Fish Are Friends Not Food

Fish Are Friends Not Food

 

While corresponding with my 2 pen pals from China my interests peaked when Molly brought to my attention all of the different foods she enjoys to eat in her culture. I, being a giant food eater it really made me want to know more about the food culture there. She sent me multiple pictures of all kinds of food and it made me so happy. So I thought to research more on it  and these are the main things that I found that showed how different there culture is compared to ours:

Steamed Weever

China is the home of chopsticks. The invention of chopsticks reflects the wisdom and of ancient Chinese people. Although chopsticks look so simple and plain they are used for many things such as nipping, ripping, picking, and stirring food. They’re also considered to be lucky gifts for weddings and special ceremonies. On the wedding day, it is also usual to serve dates, peanuts, longan and chestnuts together as a way to wish that the couple will soon have a baby with the Chinese proclamation. Long noodles mean longevity in China, so people tend to eat noodles on their birthday. During the Dragon Boat Festival, even though many people cannot reach the river zone to watch the boat race, almost all of them eat zongzi, a pyramid-shaped dumpling made of glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves. In Central china whenever a baby is born the father will send red hard-boiled eggs to announce the news. Eggs with a black pointed end and dots in an even number such as two or four, indicates a boy's birth; those without a black point and in an odd number like a five or seven will say the baby is a girl.

Some foods that really sparked my interests were steamed weever. Which is a common cooed meal made in china that consists of a fish being cooked whole, and is super rich in nutrition. There’s also “The Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea Gamboling around the Arhat” which is a starter before a celebration feast. Its 8 main ingredients are fin, sea pumpkin, abalone, asparagus, prawns, ham, fish's swimming bladder and fish bones. These symbolize the 8 immortals and the Arhats (Buddhist saints) are symbolized by the chicken breast. I attached some other dishes to my post as well that were very interesting to look at.

 I'm so excited to find out more things about the Chinese culture from my correspondences and learn more about other things!

Sources:

Molly. "Autobiography Correspondent." Message to Jazlyn Epps. 8 Nov. 2014. Email.

"Chinese Dragon Boat Festival: Food, Legend and Customs." Chinese Dragon Boat Festival: Food, Legend and Customs. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2014

"Chinese Food Culture: Table Manners, Dining Etiquette." Chinese Food Culture: Table Manners, Dining Etiquette. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2014.

"Chinese Food Culture: Table Manners, Dining Etiquette." Chinese Food Culture: Table Manners, Dining Etiquette. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2014.

Response to "Face to Face"

During today's lesson I noticed a theme; that we tend to categorize and judge people instantly without really knowing who they are and why we're doing it. Face to face made me realize how quick we are to put someone under a label just because of the things we have heard or seen. It's as if we've been trained as humans to automatically stereotype people. When 911 happened listening to the stories of people being judged by their nationality and assuming that they were involved in the attack on the twin towers just shows what level we have stooped to. It seems as if we put blame on people and things so easily without looking at the situation as a whole. “Never judge a book by its cover”, this is such a cliché quote, but yet it’s so relevant and true. I never realized how much we've been taught or have picked up not really owning up to problems of our own. I personally believe things would be so much easier if we all came together as one as solved problems as a whole.