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To be (Chinese), or Not to be (Chinese)


hzrt8w

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I know that raw vegetables are quite rare in Chinese cuisine, but it can't be entirely unheard of right (and yes, I'm referring to 'authentic' Chinese cuisine)?

I may be wrong, but I think I came across a few Teochew/Hokkien dishes making use of fresh lettuce or something of that sort.

I also recall reading somewhere that a "special" lettuce is sometimes eaten raw but I don't recall where I read that or what region of China it was in :sad:

Special aye? I wonder what they were...

Well, there's popiah which hails from Fujian/Chaoshan region and that uses fresh lettuce.

Musings and Morsels - a film and food blog

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Forgot to add that my family eats a lot of fresh/raw (and stir fried) greens but that could be because my parents are health conscious and try to feed me as much fresh foods as possible OR it could be due adaptation from living in Australia (as discussed above) OR Vietnamese influences.

Musings and Morsels - a film and food blog

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Forgot to add that my family eats a lot of fresh/raw (and stir fried) greens but that could be because my parents are health conscious and try to feed me as much fresh foods as possible OR it could be due adaptation from living in Australia (as discussed above) OR Vietnamese influences.

I've been reading "Why the Chinese Don't Count Calories - 15 Secrets from a 3,000-Year-Old Food Culture" by Lorraine Clissold and she states that there are Chinese medical reasons for not eating raw vegetables...she suggests, at least, a quick blanch, steam, or stir-fry of vegetables.

I do like a green salad with Blue Cheese or Cesar(?) dressing or a good BLT but not too often! So cooking Chinese and other Asian dishes seems to be appropriate for me!

The link "Cooking - Food - Recipes - Cookbook Collections" on my site contains my 1000+ cookbook collections, recipes, and other food information: http://dmreed.com

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An important reason for the avoidance of raw vegetables is the extensive use of "night soil" as fertiliser in China.

(Night soil is human excreta.)

I was/am aware of this fact but the reasons given in the book had to do with the 5 elements, yin/yang, etc. and with the bodies difficulty in digesting the raw vegetables.

not being an expert of any kind and especially not of Chinese medicine, I cannot and will not vouch for the accuracy or scientific validity of the statements in the book!

The link "Cooking - Food - Recipes - Cookbook Collections" on my site contains my 1000+ cookbook collections, recipes, and other food information: http://dmreed.com

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and with the bodies difficulty in digesting the raw vegetables.

Isn't that funny. We now know that it's totally true that cooking helps the body digest veggies better and, in the case of antioxidants, helps "release" the nutrition. I like how the Chinese believed that before the advant of contemporary scientific studies.

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Isn't that funny. We now know that it's totally true that cooking helps the body digest veggies better and, in the case of antioxidants, helps "release" the nutrition. I like how the Chinese believed that before the advent of contemporary scientific  studies.
There's more to vegetable consumption than antioxidants. What about vitamins that may be broken down by the cooking process? Ideally we should eat a wide range of foods, cooked and/or raw.

Best Wishes,

Chee Fai.

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Isn't that funny. We now know that it's totally true that cooking helps the body digest veggies better and, in the case of antioxidants, helps "release" the nutrition. I like how the Chinese believed that before the advent of contemporary scientific  studies.
There's more to vegetable consumption than antioxidants. What about vitamins that may be broken down by the cooking process? Ideally we should eat a wide range of foods, cooked and/or raw.

It's true that cooking some vegetables makes them nutritionally better for us, but we also lose some benefit due to the cooking process itself. This makes for a sound argument for consuming a variety of vegetables, cooked and uncooked.

 

“Peter: Oh my god, Brian, there's a message in my Alphabits. It says, 'Oooooo.'

Brian: Peter, those are Cheerios.”

– From Fox TV’s “Family Guy”

 

Tim Oliver

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Isn't that funny. We now know that it's totally true that cooking helps the body digest veggies better and, in the case of antioxidants, helps "release" the nutrition. I like how the Chinese believed that before the advent of contemporary scientific  studies.
There's more to vegetable consumption than antioxidants. What about vitamins that may be broken down by the cooking process? Ideally we should eat a wide range of foods, cooked and/or raw.

It's true that cooking some vegetables makes them nutritionally better for us, but we also lose some benefit due to the cooking process itself. This makes for a sound argument for consuming a variety of vegetables, cooked and uncooked.

probably the various Chinese quick cooking techniques will minimize the lose of benefits?

The link "Cooking - Food - Recipes - Cookbook Collections" on my site contains my 1000+ cookbook collections, recipes, and other food information: http://dmreed.com

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Actually, now that I think about it, the Chinese tend to use a lot of cucumbers (uncooked but imo, cucumbers are kind of odd cooked anyway)...and a number of herbs of course, like coriander. Not sure if that counts but ehh, I'm struggling to think.

But my question still remains. Just how 'un-Chinese' is it to serve raw vegies? And like I said, the only time I've noticed its use is in Teochew/Hokkien cuisine.

Musings and Morsels - a film and food blog

http://musingsandmorsels.weebly.com/

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