Just had some stir fried vegetable and adding MSG was magic.

  • lvysaur [he/him]
    ·
    edit-2
    4 years ago

    How much of that is traditional Chinese food though, vs. food that Chinese people have started eating in the last century?

    Or in other words, were Chinese people using tons of soybean oil back in the 1800s? Not saying they weren't, but it wouldn't surprise me if they weren't

      • lvysaur [he/him]
        ·
        edit-2
        4 years ago

        Anecdotally, I’ve eaten dinners cooked by poor rural grandmothers and it’s still pretty oily.

        Yeah, I know, but oil is pretty dirt cheap and has been for a while. What poor peasants eat today, or even 50 years ago, could be different from what they were eating in 1850.

        • CloutAtlaa [any]
          ·
          4 years ago

          I think they may have put on some fancier dishes for guests. My grandmother used to have mantou and a hard-boiled egg for breakfast. And some pickled mustard tubers for flavour.

            • CloutAtlaa [any]
              ·
              4 years ago

              Yeah, she's from the north. Another food item I didn't really get was just plain Coogee/rice porridge with a few slices of pickled radishes. No sauce or oils of any kind. Just wet rice to start the day.