Food And Tradition

Diary, Food, Health 3 Minutes

When I was in high school and stayed with my maternal grandparents for a weekend, I watched them eating a fisherman’s delicacy–raw crab pickled in alcohol. My grandparents had grown up in a fishing village. Even if they had moved to a big city later on, away from their traditional life, they enjoyed all kinds of strange raw food from seaweed to shrimp to fish, which the seaside village folks continued to bring them whenever they traveled to the big city. I felt very queasy about raw food in the first place, and the little crab bodies, dead or alive, floating in a cloudy liquid felt like a badly arranged miniature horror show. My Mongolian genes have given me no taste for creatures living in waters and no interest in anything uncooked.

Fast forward to the present, I can understand how people of different backgrounds dislike each other’s food. One man’s delicacy is another man’s poison; one man’s fragrance is another man’s stink. When people of different cultures live together, things happen; opinions clash; and fairness have to be re-examined.

NYC vs. Coal Fire

Recently New York City wants restaurants with coal-fired pizza stoves to meet a better emission standard so that they don’t contribute to the city smog, which has become worse ever since the Canadian wild fire started. I guess one man’s natural flavor is another man’s environmental hazard. The problem is that for small businesses, it is a serious financial burden to shell out $20,000 to hire engineers for emission control or replace a big stove. Celebrities and politicians all come out to root for restaurant owners and their beloved pizza. It is said that coal-fired pizza has a distinct charcoal flavor and a faint whiff of burnt taste. Since I’ve never had coal-fired pizza, I don’t really know.

Ducks

Long before the recent pizza incident, ducks have been a major tug-of-war issue between small restaurants and city administrators in many places, especially NYC. If you ever go to lower Manhattan to get a bite, you will notice those roasted ducks (or chickens) hanging in shop windows. And the city health department really dislikes it. The law requires that perishable food being kept under 45 degrees (7.22 degree Celsius) or above 140 degrees (60 degree Celsius), which prevents bacteria from growing. However, if the freshly roasted ducks were to be kept under 45F, the flavor will be lost. We all know that refrigerated food just doesn’t taste fresh anymore. If they were kept above 140F, they would be dried up soon and lose its juiciness.

Somehow I imagine that there are celebrities and politicians who like to eat ducks, but they tend to be silent on this issue. I mean even the celebrities and politicians of Asian descent are silent about it. Or probably this issue has been so old and so cliche that nobody takes notice of it anymore. The city would hand out fines of thousands of dollars, and small businesses just cried the silent tears and handed in the fine to wish the problem away while praying that the health inspector will not return soon.

After decades of tug-of-war, finally the City allowed the roasted ducks to be hanged for 4 hours after coming out of oven. And small restaurant owners could finally breathe a little easier.

Sous Vide

Google says sous vide is a method of cooking food, especially meat or fish, by vacuum-sealing and immersing in warm water for an extended period of time. I didn’t know what it is, but I read David Chang’s book “Eat A Peach”, which mentioned his unpleasant encounter with health inspectors concerning his sous vide cooking appliance. I have already forgotten why he would deploy French cooking in his Japanese style noodle bar restaurants, but I do remember I looked it up at the time and realized that many restaurants have had a tug-of-war with the health inspector for a long time.

Fortunate for these restaurants, the sous vide machine is usually stationed in an obscure corner of the kitchen. It is hidden from general view, and when the inspector steps in, the kitchen staff can contrive to make the machine even more invisible.

Other Traditions

So I have been wondering what the health inspectors would say to kimchi, which is fermented in room temperature for two days at least until the bubbles come up, or Vietnamese fish sauce, which is the liquid extracted from fish, after they are fermented for months, or rice wine, which has the 1st fermentation period of 5 days and the second period of 15 to 20 days.

Or probably fermented food are exempt from health concern because the good bacteria (or fungi) grow in the food, which prevent the bad bacteria from growing. I don’t know.

Now I am going to go watch a video, in which a foodie travels to Thailand to eat roasted cicadas and scorpions. I don’t want to eat them myself but I enjoy watching other people eat them. I don’t know why.

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Image by D. from Pixabay

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Published by haoyando

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35 thoughts on “Food And Tradition”

  2. I am now reminded of the time my neighbors in Thailand got bugs to eat and they all peer pressured me into trying one.

    I hated it so much I asked for a shot of Lao Khau (the equivalent of vodka) to wash it down.

