Cheese and Chinese food
Will Martin
used as an ingredient in any Chinese or other Oriental cookery recipes.
Now, it may well be that the climate of much of the Orient prevents
cheesemaking as part of the culture (pun intended :-), but, for China at
least, the nation is so vast, encompassing so many climatic zones, that
at least some of the peoples living there must make cheese and use it in
cooking (similar to its use in Europe).
Or is this not done because of the prevalence of "lactose intolerance"
amongst Orientals? (See the current discussion on that in net.med if you
are interested.) [I have no idea how prevalent this condition is amongst
Orientals -- the net.med comments indicate that it might be common, though.]
Anyway, I solicit postings and recipes -- any use of cheese in Oriental
cookery. (Before someone comes out with claims about tofu being "soybean
cheese"; yes, if probably is -- but lets restrict this to milk-based
cheese, to keep the subject narrowed down. Feel free to post tofu
recipes, too [always cross-post such to net.veg, if all-vegetarian], but
under a separate heading, please...)
Regards,
Will Martin
UUCP/USENET: seismo!brl-bmd!wmartin or ARPA/MILNET: wma...@almsa-1.ARPA
William Ingogly
>It has occurred to me that I have no recollection of ever seeing cheese
>used as an ingredient in any Chinese or other Oriental cookery recipes.
I don't know about lactose intolerance and climate as influences on
the lack of milk cheese in Chinese recipes, but I've read (or been
told) that milk cheese is viewed as a disgusting substance in China.
They don't eat cheese, apparently, for the same reason we in the
U.S.A. don't eat fish that's been left in a warm place for two or
three weeks. At least that's what one source I've read claims.
Milk recipes in general are very rare in Chinese cooking; out of four
cookbooks I've got at home there are only one or two recipes that use
milk.
-- Cheers, Bill Ingogly
Henry Chai
>used as an ingredient in any Chinese or other Oriental cookery recipes.
Will it surprise you if I tell you that diary products are not a
part of the traditional chinese cuisine? Can you imagine a culture that
does not use milk, cheese, butter until they were brought over by
foreigners? The only cheese I know of that has been traditionally consumed
is goat's milk cheese, which is a part of the Mongolian cuisine, and it
isn't really chinese -- they're just nomads ("barbarians") living at the
fringes of Cathy.
>
>Or is this not done because of the prevalence of "lactose intolerance"
>amongst Orientals?
I myself is not intolerant of milk, but it has not been a part of my
usual diet until I came to Canada. Even now I don't drink it everyday,
and I can't have more than a glass in one sitting. To many of us,
diary products slow down the digestion process.
--
Henry Chai
Faculty of Library and Information Science, U of Toronto
{watmath,ihnp4,allegra}!utzoo!utflis!chai
Henry Chai
>Milk recipes in general are very rare in Chinese cooking; out of four
>cookbooks I've got at home there are only one or two recipes that use
>milk.
I'll tell you about two rather interesting dishes using milk:
Stir-fried Milk (yes!) and Deep-Fried Milk (yes!)
Stir fried milk: take milk and add eggwhites to it; crabmeat can also be
added if you like. Dump the mixture into a generous amount of hot oil
(or a bit of oil in a non-stick pan) and stir it over high heat until it
is almost set.
Serve it on a bed of deep fried rice vermicelli or glass noodles.
Deep Fried milk: cook milk with cornstarch. Pour into shallow pan.
Refridgerate untill set. Cut into diamonds, coat with batter and
deep fry until filling is hot.
I don't think these are 'traditional' dishes in the sense that they ahve been
around for centuries. Cow's milk was not a common beverage; soy-bean milk
took its place. Of course now milk and milk-products are found everywhere;
I remember how surpsrised my grandma (who hates cheese) was when she learnt
that my uncle, well into his fifties, started to include cheese in his
breakfast! (this was in Hong Kong about 7 years ago)
Rod McGuire
In article <8...@brl-tgr.ARPA> wma...@brl-tgr.ARPA (Will Martin ) writes:
>I have no recollection of ever seeing cheese used as an ingredient in
> any Chinese or other Oriental cookery recipes.
...
>is this because of the prevalence of "lactose intolerance"
>amongst Orientals?
