China Food Myths

[KennethT]

Thanks for all this information and the effort that went into getting it out! I appreciate it.

[teonzo]

7 hours ago, liuzhou said:

Its clientele seems to mostly middle aged men in large groups getting drunk. In the morning, the car park, which I walk through as a shortcut to the market, is littered with tart cards, suggesting that it's all rather seedy. I've never been inside the place!

 

So dog meat restaurant is just the official name for an under cover brothel?

 

 

 

7 hours ago, liuzhou said:

 

 

What's the use for the rubber mallet? I've never been in direct touch with an alligator, but I suppose its skin/scales/whatever should be pretty hard.

 

 

 

2 hours ago, liuzhou said:

It isn't Chinese food that is weird; it is western food.

 

Definetely this. And we should be ashamed, considering all the tons of good food that went to waste in the past decades.

 

 

 

Teo

 

[rotuts]

Thank you.

 

Ive learned a lot.

[liuzhou]

5 minutes ago, teonzo said:

So dog meat restaurant is just the official name for an under cover brothel?

 

Not really. They just seem to attract similar clienteles.

 

6 minutes ago, teonzo said:

What's the use for the rubber mallet?

 

Yes. To help bash the cleaver through the tougher parts. I have one in my kitchen, but never used it on alligator.

[Eatmywords]

1 hour ago, liuzhou said:

 

Not really. They just seem to attract similar clienteles.
 

Makes sense. Who wouldn't want the company of beautiful tartlets upon consuming virility boosting rover(s)?

[Anna N]

10 hours ago, liuzhou said:

Once again, I must point out that dog meat is common in many other countries, some much more so than in China. You never hear about people criticising Switzerland for it, do you? Why not?

I had no idea. Why is it not criticized? My guess would be that no one wants to actually acknowledge it.

[heidih]

3 minutes ago, Anna N said:

I had no idea. Why is it not criticized? My guess would be that no one wants to actually acknowledge it.

Imagine it is like horse meat. A cultural refusal to acknowledge where your flesh food comes from - as @liuzhou has noted.  Hey some folks recoil at the fish head included on their plate. Same people that continue to eat cheap chicken despite the pollution issues (stopping rant now)

[Eatmywords]

It's worth mentioning from a volume (if not moral - 1 dog eaten is 1 too many for me) perspective that its not legal in Swiss restaurants.  It appears to be a once a year xmas dish for rural Swiss farmers.   

 

C'mon swiss, can't you just eat another piece of chocolate?

[liuzhou]

9 hours ago, Eatmywords said:

It's worth mentioning from a volume (if not moral - 1 dog eaten is 1 too many for me) perspective that its not legal in Swiss restaurants.  It appears to be a once a year xmas dish for rural Swiss farmers.   

 

C'mon swiss, can't you just eat another piece of chocolate?

 

To clarify, commercial slaughter and sale of dog meat is illegal in Switzerland, but farmers are allowed to slaughter dogs for personal consumption.

 

But that is kind of irrelevant. I guess it's not a regular thing here in China, too. In 25 years, I've only had it three times, I think. And I only used Switzerland as an example. I could have used many others. Some Native Americans eat it as do many countries across Africa and Asia. It was also eaten in many countries during the two World Wars when food was in short supply.

Edited November 18, 2020 by liuzhou (log)

[FauxPas]

 

@liuzhou, I think lactose intolerance is not that uncommon throughout the world, but seems to be more associated to certain locations and historical factors. 

 

More to come from this study but it suggests some of the parameters:

https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2005/06/lactose-intolerance-linked-ancestral-struggles-climate-diseases

 

My Scandinavian heritage probably affects my ability to continue to digest lactose. But I definitely know some adults of varying backgrounds who have gradually lost their 'taste' for dairy, but may actually be losing their ability to produce lactase. 

 

It's not just Asian, but appears Asian and African groups have more propensity with difficulty in producing the dairy enzyme. 

[liuzhou]

3 minutes ago, FauxPas said:

It's not just Asian, but appears Asian and African groups have more propensity with difficulty in producing the dairy enzyme. 

