Food Fights: A Difference in Chinese and American Views of Food 中國菜與美國菜: 不同的看法

It's live from the tank or the field to your plate! We regularly enjoy prawns 游水蝦, fish 游水魚 or chicken 雞 that was live the day we ate it. Yechhhhhhhhhh. Is that what I hear you saying? Not in the least. Whatever you ate for dinner tonight was alive at one time or another, whether veggie, sea life or dry land dweller. The faster it gets to your table and on your plate, the better it taste..but I am getting ahead of myself.

Today, I had a discussion with some people about freshness in food and I was reminded once again that in general Americans do not really care about it as much as they do about cleanliness 注重乾淨 and a pretty arrangement. Now before you flame me or click away, let me explain. This seems to be of northern European origin. I remember a Danish friend of mine who informed me that "freshness" in his country meant that food was wrapped in plastic and touched by no human hands. That spotless hermetically-sealed lunch meat sandwich is good food as long as it's within the expiration date. Americans and Northern Europeans do not understand (and are somewhat offended by) the Chinese emphasis on freshness.

Chinese, on the other hand, 以新鮮為主 seem to have the opposite view that they care more about freshness than cleanliness. They do not understand all the fuss about cleanliness standards. As long as everyone knows it was kicking that day, and it is steaming hot, it should be good to eat.

That is why I think, despite the large number of Chinese restaurants, Chinese food is greatly misunderstood in Western culture. It is much more so than Japanese food which is similar in more respects to Northern European food. Chinese food made to Western standards loses its soul.