Within Asia, food represents a vital historical and cultural lens into the heart of tradition. Asian cuisine has found a place in our society giving rise to a new Americanized cuisine, such as the famous orange chicken or California roll. As a result, Asian cuisine has catered to the American taste and has eliminated some of the most authentic dishes that are harder to find outside of Asia. In this issue, we hope to briefly present some of the unheard Asian dishes that you probably will not find at your local Panda Express or Tokyo Joe’s.
Starting off with China, its vast and numerous styles of delicacies vary from region to region. Take the Southern part of China for instance, Pig Blood Curd (aka blood tofu or blood pudding) can be seen commonly served with noodles or rice porridge. To prepare the pig blood, one essentially solidifies it in a container cut into cube shaped pieces where it is then dissolved in water with your choice of ingredients. In the eastern part of China such as Shandong Province, this area is known for its fresh seafood and heavy meat dishes. A popular dish that can be found is braised pig intestines in brown sauce. This local specialty was created during China’s Qing Dynasty (1644-1922), in which it combined a sour, spicy, and savory flavor all in one dish. In the northern province of China, such as Hejian or Heibei Province, donkey meat sandwiches are a popular street food that is usually served cold or warm. Many animals, or parts of them, are considered more viable foods than in America. For example, a traditional treat is pig or chicken feet, and some of the other edible meats include frog – tastes like a small chicken – or stomach. Sweets are also different from America, as the lack of dairy and different preferences lead to lighter, not as sugary treats. Red bean paste is a common filling in buns and pastries. While the texture takes some time getting used to, the sweet sticky filling is quite tasty once you are used to it.
While some Korean food such as bulgogi, bibimbap, and kimchi are widely known, there are many popular Korean dishes that have yet to enter the international sphere. Two of the most interesting dishes are popular street food in Korea. Soondae (순대), otherwise known as blood sausage, is pig or beef intestines stuffed with noodles, kimchi, vegetables, and pork blood. It is commonly paired with Ddukboki (떡볶이), spicy rice cakes. Another Korean street food delicacy is Bbundaegi (번데기), steamed or boiled silkworm pupae that is seasoned and commonly eaten as a drinking snack. Seafood is a category of food that has unique tradition of dishes no matter which asian country you visit. Raw seafood is common in Asian countries and Korea is no exception; raw baby crabs or gejang (게장) are seasoned in various sauces. The baby crab shells are soft enough to chew and are quite popular in Korea. The fermented skate fish, known as hongeo (홍어), could be one of the most repulsive foods to Westerners. It is a fish that disperses uric acid, so fermenting this fish gives it a stench that reeks of ammonia. If you can get over the smell, it is said to be quite delicious. The most well-known Korean delicacy is live octopus, also known as sannakji (산낙지). They are relatively smaller compared to the common octopus. Little octopi are sliced into bite-sized pieces but remain squirming as they are served with oil to prevent the suction cups from sticking to the mouth or throat.
Japan’s cuisine is mainly known for seafood. Much of its cuisine has been introduced into Western countries, most notably sushi. However, unlike American sushi, Japanese sushi might contain sashimi-raw fish, one of the delicacies that has not quite caught on in America . Another rare dish can be cooked whale or dolphin. Another popular food is tempura, which is pretty much any food, vegetable or meat, fried. Japan has two varieties of noodles, soba and udon, which are made from buckwheat and wheat respectively. They are served in a broth or with sauce, and there are many different combinations of ingredients that can be added to them.
Aside from the delicacies mentioned above, dozens of tasty dishes exist throughout Asia that were not mentioned above, such as shark fin soup, stinky tofu, and much more; so if you are feeling up to the challenge and find yourself wanting to test the limits of your stomach Asian cuisine is definitely the start to your adventurous cuisine experience.
