Preserving the Imperial Palate: Chef Liu Guo Zhu’s Secrets to Aristocratic Tan Cuisine
In the opulent, lantern-lit dining rooms of Golden Flower at Wynn Macau, Master Chef Liu Guo Zhu is engaged in a meticulous mission to preserve a culinary language nearly lost to time. As one of the world’s most respected custodians of Tan cuisine, Liu remains a living link to a style of cooking born in the private, elite kitchens of 19th-century Beijing aristocrats.
Tan cuisine originated in the household of Tan Zongjun, a high-ranking Qing Dynasty official. It represents a rare “diplomatic” blend of Chinese gastronomy, marrying the delicate, ingredient-focused sensibilities of southern Cantonese food with the robust, savory foundations of northern Shandong (Lu) cuisine. Today, Chef Liu’s kitchen at Golden Flower remains a sanctuary for the painstaking, time-intensive techniques that define this imperial tradition.
The Foundation: The Eight-Hour Supreme Broth
The heart of Tan cuisine is its broth—a liquid gold that serves as the foundation for almost every dish. Chef Liu’s “Supreme Broth” is the result of a rigorous eight-hour simmering process involving old hen, old duck, Jinhua ham, pork bone, and dried scallops. A critical “secret” in Liu’s kitchen is the final hour of constant, manual stirring, which emulsifies the fats to achieve a rich, milky consistency without the need for artificial thickeners or MSG.
“The secret is in the purity and the patience,” says Liu. A strict rule governs the braising process: once the cooking begins, no water can be added or reduced. This “no-dilution” policy ensures that the intense essence of the ingredients is captured perfectly in the final sauce.
Texture Through Oil: The Secret of Fish Maw
A hallmark of Tan cuisine is the treatment of precious dried delicacies. While most modern chefs reconstitute fish maw in water, Chef Liu utilizes a traditional low-temperature oil-soaking method. This technique causes the fish maw to expand significantly, creating a porous, “fluffy cloud” texture. This structural change allows the ingredient to act like a sponge, absorbing the maximum amount of the savory supreme broth during the final braise.
A Ritual of Refinement
Chef Liu also upholds the 19th-century ritual of the palate cleanser. In a practice once reserved for the Forbidden City, premium teas are served between appetizers and main courses to reset the taste buds. This ensures the tuttons.com diner can perceive the “moderate” balance that defines Tan cuisine—a precise equilibrium where salt and sugar are used so subtly that neither dominates the palate.
Signature masterpieces such as the Stewed Fish Maw with Crab Claw and Fresh Clam and Jasmine in Chicken Soup serve as a sensory masterclass in this philosophy. As we progress through 2026, Chef Liu Guo Zhu continues to prove that Tan cuisine is not merely a meal, but a preserved piece of China’s imperial history.
