Eating Around the World

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Eating Around the World
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Cooking Methods The Chinese Wok

• About 2,000 years ago, woks were probably
  inventions of necessity. In China, fuel was
  scarce, so food needed to be cooked quickly. The
  bottom of the wok is small so it can use minimal
  fuel and be heated quickly.

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The Indian Handi

• Meat and legumes are more prevalent than fresh
  vegetables and require slow cooking techniques.
• The Handi is a deep, narrow-mouthed cooking
  utensil with a cover. It is the opposite of a wok
  the opening of the pot is usually smaller than
  it bottom.
• Traditionally used over hot coals,
• the shape and the cover keep the
• steam and moisture from escaping
• making it ideal for dishes that
• need to be cooked for hours
• without drying out.

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The Clay Pot of Egypt

• Cooking food at a high temperature in a clay pot
  can be traced back to when the Egyptians were
  building the pyramids and baking bread for the
  workers. Modern chefs still use this method,
  burying a clay pot in the ground and heating it
  with well-stocked wood fires. Some say this was
  the basic idea that created the Crock Pot.

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The Tandoor

• The tandoor works on the same principle as an
  oven, by providing a high heat that wraps around
  whatever is being cooked. This makes it ideal for
  cooking
• meat or bread. A
• chef in India might
• marinate their meat or
• fish in spices and
• yogurt based sauce,
• then cook it in a
• tandoor to produce
• Tandoori chicken or Tandoori fish.

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Japanese Knives

• In Japan the most common cooking utensil is the
  Japanese knife. Not only because they cook less
  (raw fish), also a result of the intricacies of
  Japanese cuisine and the traditional adherence to
  beautiful presentations of their dishes.

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Spanish Paella Pan

• Also called a paellera, they are commonly made of
  stainless or carbon steel. A paella pan is always
  broad and shallow, usually has side handles and
  does not have a top. The shape of the pan is what
  creates the layer of toasted rice at the bottom
  of the pan, essential to making authentic paella.

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Mexican Three-legged Bowl

• Like a mortar and pestle, they are used for
  making salsa and guacamole. But they can also be
  used as a cooking vessel where they are heated to
  a high temperature, and filled with a mixture of
  onions, bell peppers, chicken, beef, shrimp and
  sometimes cheese.

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Eating Utensils

• Depending on where you travel, you may find
  yourself using fingers, chopsticks, knives, forks
  or spoons or a combination of these to eat. Each
  region has developed traditions for the use of
  utensils over many generations.

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India

• Fingers are the main utensil used in India. Only
  the right hand is used as the left is used for
  cleaning yourself and is considered dirty.

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Thailand

• Cutlery the spoon and fork are used to eat most
  meals, except noodle soup which is eaten with
  chopsticks and a typical Asian flat-bottom soup
  spoon. The spoon is used for putting food in the
  mouth while the fork is used for cutting and
  shovelling. It seems strange to Thai people if
  you put the fork in your mouth!

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Japan

• Unlike Chinese chopsticks, which are squared-off
  and blunt at the end, these Japanese utensils are
  rounded and tapered to a point at the end (and
  much more difficult to use). It has been
  suggested that this is in order to facilitate the
  removal of bones from fish, which makes up a
  great part of the Japanese diet.

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Eating Customs

• In China you are expected to leave a small amount
  of food uneaten on your plate. If you finish
  everything, you are sending the insulting message
  that not enough food was served to you.
• In Crete people rarely eat the last meal of the
  day until 9 PM or later. Restaurants will be
  largely empty during what is considered the
  dinner rush in America.
• In Egypt, a loud belch after a meal is a way of
  expressing your satisfaction and complimenting
  the cook.
• In Japan it is acceptable to loudly slurp noodles
  and similar foods. In fact, it is considered
  flattering to do so, because it indicates that
  you are enjoying the food.

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Eating Customs

• In Kenya and other places in Africa, there are
  still people who practice the warrior tradition
  of drinking cow's blood, either directly from the
  cow, or after mixing it with milk as a delicacy.
• In Mexico it is considered rude to leave the
  table until a respectable amount of time has
  passed after a meal. To get up to make a phone
  call, use the bathroom, step outside for some
  air, etc. should be avoided right after a meal.
• In Sweden, going "Dutch" is the norm. Even on a
  date, it is customary for each person to pay
  their share of the bill. Generally in fact this
  is calculated precisely it is not enough to
  estimate it roughly.

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Test Your Knowledge

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  ople_around_the_World.html