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Global Cuisine
 I’m pleased to add my two cents to Celebrated Living’s annual Food and Wine Issue, since part of what makes travel such a wonderful adventure is discovering new things to eat and drink. Whether it’s tandoori chicken in Delhi or jerk chicken in Jamaica, the American Airlines global network creates a world of diverse and authentic dining opportunities.
One of the lessons I’ve learned in my travels is how often my preconceptions of a country’s food don’t match up with reality. I now realize that the idea of a national cuisine can be misleading, since distinct cuisines within countries can contrast greatly with each other. For example, the cooking of Alsace, Normandy, and Provence has little in common, except the label of “French food.” Similarly, in Brazil, there are interesting and important differences between the Cariocan cuisine of Rio de Janeiro and the Paulista cuisine of São Paulo, just 200 miles to the south.
At American Airlines, we have been learning a lot about China since launching our first-ever service to that country, between Chicago and Shanghai. I am sure we all have our ideas of what “Chinese food” is all about, and I dare say most of us are probably guilty of simplification since — as a huge country that is diverse in climate, ethnicity, and subcultures — China has many distinct regional styles of cooking.
The so-called “Eight Great Traditions” of Chinese cuisine are Anhui, Cantonese, Fujian, Hunan, Jiangsu, Shandong, Sichuan, and Zhejiang. Because Shanghai is a relatively new city, the chefs there have incorporated and refined the cuisine of surrounding provinces like Zhejiang and Jiangsu, while also creating their own unique style of cuisine. The cooks of Shanghai are known to cook with more flair than their counterparts in other Chinese regions, using liberal amounts of seasoning, including sugar, to flavor their dishes. When sugar is present, rice wine vinegar is sometimes added to help create savory specialties like sweet and sour pork.
Other popular Shanghai specialties include hairy crab, a special crab found in rivers of that region, which is usually eaten during the winter. The crabs are tied with strings, placed in bamboo containers, steamed, and served with very few extra ingredients necessary. With beggar’s chicken, another popular dish, the chicken is coated with wet clay and baked. When it’s ready, the clay is chipped away to reveal the tender meat inside. Pi Dan, or preserved duck eggs, are a traditional delicacy in Shanghai. Sometimes called “1,000-year-old eggs,” they are nowhere near that old, I assure you (usually 100 days or less). To wash it all down, a Shanghai visitor might like to try Dragon Well Tea, which is grown nearby and considered by some to be the finest green tea in the world.
Like the country itself, the culinary scene in China is growing and changing rapidly. In Shanghai and elsewhere, as entrepreneurism spreads, restaurants are flourishing. Today, cooking methods and recipes passed down by families over centuries are becoming widely known and embraced.
When you’re ready to discover what “Chinese food” tastes like in China, American Airlines is ready to help with our nonstop service between Chicago and Shanghai. And of course, I’d be
remiss not to mention that Chicago has a lot of great food too! Maybe I can tackle that subject in next year’s column. For now, bon voyage and bon appétit!
Gerard J. Arpey
Chairman and CEO American Airlines
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