Toward the end of the Qing Dynasty, Empress Dowager Cixi arrogated all powers onto herself. This period, called the Guangxu  Xuantong Reign, was China's darkest and most corrupt political period.
Cixi was known for her overbearing, extravagant, dissolute, and self  indulgent attitude. She was a ruler who brought calamity to the country and its people. She liked beautiful clothes, good food, ostentation, and extravagance.
Under the Qing Dynasty system, there was no fixed funding for the emperors' meals; they were "reimbursed for what they spent." The empress dowager's food expense was 60 taels of silver a day during Qianlong's Reign.
When Cixi took power, she became not only "Her Majesty Empress Dowager," but slao the supreme ruler with supreme power. She was the de facto emperor of the Qing Dynasty, and she was absolutely dissatisfied with her daily food expense of 60 taels (1 tael is approximately 30 grams) of silver. It was estimated that her actual food expense may have been double that, or more than 100 taels of silver a day.
Cixi had exclusive kitchens in both the Imperial Palace and the Summer Palace. Her exclusive kitchen in the imperial palace was called the "Western Kitchen." The Western Kitchen was supervised by the chief managing eunuch. Under him were five sections, each having numerous cooks and sulas (laborers who did odd duties). Each section was sub  divided into divisions. The five sections were:
The Meat Section, which specialized in quick  frying, stir  frying, deep  frying, sautiing,s teaming, and stewing all meats of land and sea.
The Vegetarian Section, which specialized in stir - frying, deep  frying, and quick  frying vegetarian dishes made of bean curd and gluten.
The Rice, Bun and Noodle Section, which specialized in making rice, porridge, steamed buns, steamed rolls, pancakes and noodles. Each meal included porridges of green bean, meat, millet, the seeds of Job's tears (an Asiatic grass), barley and rice. Sometimes, there were also porridges of lotus leaf, lotus root and lotus seed.
The Snack Section, which specialized in making pastries for the morning and afternoon snacks, and steamed, fried, boiled and baked pastries for the midnight meals.
The Pastry Section, which specialized in making crisp and soft pastries, such as crisp and soft baked buns with stuffings, cream cakes, small fried cakes, and soft cakes.
Each section employed apprentices, eunuchs, and temporary people to do odd jobs. There were hundreds of lower  ranked eunuchs who had the special job of carrying the meal boxes to the Empress Dowager. When Cixi left the Forbidden City on inspection tours, the whole Western Kitchen staff traveled with her.
The eunuchs in the kitchen were each paid a salary. Those cooks with special skills received higher pay and bonuses if Cixi was happy.
Eunuch Xie was the director of the Western Kitchen at that time. His younger brother Xie Er as well as Wang Yushan and Zhang Yongxiang where all famous cooks who toiled to make many new delicacies to please the Empress Dowager and, therefore, were all in her grace.
Xie Er began work at the Palace because Cixi wanted to eat fried cakes filled with sweet mashed red beans. His specialty was making Shaomai(a steamed dumpling that has the dough gathered at the top). His dough was as thin as paper and his filling was savory and delicious. He was later asked to remain at the palace as a steam and fry cook.
Once, Cixi went to offer sacrifices at the Eastern Qing Tombs. The Western Kitchen sent cooks to go with her, but Xie Er failed to turn up. She ordered Shaomai, but found it tasteless. When she asked why, she was told that it was made by another cook, Liu Da. Cixi became so angry that she had the cook lashed 40 times for making it poorly, and immediately ordered Xie Er to come to her.
Wang Yushan was famous throughout the Palace for his stir  frying. He created the Four Grabs. These were grab and stir  fry: tenderloin, sliced fish, kidney, and shrimp. These dishes were all crisp on the outside but on the inside they were soft and tender with a hint of a sour flavour. They were never greasy. Cixi awarded him the title, "King of Grab and Stir  Fry Dishes," and he and the dishes he created became famous throughout Beijing. (In 1925, Wang Yushan jointed five others in running the Fangshan Restaurant, which served imitation imperial meals in Beihai Park.)
Besides being exquisite, the dishes Zhang Yongxiang cooked were beautiful and had a fresh, tender, yet distinct taste. His specialties were cooking bean sprouts filled with minced meat and hyacinth beans stuffed with minced meat. He chose big, straight, fat bean sprouts, cut off both ends, used a copper wire to hollow the sprouts, filled them with minced chicken or pork, and then steamed them. Hyacinth beans were prepared in the same way. After they were steamed, both dishes were fragrant and tasty. The bean sprouts were one of Cixi's favorite dishes. It was a labour - intensive dish that took 10 people all day to prepare.

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About Imperial Cuisine

. Tea and Its Healthy Effects . Tea Drinking in the Palace . Hot Pot Dishes in the Palace . Western Kitchen, Cixi Private Kitchen . Characteristics of Imperial Meals . Meals for Emperors . Imperial Food in the Qing Dynasty . Imperial Food in the Ming Dynasty . The History of Chinese Imperial Food . Alternative Imperial Cuisine

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