East Asians
How did the Chinese influence the cuisine and world view of the Koreans and the Japanese? Provide two examples of their influence, each in Korea and Japan
China influenced the worldview and the cuisine of Korea and Japan in many ways. The family values influenced by Confucianism are also seen in Korea and Japan; these include loyalty, placing the family before the individual, and respecting elders. Korea and Japan share elements of holiday traditions with China, such as New Years festivities, when old debts are settled and family is honored. Key staples and ingredients in the diet, such as rice, soybeans, and wheat noodles, were adopted from China. Cooking and eating utensils such as chopsticks were also adopted from China. An example of China's influence on Korea is the Korean concept of health and the balance of um (yin) and yang, which is closely tied to the precepts of Chinese Taoism. An example of China's influence on Japan is the Japanese custom of drinking tea.
What are the basic tenets of Confucianism, Taoism, and buddhism? How might these religions influences Asian food and culture?
Confucianism defines the ways in which people should live and work together. It includes values such as family harmony, respect for elders, children obeying parents, the wife deferring to the husband, and the family maintaining their standing and honor within society. Confucius also developed protocols for cooking and eating that were practiced in China until the 19th century. Taoism includes the values of a simple life, communion with nature, and avoidance of extremes. The fundamental duality and opposing forces of yin (feminine, cool, negative, dark) and yang (masculine, warm, positive, bright) must be balanced for harmony. Buddhism includes the concept of harmony and balance in family relationships, society, and nature; this also includes good diet, sleep, and exercise.Spirituality is integrated into family and community life. A good diet is critical for physical and emotional harmony. The composition of a meal is the balance between yin and yang foods, and the proper amounts of fan grains, and ts'ai meats and vegetables.Yin (cold) foods include melon, cucumber, and many vegetables and fruits, and yang (hot) foods include chile peppers, garlic, ginger, meats, fried dishes, and alcohol. Food also plays an important role in feast days. A Japanese New Year tradition is the Buddhist o sonae mochi, which is stacked mochi rice cakes representing the older and younger generations, with a tangerine on top for generations to come. The Chinese Moon festival in September was traditionally for women because the moon is a yin symbol, but today the festival also symbolizes the togetherness of the family, and special large round cakes called moon cakes are eaten.
List the countries for each region of Asia: East Asia, Southeast Asia, and South Asia
East Asia includes China, Taiwan, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, and Mongolia. Southeast Asia includes the Philippines, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia, and Hawaii. South Asia includes India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bhutan.
Visit a Chinese restaurant or just look at the menu. Can you tell which region of China the recipes represent? How? Why do so many Chinese restaurants in the United States cook Cantonese style?
Northern Chinese cooking includes Beijing, and the Shandong and Honan regions. Recipes from Beijing include Peking duck and mu shu pork, wrapped in Mandarin wheat pancakes with hoisin sauce. Recipes from Honan include sweet-and-sour fish. Recipes from northern China include grilled or barbecued meat, the Mongolian hot pot, with sliced meats and vegetables cooked at the table in a pot of broth.Southern Chinese cooking includes the culinary areas of Sichuan-Hunan, Yunnan, and Guang-dong (Canton). The Sichuan-Hunan area uses chile peppers and garlic; dishes include hot and sour soup and smoked duck. Yunnan recipes are also hot and spicy, and include ham and some dairy products. Cantonese cooking is characterized by stir-fried dishes, dim sum, clear broths, egg rolls, and dishes with seafood, pork, chicken, and eggs. Vegetables include cabbage, garlic, melon, peas, green beans, water chestnuts, and mushrooms. Tea is the beverage served with meals.Cantonese cooking is probably the most familiar to Americans, because the majority of Chinese restaurants in the United States serve Cantonese-style food. Most of the Chinese immigrants until World War II were from the Guang-dong province (Canton), and the Chinatowns evolved as a protection against a sometimes hostile social and economic environment. Restaurants were opened to provide for their communities, and Cantonese cuisine became established.
What are the staples of the Asian diet? Desccribe some common foods derived from soybeans. What are different types of tea from Asia---Describe how they differ, including their taste
The main staple of the Asian diet is rice; staples such as millet and noodles made from wheat and buckwheat are found more in the north. Protein sources are soybean products, legumes such as red and mung beans, fish and shellfish, pork, poultry, eggs, beef, nuts, and seeds such as chestnuts and sesame seeds. Vegetables include bok choy, Chinese cabbage, long beans, sweet potatoes, bean sprouts, onions, squash, eggplant, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, seaweed, and peas. Fruits include apples, plums, dates, figs, melons, persimmons, and tangerines. The main seasonings include ginger, chili peppers, fish sauces, garlic, bean pastes, radishes, soy sauce, vinegar, and pickled fermented vegetables.Soy sauce is made from fermented cooked soybeans; it can be light colored or darker. Soy milk is made from soaked soybeans that are pureed, filtered, and boiled. Tofu is made by adding a curdling agent such as gypsum to boiled soy milk, and pressing the excess liquid from the bean curd, producing a soft or firm, bland, custard-like product. Fuyu (sufu), sometimes called Chinese cheese, is soybean curd that is fermented in brine and 100-proof liquor. Black bean sauce, sweet bean sauce, hoisin sauce, and chile bean paste are made from cooked fermented soybeans with varied seasonings such as ginger, garlic, chile peppers, and vinegar. Miso is fermented bean paste used in soup.There are three general types of tea: green, black (red), and oolong. Green tea is the dried, tender leaves of the tea plant. It brews a yellow, slightly astringent drink. Black tea is toasted, fermented leaves that have a black color and make a reddish drink; it is commonly drunk in Europe and America. Oolong tea is made from partially fermented leaves. Some teas in China are flavored with fruits or flowers, such as black tea with litchis, or orange blossoms, or oolong with jasmine. Other infusions of fruits, flowers, and herbs are called "tea," such as longan and chrysanthemum teas.
Describe what is meant by traditionsal Chinese Medicines, Kanpo, and Hanyak. How might these be integrated into the Chinese, Japanese, and Korean meaning of a balanced diet and life?
Traditional Chinese Medicine or TCM is a professional practice by physicians as well as correlated remedies used by laypersons at home. It is based on the dynamic equilibrium of forces such as the vital force of life qi, which flows along defined meridians in the body. TCM also is based on a cold and hot humoral system congruent with the Taoist system of yin and yang; harmony includes a balance of these opposites, and illness develops when disequilibrium occurs. Certain symptoms typify an excess of yin, such as anemia, weak blood, and colds, and others typify an excess of yang, such as fever or hypertension. TCM is integrated into a balanced diet and life style; health is a proper balance of diet, moderation in activities, and sleep. Qi must flow freely, and blood is strengthened through nourishment. If excess yang foods such as meat and alcohol are eaten, the remedy is eating more yin foods such as fruits and vegetables to restore balance.Kanpo is the Japanese term for Chinese herbal medicine. Practitioners, kanpo-i, go through rigorous training; they may use therapies that stimulate the immune system, or have anti-bacterial or anti-inflammatory properties, and these therapies are taken in small doses, which promote gradual improvement and restore equilibrium. Kanpo integrates with the Buddhist concept of life style harmony; illness results from imbalance, such as poor diet, lack of sleep or exercise, or social conflicts.Hanyak is the Korean medical approach, practiced typically by a hanui. Similarly to TCM, the pulse is taken; there are many classifications of pulses which help diagnosis. Hanyak medicines are used to balance and restore harmony to um (yin) and yang and ki, along with um and yang foods, and healing foods such as hearty soups made with bone marrow, broiled seaweed, kimchi, and ginseng tea.
