Cooking Chinese dishes for dummies

By Kristina Koveshnikova: Pacific Media Centre

China Daily has held its very first cooking classes for foreigners.

Lessons in preparing traditional Chinese cuisine were offered at the Yosemite village in Shunyi district, Beijing.

Chinese people enjoy good food and take pride in their famous dishes. Over the centuries cooking has developed into a very sophisticated art, with several types of dishes from north to south and east to west.

Chinese cuisine has become widespread in many other parts of the world, from Canada and America to as far as New Zealand.

The art of Chinese cooking is not at all difficult and anyone can learn how to make traditional Chinese dishes.

Chefs from a local restaurant were invited by China Daily to teach foreigners how to make popular Chinese dishes like spring rolls, kunpo chicken and dumplings.

Dozens of people from over seven different countries came along. Some even brought the whole family to the event.

After each cooking demonstration, guests had the opportunity to prepare the dishes themselves, using the skills they had just learned.

The dumplings seemed to be the hardest dish to prepare among the three，coming out in all sorts of different shapes and sizes.

But all the foreigners at the event agreed Chinese food is a lot easier to cook than it may appear.

So anyone can master it.

Happy cooking!

Pictured: Kristina (centre) takes a turn at Chinese cooking in Beijing (China Daily).

Kristina Koveshnikova is an AUT graduate journalist who is on a Pacific Media Centre internship with the China Daily sponsored by the Asia New Zealand Foundation.

Cooking Chinese dishes for dummies [video]