 

I know that lactose intolerance is world wide, but as I said, the extent to which it applies to China is greatly exaggerated by some people in the media and online. The supermarkets wouldn't carry so many dairy products if no one bought them.

[liuzhou]

9. Sichuan has China's spiciest food.

 

 

While Sichuan is certainly not chilli-shy, a lot of its food looks spicier than it actually tastes. Take my favourite dish from the area - 辣子鸡 (là zi jī). A bright red dish of a mound of chillies (辣椒 - là jiāo) in which lie pieces of chicken (鸡肉 - jī ròu).

 

 

As Fuchsia Dunlop points out here (with recipe) this originates from Chongqing, which is no longer part of Sichuan, but was until 1997. Despite its formidable appearance it isn't actually that spicy-hot. The chillies are not eaten, but cooking the chicken with the spice adds a more subtle spiciness.

 

Chongqing and Sichuan are also famous for their hotpots, which are more spicy, but again not the spiciest food I have eaten.

Chongqing Hot Pot Broths

 

By far the most spicy food I've eaten anywhere in China (or the world) is from Western Hunan and Guizhou, the neighbouring province.

 

Pig's Ear with green and red chillies - Hunan

 

Duck with Chillies - Hunan

 

The food here in Northern Guangxi can also be very hot and the markets and supermarkets all carry several varieties of chillies.

 

 

 

and many more. You'll be glad the lack of dairy is a myth.

See this topic for much more on Hunan.

 

 

Edited November 18, 2020 by liuzhou (log)

[heidih]

Ha and those silly peppers are from the Americas like tomatoes... Many Westerners do so not "get" that those whole dried/fried red chiles are not be munched. They are gorgeous though

[KennethT]

@liuzhou It seems to me from my local Sichuan and Hunan places (different restaurants) that the chilies that go into Sichuan are typically dried, while Hunan food uses more fresh chilies.  The chilies in Sichuan food, for the most part, are not really eaten but are used to flavor a dish, like a hot pot, while Hunan food uses a large amount of chopped up fresh chilies that are practically impossible to avoid.  Is this true?

[liuzhou]

1 minute ago, KennethT said:

@liuzhou It seems to me from my local Sichuan and Hunan places (different restaurants) that the chilies that go into Sichuan are typically dried, while Hunan food uses more fresh chilies.  The chilies in Sichuan food, for the most part, are not really eaten but are used to flavor a dish, like a hot pot, while Hunan food uses a large amount of chopped up fresh chilies that are practically impossible to avoid.  Is this true?

 

Basically yes. Sichuan does use a lot of dried chillies, but not exclusively. Hunan also uses dried chillies but fresh are more prevalent. Both also use a lot of pickled chillies as does Guangxi.

[liuzhou]

Back to dairy for a moment. Just took delivery of this. The joys of online shopping in China.

 

 

French would be better, but this ain't bad.
 

Edited November 18, 2020 by liuzhou (log)

[liuzhou]

8 hours ago, liuzhou said:

 

Basically yes. Sichuan does use a lot of dried chillies, but not exclusively. Hunan also uses dried chillies but fresh are more prevalent. Both also use a lot of pickled chillies as does Guangxi.

 

I'd add that all over China, Hunan women, especially the younger ones are referred to as 湖南辣妹 - hú nán là mèi, literally Hunan Hot Sister, with hot here referring to their love of chillies, but also with the same innuendo as English has. I've also seen it translated as Hunan Spice Girls.

 

Edited November 18, 2020 by liuzhou (log)

[weinoo]

Do you find Fuschia Dunlop (whose books I have always admired and used) to be a pretty accurate source of info and recipes? A one-word answer will suffice.

[liuzhou]

39 minutes ago, weinoo said:

Do you find Fuschia Dunlop (whose books I have always admired and used) to be a pretty accurate source of info and recipes? A one-word answer will suffice.

