Fun - Chinese Cuisine

As I was chatting with my dad, a tv show featuring food from Guangdong province came up. Dad points out smartly "Did you know that the culinary style of each region of China tells you a lot about the culture of the people?"

"Tell me about it." I inquired.

"Well to begin with, Sichuan food is known for its deadly spices. Because Sichuan is a very moist region, the people eat chili peppers to negate the effect of humidity on the body. Peppers can increase one's metabolism (?) keeping the Sichuan people feeling alert and energetic in a tiring and thickly humid region. As another example, noodles, pan fried pankcakes and dumplings comprise the staple food of the North. The North is cool in autumn and chilly in the winter. The people need a high caloric intake inorder to keep warm. Rice, the southern staple, will not suffice. The most interesting local cuisine type is Chiu Chow. Their efficient use of each part of each animal shows the observant diner that Chiu Chow is a poorer region of China where resources cannot be wasted. As a result of poverty, the Chiu Chow people are industrious workers and fearless entrepeneurs. Look at Mr. Li Ka Shing and you will understand what I mean. Mr. Li is the richest man in Hong Kong. Yet, he lives quite frugally. He spends and invests wisely, and other businessmen in Hong Kong find him a fierce competitor."

Indeed, studying the cuisine of a country can tell us a lot about its people and history. I remember reading about the introduction of meat to the diet of the Japanese commoner during the Meiji Period. The government was adamant on promoting beef and pork consumption. However, the Japanese had relied on fish and soy as protein sources for the past thousand years and beef and pork was scarce. There was little red meat around to meet the sudden quantum leap in demand. Ingenius Japanese chefs solved the problem by inventing Japanese curry. The Japanese added potatoes and other vegetables to curry to reduce the amount of beef required to make a filling dish. Now, Japanese people have a delicious and filling meal with red meat!