FASHIONABLE cuisine preparation techniques that focus strongly on molecular gastronomy can blind modern diners to the natural beauty of ingredients. But some Chinese chefs are becoming nostalgic and are turning back to early 20th century methods of cooking when ingredients were allowed to speak for themselves.

Chinese cuisine was on the threshold of a golden era from the 1920s to the 1940s thanks to many “folk chefs” who had been the private chefs of aristocrats in the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). They created many classic recipes and refined their culinary techniques to suit local tastes.

“Chefs from that era, no matter where they were in China, distinguished themselves by using simple techniques to bring out the natural beauty of ingredients,” said Zhou Hui, Chinese executive chef at Shangri-La Hotel Ningbo.

Inspired by that golden era, chef Zhou has introduced his “Chiang’s Family Dinner” menu in the hotel’s Shang Palace Chinese restaurant.

The Chiang used in the menu’s name refers to Chiang Kai-shek, born in Fenghua, Ningbo, who was political leader of the Republic of China (1912-1949).

“Chiang’s family dinner represents the finest cuisine culture of that era,” chef Zhou believes.

His Chiang family tribute menu includes eight appetizers, 10 hot dishes and two desserts. The menu, once the secret domain of the Chiang family, was first made known to the public on December 1, 1927.

This was the day at the old Majestic Hotel in Shanghai when Chiang Kai-shek married Soong Mei-ling, a celebrated wife who would become one of the most powerful political women of the 20th century.

To ensure the occasion’s grandeur, Chiang organized many distinctive Ningbo ingredients to be delivered to Shanghai for use in the wedding banquet. These included taro, clam, goose and yellow croaker and he invited cooks from his hometown to oversee the Shanghai chefs.

Chiang’s wedding banquet was hailed by the media of the day as “the best dinner in the Republic of China” and eventually became known as “Chiang’s family dinner.”

Recreating the nostalgic glory of this magnificent meal, however, is a significant challenge for modern chefs. Chiang eventually moved to Taiwan and little information about the meal remains available in his hometown.

“I made many visits to Xikou Town in Fenghua, the birth place of Chiang, to interview old local people about the family,” said chef Zhou.

“Some of the recipes were inspired by a time-honored local restaurant called ‘Xikou Chiang’s Food’ which was known for offering traditional flavors. Also, to accurately represent the historical meal, I used as my key reference a food book named ‘Minguo Chijia’ (literally, food connoisseurs of the Republic of China),” chef Zhou added.

Some dishes can be recreated if the chef gets the original recipe. But it is not possible for others which are based on some almost lost Chinese traditional culinary crafts.

“Using midoufu (literally, rice tofu) in this menu as an example,” chef Zhou said. “The preparation process is labor intensive and its shelf life is really short, around 24 hours, so few people have mastered the craft. It has therefore become a kind of intangible cultural heritage in Ningbo. I searched hard to find probably the only midoufu maker in Ningbo.”

Midoufu turns out to be one of the most impressive dishes on the menu. Chef Zhou double-boils it with Chinese cabbage and shredded pork to make a bowl of soup, clean and delicate, that is highlighted by midoufu’s distinctively soft, yet firm, texture and the cabbage’s natural sweetness.

Sun Dunmin, secretary-general of Fenghua Food Association, is dedicated to researching Fenghua cuisine from the 1920s to 1940s. He said Chiang’s food choices can be divided into three categories according to the region’s geography: from the sea (Ningbo is a coastal city), on the mountain (Xuedou Mountain), and from the soil.

“From the sea” refers to a series of seafood dishes represented by the Feng clam, a distinctive local clam featuring firm meat; it is full of juice, has a delicate flavor and is believed to have been Chiang’s favorite.

The chef simply boils it to highlight its original flavor. Diners preferring a richer flavor are recommended to dip the clam into soy sauce. Dried eel “from the sea” is also a highlight. The eel tastes rich and intense after being dried. Both dishes are served as appetizers in chef Zhou’s menu.

“Seafood was cheap in the early 20th century due to people in coastal cities being able to easily source ingredients so it doesn’t play an important role in Chiang’s family dinner,” said chef Zhou.

“On the mountain” refers to various bamboo shoots, fungus and free-range chickens sourced from Xuedou Mountain. Chef Zhou admits to a romantic element being the driver for his signature dish of dried bamboo shoots braised in soy sauce.

The bamboo shoots are sourced from Yantou Village, close to Xikou Town, the home of Mao Fumei, Chiang’s first wife. Mao insisted on drying the bamboo shoots every year for her husband, even though they had divorced. A long period of braising allows the bamboo shoots to absorb all the sauce’s flavor and aroma, ensuring each bite is delicious.

Another highlight dish from the mountain category is chef Zhou’s free-range chicken braised in soy sauce with fungus, mushroom and glutinous rice cake. The fungus and mushroom give the chicken a delicate flavor and aroma and the rice cake absorbs flavors from the sauce and juice from the meat.

Taro from the soil category is probably the most famous produce of Chiang’s hometown of Fenghua. The local taro plant is renowned for its soft, silky and starchy texture and natural sweetness. It goes well with many accompaniments, from meat to spices.

“Chiang suffered from indigestion so his private chef tried to find ingredients that were soft. The taro therefore became a star feature of the home dinner,” said chef Zhou.

“We sourced the taro from Qiange Village in Fenghua because the village’s distinctive yellow soil makes the taro soft and glutinous.”

Zhou braises the taro with beef so it absorbs the beef broth.

All the Chiang family dinner dishes, from the taro to the chicken, embodied a distinctive culinary thinking, some using expensive ingredients to enhance the presence of more common and cheaper components, chef Zhou believes.

Apart from highlighting the food, there is evidence in the Chiang family dinner of a focus on creating an elegant ambience and dining etiquette, said Fenghua Food Association’s Sun.

“My research shows the Chiang family dinner started with drinking tea and eating snacks. This was followed by the cold dishes, then the hot dishes and ended with desserts,” he said.

“Tableware was also rigorously selected, including china bowls and plates, silver spoons and ivory chopsticks.”

As well as using similar crockery, chef Zhou has decorated the dining room of the Shangri-La Hotel Ningbo with nostalgic posters from the era, mostly photos of Chiang taken during the 1930s and 1940s.