Chinese food, from the opening of the Chinese workers who crossed the ocean in the Qing Dynasty in the United States, has been going deep into the West through Chinese civilization for more than 100 years. Chinese words such as dim sum, fried noodles and tofu have been integrated into the daily life of westerners, and tofu has been included in the Oxford Dictionary of the United Kingdom.
China's classic tofu has not only become the specialty of western Chinese restaurants, but also some western restaurants have developed foreign tofu delicacies with the times.
In ancient times, the name of tofu was "fermented milk", also known as "Li Qi". It was not until the Tang Dynasty that it was officially called tofu, and it became a tribute several times. In the tenth year of Tianbao in Tang Suzong (AD 757), Jian Zhen and the monk travelled eastward, and the technology of making tofu was introduced to Japan. Therefore, monk Jian Zhen is honored as the ancestor of Japanese tofu by the Japanese tofu industry. In the Song Dynasty, tofu technology was introduced to Korea again. By the middle of19th century, tofu technology was introduced to Europe and America by western missionaries who came to China to preach. In the 20th century, tofu gradually developed into a worldwide food.
Clinton eats tofu
Dr. Sun Yat-sen once said: "Tofu is the meat of the poor". Beans are rich in protein, and their prices are much cheaper than those of chicken, duck and fish. People in Shengdou can't afford braised pork and sweet and sour fish, and tofu and dried tofu provide no less nutritional value than big fish and big meat. In the past, westerners' understanding of the value of tofu was uncivilized. They thought that tofu and bean sprouts were the "water" of the poor, and they were not as noble as steak and ham eaten by westerners. However, in the last 30 years, the situation has reversed by 180 degrees. Americans who can't live without steak and ham every day have begun to realize that tofu eaten by the lower classes is an excellent health treasure.
Tofu was once called "China cheese" by westerners. Tofu was originally translated into English as "tofu". In the 1980s, Chinese words became popular in the West, and tofu became very popular overnight.
Not long ago, British Reuters sent a "secret message" from Washington, USA, confessing that former US President Bill Clinton was suffering from heart disease, and the "imperial doctor" gave him an "ultimatum". He had to change his bad habit of eating French fries and hamburgers, and asked him to eat more nutritious and hygienic tofu, which could inhibit arteriosclerosis. Clinton weighs 225 Jin, and eating tofu has become her magic weapon to lose weight. Clinton's "Eating Tofu" is not news that affects international politics, but it expresses a clear fact that China's ancient civilization is healthy and beneficial in the eyes of westerners and western doctors.
1999 10, the U.S. food and drug administration listed soybeans, especially soybean tofu, as a healthy food to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. As a result, the custom of "eating tofu" has become very popular in America. China's ancient and civilized tofu conquered the United States with its unique charm, and became a world-recognized health care treasure with its remarkable advantages of high protein, high fiber, low calorie and low cholesterol.
According to the American market survey, in the past 10 years, the sales of tofu increased at the rate of 17% every year. 1999, the sales of soybean products in the United States exceeded $2 billion. By 2005, among the more than 65,438+0,000 bean products factories in the United States, there were more than 700 suppliers of fresh tofu.
Americans have a lot of experience in combining Chinese and western food when eating tofu. In addition to copying Chinese food recipes, they also "developed" many western-style tofu recipes. For example: appetizing tofu, salad tofu, iron tofu, dessert tofu, etc. , all kinds. Some fast food restaurants have creatively created "Tofu Roast Duck", "Tofu Cake" and "Tofu Ice Cream", which are deeply loved by Americans.
Tofu culture in the west
There are colorful tidbits in the heat wave of eating tofu. Last Thanksgiving, a tofu war swept across the United States. Get Fuzzy, the best-selling comic collection of Xian Yi and Xian Yi, depicts the protagonists, two dogs and two cats, fighting a hot battle between tofu and turkey at present, which has attracted American readers to cheer.
In recent years, their nested scholars and experts, such as "Research Report on Nutritional Value of Tofu" and "Tofu Fitness Collection", have flocked to the market. There are countless books and periodicals devoted to "eating tofu" recipes and how to cook. Among these follow-up works, there is a unique monograph written by Ms. Hegel, an internationally renowned vegetarian advocate, entitled "Tofu Journey to the West". This book is full of information. Apart from explaining the nutrition and colorful cooking skills of tofu, it also devotes considerable space to explaining the origin and interesting allusions of tofu.
The Washington Star once published a special article on the American tofu fever, saying that "tofu, like cheese imported from Europe earlier, has become the most popular food on the American table." The famous chef cooperated with a tofu master with great interest to collect the tofu pieces in the workshop and compile the "Tofu Grand View". After it came out, it made a fortune, and it has been reprinted 24 times so far, with a sales volume of almost 500,000 copies. In order not to let the chef specialize in beauty, the famous doctor Barna also published a book entitled "Health Food-How New Foods Save Your Life", the theme of which is to preach the medicinal value of Chinese tofu. Another writer, Rubins, is more suitable to publish the book "Food Revolution", the central idea of which is to tirelessly confess to the world: "Tofu is the most delicious food in the world."
Innovation opportunities of China restaurants.
Westerners scramble to eat tofu, and Chinese restaurants' Mapo tofu, braised tofu and pepper tofu have become the signature dishes that foreigners often order. In order to take care of the light taste that westerners like, the "tofu banquet" in overseas Chinese restaurants adds sweet and sour taste while adding less spicy and salt. In the famous tourist resort of Maui, Hawaii, tofu has become a landscape to attract tourists. In the window of restaurants on both sides of the island's pedestrian street, every household has prepared a large glass jar filled with tofu, which looks like cheese suspended inside. Many western tourists are attracted by it and will sit down and have a tofu feast.
Overseas Chinese restaurants began to flourish in the 1970s, and the competition was fierce at the end of 1990s. The trend of overseas Chinese food became the focus of discussion in the overseas Chinese community. Reforming the menu and promoting healthy recipes has become a widely recognized way out. In fact, Chinese food has advantages in the new concept of healthy eating and has great potential. Westerners have become more and more fond of green recipes in recent years, drinking more soy milk and eating more vegetables and vegetable oils are popular, and vegetarians are becoming more and more fashionable. If Chinese restaurants can sensitively follow the trend of this era, develop new dishes with low calorie, low fat, low cholesterol, low sugar and low salt, and invite western nutritionists and food writers to taste and write columns to achieve the effect of publicity and promotion, I believe that going to Chinese restaurants to eat healthy and delicious food will definitely become the "new favorite" of mainstream fashion in western society.