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  3. I love coal-fired pizza, it has a distinct smokey flavour. And I don’t think fermentation should be a big issue considering all alcohol is fermented and sometimes stored in the open/room temp.

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    1. I’ve never tasted coal fired pizza although I always want to. Since I don’t eat cheese, pizza is not really for me. I like Hawaiian pizza and had to scrape off the cheese to eat it. LOL. Yes, so true. I mean liquors are fermented and stored in room temperature…

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        1. Yes, so true. I have to say those soy or coconut cheese are sooooo expensive, which is a little unreasonable, considering that plant based ingredients should be easier to produce than animal products.

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        2. They are insanely expensive and don’t even taste that good if I’m being honest. Most vegan cheese tastes nothing like cheese. I just make my own since that’s cheaper and easier. Yeah, plants cost way less than animal products so it’s honestly just companies being greedy.

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        3. So true. The taste is awful. I really think more research need to be done to make vegan food taste better. I mean a lot of people love to be more healthy and eat less meat, but they just can’t get over the taste issue. LOL.

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        4. So true, if people had tastier vegan alternatives more people would eat them. I hope they do more research and make better vegan foods. And make them more affordable so everyone can afford them.

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        5. So true. When my friends heard me talk about my almost vegan diet, they always give a sigh or look at me with pity as if I have given up on all the flavors. Actually good vegan food can be very tasty, but right now not many good vegan options yet and I wish this can change.

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        6. I think once you get the hang of making vegan food the way you enjoy it, it’s much easier. At first it was hard for me but now I genuinely love what I eat as a vegan. True, others don’t always understand how vegan food is actually like.

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        7. Yes, me too. I grew up eating meat almost every day and it takes a lot of time to reduce the meat intake. Also one’s taste buds change after one starts to eat less meat. It is a good thing. I think I am having less craving for food after adopting a more healthy diet.

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  4. It occurred to me recently that I am now more picky about food than I was as a child. Then (in NW England) I happily ate big chunks of liver, kidneys and pig’s tripe. I wouldn’t touch those foods with a barge pole now.

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    1. Oh, me too. I totally agree with you. I used to love stir fried liver. And pig ear and pig stomach were my favorite, but now I don’t eat any of those anymore. And the American stores here know that the diverse population here like to buy them, and they make them quite expensive. Anyway, I don’t eat meat much anymore and none will affect me.

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    1. Thank you for visiting and commenting. Yes, fermented foods are good “rotten” foods… Sometimes I wonder why fermenting is the good rotten while other processes are considered bad rotten. LOL.

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    1. Haha, thank you so much for reading this. LOL. Sometimes I wonder who was the first person who ate rotten cabbage and discovered kimchi or who was the first person who ate spoiled milk and discovered cheese. Other people might be watching this brave man or woman, and wondering …

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        1. Oh, that’s so true. I guess famine is a big motivator for food explorations. Foie gras was definitely attempted first by a very hungry Frenchman. And escargots too. Who would want to try snails if he or she is having a normal life and well fed.

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  8. Really enjoyed reading this post, Haoyan Do. You’ve beautifully explored the clashes and compromises between food traditions and regulations. From raw crab pickled in alcohol to coal-fired pizza stoves, roasted ducks, sous vide cooking, and fermented foods, each example highlights the challenges faced by small businesses and the tensions between personal preferences and broader concerns.
    You have also raised valid questions about the balance between tradition and environmental impact, flavor and safety regulations, and the complexities of navigating cultural differences in the culinary world.
    I share your fascination with watching others enjoy exotic foods, even if I may not have the desire to try them myself.

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    1. Thank you so much for your comment. Yes, sometimes tradition clashes with environmental concerns; one ethnic group may dislike another ethnic group’s favorite food, for example durian. Actually certain degree of conflicts, when not going out of hand, are good for growth and can open our eyes to things beyond our own limited space. Thank you for your sweet encouragement and it has inspired me to write more.

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  9. Enjoyed reading this. Kimchi is now commonly referred to as a probiotic so it would probably pass the health inspector’s standards. I’m with you in watching programmes on unusual cuisines, there’s space for all food preferences in this colourful world of ours and learning about them from afar.😊

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    1. Totally agree with you. I mean the food we eat nowadays are only a very small portion of the whole spectrum of plant available in this world. And we really want to keep an open mind about different foods. LOL. And yes, fermented food can probably clear the bar of the health standards, although fermenting is just a nice way to say “a little rotten.”

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