wmartin@brl-tgr.ARPA (Will Martin ) (08/19/85)
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. 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: wmartin@almsa-1.ARPA
wfi@rti-sel.UUCP (William Ingogly) (08/23/85)
In article <804@brl-tgr.ARPA> wmartin@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 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
chai@utflis.UUCP (Henry Chai) (08/24/85)
In article <804@brl-tgr.ARPA> wmartin@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. 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
mcguire@aero.ARPA (Rod McGuire) (08/27/85)
In article <804@brl-tgr.ARPA> wmartin@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 <370@rti-sel.UUCP> wfi@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").
peterch@tekig4.UUCP (Peter Chao) (08/29/85)
> Milk cheese viewed as disgusting in China.
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@amdcad.UUCP (Phil Ngai) (09/05/85)
In article <804@brl-tgr.ARPA> wmartin@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. "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!phil@decwrl.ARPA
devine@asgb.UUCP (Robert J. Devine) (09/11/85)
Phil Ngai writes: > In article <804@brl-tgr.ARPA> wmartin@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
nemo@rochester.UUCP (Wolfe) (09/12/85)
> Phil Ngai writes: > > 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 The Chinese are reputed to have a saying to the effect that you add a 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) -- Internet: nemo@rochester.arpa UUCP: {decvax, allegra, seismo, cmcl2}!rochester!nemo Phone: [USA] (716) 275-5766 work, 232-4690 home USMail: 104 Tremont Circle; Rochester, NY 14608 School: Department of Computer Science; University of Rochester; Rochester, NY 14627
fujiura@tkov60.DEC (Ichiri Fujiura TKH-Region/Engineering-Tokyo/Japan) (09/16/85)
> >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. > About 500 or 600 years ago, there is food made from cow milk called "Daigo" in Japan. It was like a butter or condense milk. It's lost food. Ichiri Fujiura DEC E-NET TKOV60::FUJIURA UUCP {decvax,ucbvax,allegra}!decwrl!dec-rher!dec-tkov60!fujiura ARPA fujiura%tkov60.DEC@decwrl.ARPA Nihon Digital Equipment Corp. Software Services Engineering Div. 3-1-1 Higashi-Ikubukuro Toshima-ku Tokyo, 170 Japan
rfrye@netex.UUCP (Rob Frye) (09/20/85)
Not sure where this discussion started, but one reference is: >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 had heard somewhere in the past that long ago there was a cultural intolerance to dairy products in the Chinese population. T 03:56:37 GMT References: <546@sri-arpa.ARPA> Organization: NetExpress, Inc., Vienna, VA Lines: 22 Summary: Push-Me, Pull-you Robots! In article <546@sri-arpa.ARPA>, sloan@uw-tanga.arpa writes: > From: Kenneth Sloan <sloan@uw-tanga.arpa> > > [omitted] > > Here's the question... If I place them on opposite sides of the box, > the pushes will cancel. Now I appear to be getting no energy out of > this system, at least not in the form of a moving box. I am still > putting as much energy into the system. All I did was move one of the > devices. What is happening to the energy? Is there an