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Learn with us about Asian gastronomy!
It's great that you love Asian flavors - but do you also know the origins and traditions of the unique dishes of different peoples? Kifli.hu has compiled a slice of Thai, Indian, Chinese, and Japanese culinary culture.
Thailand
Until 1939, the country we now call Thailand was known as Siam. It was the only Southeast Asian country never colonized by a Western nation, allowing it to nurture its eating habits with its own special dishes. But this does not mean that Thailand was not influenced by its Asian neighbors. What we now call Thai people are largely descendants of southern Chinese immigrants who moved south about 2000 years ago. They brought with them the cooking knowledge of their own Yunnan province, including the main ingredient, rice. Other Chinese influences include the use of noodles, dumplings, soy sauce, and other soy products. Part of the Chinese heritage is that Thai dishes are built on five basic flavors: salty, sweet, sour, bitter, and spicy. From nearby India came not only Buddhism but also fragrant spices like cumin, cardamom, and coriander, as well as curry. Malays from the south brought other spices and their love for coconut and satay to this country.
The impact of foreign trade through the "Silk Road" and various sea routes on Thai food was significant, as these trade routes – led by the spice trade – connected Asia with Europe and vice versa. Eventually, several European countries, including Great Britain, France, and the Netherlands, had significant economic interests in Asia as a direct result of the spice trade. These interests were protected by military presence, but Thailand was the exception to the European rule.
Traditional Thai cooking methods were steaming, frying, and grilling, but stir-frying was introduced under Chinese influence. In the 17th century, Portuguese, Dutch, French, and Japanese influences also appeared. Chili peppers, for example, which are now an important part of Thai cuisine, were brought to Thailand from South America by Portuguese missionaries in the late 1600s. Ghee used in Indian cooking was replaced by coconut oil, and coconut milk was a perfect alternative to other dairy products. Pure and strong spices were softened by adding fresh herbs like lemongrass and galangal.
India
India is a vast country, where sophisticated gastronomy and famine coexist. It has regions with very different economies, geographical features, setups, and, not least, different religions, so naturally, we cannot speak of a unified Indian gastronomy either. For example, followers of Hinduism cannot eat beef, Muslims must abstain from pork and alcohol, while Buddhists have no dietary restrictions. What we, European laypeople, know as Indian cuisine is mostly the diet according to ancient Vedic teachings, in line with Hindu dietary prescriptions. They are characterized by the priority of plant-based foods, lots of vegetables, fruits, grains, rice, legumes, the use of clarified butter, the liking of honey and milk, and the varied application of fragrant, strong spices. Vedic nutrition places great importance on cleanliness, not only in the quality of ingredients but also in the method of preparation, strictly separating the tools used for cooking and eating.
An important component of Indian meals is the uniquely shaped bread, "chapati," made from wheat flour, rolled thin yeast dough, and baked on a round, hot griddle. Practically, it is consumed with almost every dish besides rice, and there are many saucy dishes where it can be used as a utensil, which is not considered impolite. Most Indian dishes are prepared in a way that they can be eaten by hand.
Various legumes are popular in India, such as split yellow peas, beans, lentils, chickpeas, and soybeans. Under the collective name "dahl," you will find dishes made from these, which are excellent sources of protein and fiber.
One of the fundamentally important foods for Indians is ghee, refined butter, which is regularly used instead of animal fats and even vegetable oils. The butter is melted and simmered on very low heat for a long time, hours, skimming off the foam occasionally, until no new foam forms. This clarified, filtered, transparent butter is very pure and can be stored for a long time because it is free from any substances that cause rancidity or spoilage. It can be made at home, but it can also be ordered among Kifli's own brand products.
Spices are indispensable in Indian cuisine. One of the most important is curry, which is a blend of nearly a dozen freshly ground spices. It includes strong black pepper, allspice, cardamom, paprika, ginger, and cumin. Other spice blends are also used, these so-called masalas are often prepared in advance: the ground ingredients are fried in ghee, clarified butter. A typical masala is a blend of cloves, cinnamon, coriander, ginger, nutmeg, and cumin.
China
The history of Chinese cuisine dates back to around 8000 BC. It was around this time in Hunan province that rice cultivation began, and around 7000 BC millet appeared, and around the same time, the Chinese discovered that wine could be made from a mixture of fermented rice, honey, and fruit. In the sixth millennium, pigs were domesticated, and by the fourth millennium, this had grown into widespread animal husbandry and crop cultivation. After rice and millet – in the third millennium – wheat and barley arrived from the Middle East, and soon after, the Chinese discovered the art of noodle making. Tombs from the first millennium BC already contained chopsticks, which were presumably used initially to stir food over the fire, and only later began to be used in pairs as a kind of tongs. The spread of chopstick use may be the reason why Chinese dishes are generally prepared by cutting ingredients into relatively small pieces.
By the end of the first millennium, the wok had appeared, gradually replacing the cooking vessels used until then, as the wok was suitable for cooking, frying, and steaming, heated relatively quickly, and its walls retained heat well. Around the first millennium, soy also appeared and became a favored ingredient. The cultivation of soy brought with it the appearance of soy milk and tofu in the first century AD. The greatest change in Chinese cuisine came with the arrival of flavors and ingredients from the New World in the early 16th century. Among other things, sweet potatoes, corn, potatoes, peanuts, tomatoes, and peppers arrived at this time. This century also favored relations with Europe, as the Portuguese appeared in China in 1514.
China consumes more pork than any other country, it has the world's largest pig population, and it produces and consumes a huge amount of rice, although China is not entirely a rice-eating society, as their wheat consumption rivals that of rice. While we, in the rest of the world, settle for four flavors, the Chinese have bitter, sour, spicy, and sweet, along with umami. Getting to know the multifaceted Chinese cuisine is almost an impossible task, as each of the eight provinces has different dishes characteristic of them, for example, in Sichuan, spiciness dominates, in Fujian, soups take center stage - consumed during or at the end of meals -, the Cantonese cuisine's indispensable dish is dim sum and shark fin soup, and the Jiangsu cuisine's favored ingredients are duck and turtle.
Japan
Japanese culinary art has been practiced according to a defined scheme since ancient times, which lasted until the end of the Edo period, that is, until the 19th century. These strict rules decisively shaped Japan's various dishes into a harmonious whole, the popular Japanese cuisine we know today. During the ancient imperial state of Ritsu Ryo, all sorts of positions related to the imperial court's dining were established within the Ministry of Palace Affairs. With the establishment of the Zen trend, strict rules were created regarding dining, and the preparation methods of foods that helped in purification were prescribed. From the era of the northern and southern courts to the medieval Muromachi period, the warrior class was the most influential in society, so the rules and etiquette of dining were determined by their lifestyle. With the establishment of the Zen trend, strict rules were created regarding dining, and the preparation methods of foods that helped in purification were prescribed. It was during this period that Japanese culinary art was perfected, and only afterward did the tea ceremony develop. The person who further developed these foods for the tea ceremony, valuing it highly, was tea master Sen no Rikyu. According to him, the essence is the drinking of tea, so the excess foods that represent surplus in the tea ceremony should be trimmed, as tea itself has great power for purification. Therefore, these foods consumed alongside tea, known locally as kaiseki ryori, should reflect the same moderation as plain, simple tea. From this point on, the "4 bowl-seasoning" used in grand feasts was replaced by miso, soy sauce, mirin, and vinegar, and flavors close to today's taste were applied.
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