And in article <3...@rti-sel.UUCP> w...@rti-sel.UUCP (William Ingogly) writes:
>I've read (or been told) that milk cheese is viewed as a disgusting
>substance in China.
The best explanation I've heard was told to me by Jim McCawley, professor
of Linguistics at Chicago and an expert on ethnic food.
The Chinese were subjugated by the Mongols for long periods of time.
These barbarians liked to do things like put bags of milk under their
saddles and ride around until the milk was smelly enough to drink. One of
the terms of subjugation was that all milk was the property of the Mongols.
Hence consumption of dairy products became regarded as something only
disgusting barbarians do.
If you couple this explanation the fact (so I've heard) that if you never
consume milk before age five you will exhibit lactose intolerance, we come
up with an explanation of why milk left Chinese culture and never
re-appeared.
Plug:
People heavily into Chinese food should consider buying McCawley's book:
"The Eaters' Guide to Chinese Characters" (published I believe by The
University of Chicago Press, 5901 Ellis Avenue, Chicago 60637). The book
explains the sublanguage of Chinese food and gives you enough knowledge to
translate the signs in food stores and restaurants written only in Chinese.
(However after translation, you may find that you really don't want to try
the advertised special of "salted mustard greens with goose intestines").
Peter Chao
Milk cheese (mainly from goat milk) has been widely consumed in many parts
of China, namely Inner Mongolia, Sinkiang, Tibet and Chinghai, etc.
In some parts of China, cheese cultured from soybean, called stinky bean curd,
is highly appreciated. In Guichou, and part of Sichuan, soy cheese cubes
are eaten hot (temperature-wise) with very spicy hot souce.
Phil Ngai
>It has occurred to me that I have no recollection of ever seeing cheese
>used as an ingredient in any Chinese or other Oriental cookery recipes.
I once went to an outdoor concert held in a field next to a farm.
The cute horsies would stick their heads over the fence and beg for food.
My friend had been raised in the city and had no idea what horses liked,
so she just fed it a little bit of everything we had. The horse liked
the apples fine. Then she gave it some cheese. The horse chewed it for
a little bit and then started throwing up into her hand.
That's my attitude toward cheese. And my mother's and my father's, etc.
"If cheese goes bad, how can you tell?" We just think it tastes bad.
I don't think lactose intolerance enters into it. If you want historical
reasons, one might be that cows are expensive to keep. Why feed a cow
to get milk/cheese when you can eat the grain/rice yourself?
--
The overseas Chinese are the Jews of Asia.
Phil Ngai (408) 749-5720
UUCP: {ucbvax,decwrl,ihnp4,allegra}!amdcad!phil
ARPA: amdcad!ph...@decwrl.ARPA
Robert J. Devine
> In article <8...@brl-tgr.ARPA> wma...@brl-tgr.ARPA (Will Martin ) writes:
>> It has occurred to me that I have no recollection of ever seeing cheese
>> used as an ingredient in any Chinese or other Oriental cookery recipes.
>
> I once went to an outdoor concert held in a field next to a farm.
> The cute horsies would stick their heads over the fence and beg for food.
> My friend had been raised in the city and had no idea what horses liked,
> so she just fed it a little bit of everything we had. The horse liked
> the apples fine. Then she gave it some cheese. The horse chewed it for
> a little bit and then started throwing up into her hand.
>
> That's my attitude toward cheese. And my mother's and my father's, etc.
Hmmm. Why didn't you try giving the horse some sushi? :-)
Bob "a cheese lover" Devine
Wolfe
> > My friend ... fed [the horse] some cheese. The horse chewed it for
> > a little bit and then started throwing up into her hand.
> > That's my attitude toward cheese. And my mother's and my father's, etc.
> Hmmm. Why didn't you try giving the horse some sushi? :-)
> Bob "a cheese lover" Devine
day to your life for each new dish you try (unless of course it's bad
fugu or the like). Try eating some mild cheese (like mozzarella or brick
or Muenster or Monteray Jack) if you'd like to break into it gently. Or
not. Leaves more cheshire & cheddar for those who can appreciate it (you
can have the getost & the Limberger, Bob).
Nemo (I used to hate the stuff except on pizzas)
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