 

对

[weinoo]

谢谢

Edited November 18, 2020 by weinoo (log)

[Eatmywords]

15 hours ago, liuzhou said:

But that is kind of irrelevant. I guess it's not a regular thing here in China, too. In 25 years, I've only had it three times, I think. And I only used Switzerland as an example. I could have used many others. Some Native Americans eat it as do many countries across Africa and Asia. It was also eaten in many countries during the two World Wars when food was in short supply.

 

Kind of relevant when addressing volume and govt acceptance.  Big difference from not punishing private consumption to legal, commercial use including farming, festivals and restaurants which could only happen with significant numbers supporting it.  I see it on this scale only in China and S.Korea.  Is that incorrect?

[liuzhou]

On 11/18/2020 at 11:40 PM, Eatmywords said:

 I see it on this scale only in China and S.Korea.  Is that incorrect?

 

As I said before it the number of dog-meat eaters in China is extremely low, probably less than 0.1%. Given its population of over 1.4 billion, that figure is, of course, higher than anywhere else. If 140,000 Chinese people have itchy buttocks, that doesn't mean the Chinese are more prone to having itchy buttocks. It just shows there are a lot of Chinese people. Absolute figures are statistically meaningless.

 

It has been stated that at last year's Yulin festival 1,000 dogs were eaten. Given that one dog serves around eight diners, that would represent approximately 0.0006% of the Chinese population. Hardly large scale.

 

Edited September 17, 2021 by liuzhou (log)

[liuzhou]

10. You need a wok and high BTU burner to cook Chinese food.

 

 

I've muttered and mumbled about this issue several times before elsewhere on this site, but it really belongs here, so...

First, you need neither, although a wok (炒锅 - chǎo guō, literally 'fry pot', usually shortened to just 锅 - guō) is a very useful and versatile tool in the kitchen. Ideal for stir frying, deep frying, boiling, steaming, smoking etc. In many Chinese homes, the wok may well be the only utensil available. I use one in 95% of my cooking.

 

Clay pot 沙锅

That said, not all Chinese dishes use woks. Clay pots (沙锅 - shā guō) are often used as are pressure cookers, rice cookers and these hot pot dishes. Stir fries can be done in regular frying pans/skillets, but woks are better. Their high sides enable better, more thorough stirring.

 

 

Wok Burners

 

There are those who will tell you that you can't use a wok successfuly on a regular stove. That will come as a shock to the millions of people across China cooking lunch right now in their woks using regular stoves. I have never seen anyone anywhere in China using a high-temperature wok burner outside of a restaurant.

 

"But you won't get the 'wok hei' without a high temperature," they complain. Well, here's a secret. Few people care. Few people even know what 'wok hei' is. The expression 'wok hei' (鑊氣) is Cantonese, a language spoken by around 70 million people (most of whom are not even in China), whereas Putonghua (in English, Mandarin) is spoken by around a billion! So, it is really only important in Cantonese cooking. Even in Cantonese speaking areas, people don't use special wok burners domestically.

 

Elsewhere, restaurants use high temperature cooking for stir fries as it is much quicker  - obviously desirable in a busy restaurant or canteen.

 

Until recently, I didn't even know where I could have bought a high BTU burner in this city, but found one shop in an area selling industrial equipment to business and restaurants etc..

 

 

If you want to emulate Cantonese restaurant food, then go ahead and get yourself one. Here, people just go to the restaurant or make do at home on their regular gas stoves.

Edited December 20, 2023 by liuzhou (log)

[weinoo]

I have a friend or two who I argue with about this all the time.  Some have gone so far as to buy high BTU propane burners - of course, they have backyards or other outdoor availability. I've cautioned them not to burn down their houses.

[liuzhou]

9 hours ago, weinoo said:

of course, they have backyards or other outdoor availability. I've cautioned them not to burn down their houses.

 

Indeed. Nearly everyone in China's cities lives in apartment blocks and don't have backyards. In the countryside, they don't have gas! No one is going to install a high BTU burner in an apartment kitchen even if they were allowed to.
 

Edited November 19, 2020 by liuzhou (log)