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fandomhigh2019-10-04 07:06 am
sharp_man) wrote in fandomhigh2019-10-04 07:06 am
Entry tags:
Cooking Through History, period 2
"Welcome." Today, class would step into a wooden house, brightly painted. "There are any number of ancient cuisines we could discuss once humans got the hang of further techniques. Today we will be making Babaofan - Eight Treasure Glutinous Rice - a Chinese food that has been documented from around 1000 BCE, or three thousand years ago.
"It is a type of congee, or rice porridge. Rice was first domesticated in China around ten thousand years ago, and has fed more people over a longer time than any other crop in human history. There are several legends as to how this particular dish came about, and it is still eaten today, mostly upon special occasions. Eight is a lucky number in Chinese culture. It is made from glutinous rice and a combination of eight "treasures", traditionally fruits and legumes. Some of the commonly used ones are dried dates, lotus seeds, candied plums, sweetened winter melon, red bean paste, assorted nuts, vegetables, meat, or potatoes. Since we're replicating the ancient foods as much as possible, we will be using ones that were most likely available then: lotus seed, red dates, longan, goji berries, winter melon, apricots, and lily bulbs. These are meant to balance tastes and medicinal properties - each ingredient has a different taste and different properties."
He waved to the wood-fired stoves awaiting them. "We will be cooking the rice and ingredients in pots, steaming and boiling. These were the earliest attested cooking methods; frying was not known until much later, when the materials in use allowed for higher heats. So, cook your food, and let me know if you have any questions; I will be making my own."
"It is a type of congee, or rice porridge. Rice was first domesticated in China around ten thousand years ago, and has fed more people over a longer time than any other crop in human history. There are several legends as to how this particular dish came about, and it is still eaten today, mostly upon special occasions. Eight is a lucky number in Chinese culture. It is made from glutinous rice and a combination of eight "treasures", traditionally fruits and legumes. Some of the commonly used ones are dried dates, lotus seeds, candied plums, sweetened winter melon, red bean paste, assorted nuts, vegetables, meat, or potatoes. Since we're replicating the ancient foods as much as possible, we will be using ones that were most likely available then: lotus seed, red dates, longan, goji berries, winter melon, apricots, and lily bulbs. These are meant to balance tastes and medicinal properties - each ingredient has a different taste and different properties."
He waved to the wood-fired stoves awaiting them. "We will be cooking the rice and ingredients in pots, steaming and boiling. These were the earliest attested cooking methods; frying was not known until much later, when the materials in use allowed for higher heats. So, cook your food, and let me know if you have any questions; I will be making my own."
OOC!