I'm not ethnic Chinese, but as a Singaporean I consider Teochew/Hakka/Hainanese/Canto food part of my native cuisine as that is what I've eaten since I was a kid. I'm however not privy to the deeper sentiments of the Chinese community, so help me understand: Will Sichuan dishes like mala (which has witnessed an explosion in popularity over the last decade) ever be perceived locally as authentic Singaporean fare?
Bubble tea (an originally foreign beverage from Taiwan) and McDonald's/KFC (American fast food) are quintessentially Singaporean after decades of localisation. We don't instinctively associate Koi and the humble McSpicy with "foreignness", so culinary naturalisation with the passage of time may seem a given, but this is not always the case, as sushi and other Japanese dishes remain distinctively foreign despite their longstanding presence and continued popularity. Geographic and cultural proximity are not bellwethers of culinary naturalisation either. Rendang and satay are originally from Sumatra and Java, respectively, and while they are quintessentially Singaporean, other Nusantara dishes like dendeng batokok (Sumatra) and gado gado (Java) are not really part of the Singaporean culinary sphere.
Could the same process of naturalisation happen to Sichuan food and other mainland culinary variants, and if it does happen, will these cuisines complement the existing repertoire of southern Chinese Singaporean dishes, or will they completely supplant heritage dishes over the decades ahead as the older hawkers pass on and their recipes die with them?
Or will the process of localisation never happen and will the mainland culinary variants always be associated with foreignness?
It occurred to me when eating Indian takeout yesterday that I know absolutely nothing about the regional cuisine of India. And if the cuisine is anything like the religious and linguistic diversity of the country, I would expect India to have amazing regional variety.
When it comes to Chinese cuisine, I can sort of trace the dish I am eating back to its origin within the country. But with Indian food, I am a total newb. Tandoori chicken, roti, naan, aloo gobi, channa masala, samosa, etc. I just associate it with India broadly, and never think this is Punjabi, this is from Kerala, etc.
If you have any resources that would be awesome! Wikipedia only goes so deep.
Saw this post on FB and wanted to share on Reddit to bring some awareness to a restaurant in dire need of support.
Diep N.
Over the weekend we ordered carryout from them. They told us that they might be closing in December if things don't get better. Please consider ordering carryout from them to help save them from closing.
Full Key
2227 University BLVD W
Wheaton, MD 20902
(301) 933-8388
Notes: This was a favorite childhood restaurant of mine and definitely a gem in Cantonese cuisine with some of the most delicious duck, fried rice, and dinner meals. Please consider supporting them in this dire time. I know my Fellow Marylanders do great work! and I hope we can show them some LOVE.
Tl;dr : looking for a good book about the philosophy and techniques of Cantonese home cooking (recipes only interesting for illustration purposes)
Lately Iβve found myself stir-frying βChinese foodβ at least once or twice a week. Some of the recipes are Chinese-American cuisine, and some perhaps more authentically Chinese. A big source of the recipes I use are from thewoksoflife.com . I tend to gravitate towards Cantonese cuisine as my wife and I donβt like hot/spicy (as in Chili peppers) food. I want to enrich my background in the cuisine and techniques, but googling hasnβt found me a stand out text that isnβt βjustβ a recipe book. Ideally Iβd like an overview of the techniques, ingredients, and philosophy behind the cuisine and not just recipes. A good example for what Iβm looking for from a different cuisine would be βWashokouβ by Elizabeth Andoh for Japanese home cooking.
Any recommendations ?
My ex was a proud guy from chaoshan and claimed that Cantonese food is very simple and plain because there was plentiful food was available as Guangdong is very rich and so they didn't need to season the food to make it taste good as it already was of high quality. Basically his theory is only poor people use spices in their food to make it more palatable.
I read that Sichuan cuisine has lots of spices to counteract the humid weather and cold. But this is not true for India Mexico etc.
Does this have any real historical significance as there is also the stereotype that Cantonese people eat a lot of weird things which would be due to the lack of "edible" food?
What are your thoughts? Are there any other interesting historical influences on the cuisines within China?
I want to go on a personal Chinese cuisine tour of Sydney and eat all 26 different kinds but I'm not sure where to find them. All I know are a bunch of Cantonese and Sichaun plus and a few Uighur/Hui ones. Any ideas?
My work sends me to Hong Kong periodically, and it is my favorite food city. When I'm not there, I'm thinking about the food there. Last time I was there, I hunted for good bookstores with good (hardcore) cookbooks on the subject (in English, or even better, in dual language so I can point to the ingredient names in my local Chinese store). I could only find some "generic" cookbooks in English, stuff I can find in any bookstore in any other major city. I have searched online, and it is hard to know what is authentic. I'm not easily scared by complicated recipes, but my only experience with this cuisine is eating it in Hong Kong.
I will be going back to Hong Kong soon. Do you have any recommendations for which book to get about Cantonese cuisine in English? Is there a standard cookbook for this? Another question for the redditors that live in Hong Kong. Do you know any good bookstores in HK with a broad selection of Cantonese food cookbooks in English?
I have posted the same question in/r/AskCulinary.
I wanted to add that this subreddit has given me a lot of great suggestions of things to do in Hong Kong; I don't think I would have been able to enjoy the city as much without it.
Saw this post on FB and wanted to share on Reddit to bring some awareness to a restaurant in dire need of support.
Diep N.
https://preview.redd.it/utqbt08h2hy51.jpg?width=2266&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f086a5d52b3ead1c91a710c70360b687138d25d6
Over the weekend we ordered carryout from them. They told us that they might be closing in December if things don't get better. Please consider ordering carryout from them to help save them from closing.
Full Key
2227 University BLVD W
Wheaton, MD 20902
(301) 933-8388
Notes: This was a favorite childhood restaurant of mine and definitely a gem in Cantonese cuisine with some of the most delicious duck, fried rice, and dinner meals. Please consider supporting them in this dire time. I know my Fellow Marylanders do great work! and i hope we can show them some LOVE.
