northeastern (or Dongbei) cuisine.
Christine invites her mentor Chef Qu to join her in preparing a Shandong banquet for her chef/foodie friends as well as experts she has met throughout her travels.
Christine eats her way through the Lunar calendar with traditional customs, cuisine and culture.
Chef Christine starts her tea adventure in London, England where she learns why Westerners think of England when they think of tea, even though it's one of the most important Chinese exports and essential to all Chinese celebrations.
Birthday parties and baby naming ceremonies all wish for the same thing - long life. And in the Chinese culinary culture, that means noodles and there are more noodles in Chinese cuisines than you can possibly imagine.
Everything has its origins somewhere. Chef Christine looks for the culinary roots of foods such as ice cream, ketchup, pasta, phyllo, baklava and pizza.
Both during and after China's Cultural Revolution, traditional Chinese chefs, often seen as keepers of the cultural flame, were among the first to defect and their exodus has had a lasting effect on world cuisine, in particular in Taiwan.
Was it Confucius or Hippocrates who first said, "let food be your medicine and medicine be your food"? Chef Christine sets off to compare the thoughts and beliefs of foodie writers and philosophers.
When did cooking become cuisine? Was it in the Confucius Mansion 2,500 years ago and is Chinese cuisine really the biggest, the most expressive and the most complex cuisine on the planet?
The challenges of harvesting sea salt in Thailand's salt fields; visiting Thailand's most unusual market; cooking traditional Chinese cuisine in Bangkok.
Christine explores the flavor of sweet in Chinese immigrant communities across Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia.
According to science, humans are the only mammals attracted to sour flavours. Some believe that sour flavours can help digestion and whet the appetite.
The bitterness of Chinese medicinal herbs is said to clear heat, strengthen the stomach and promote salivation; the bitter fruit durian in Malaysia; a visit with hotelier Christopher Ong on Penang island.
Chef Christine visits the Malaysian island of Penang, a location historically important to the story of spice trade with TV celebrity Chef Wan for a fun and fact-filled visit to the Tropical Spice Garden.
Christine explores xian, a traditional Chinese flavour that is sometimes likened to umami, and visits Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore, where she learns that xian has different aftertastes in each location.