Eating Around the World

Cooking Methods – The Chinese Wok About 2,000 years ago, woks were probably inventions of necessity. In China, fuel was scarce, so food needed to be cooked quickly. The bottom of the wok is small so it can use minimal fuel and be heated quickly.

The Indian Handi Meat and legumes are more prevalent than fresh vegetables and require slow cooking techniques. The Handi is a deep, narrow-mouthed cooking utensil with a cover. It is the opposite of a wok – the opening of the pot is usually smaller than it bottom. Traditionally used over hot coals, the shape and the cover keep the steam and moisture from escaping making it ideal for dishes that need to be cooked for hours without drying out.

The Clay Pot of Egypt Cooking food at a high temperature in a clay pot can be traced back to when the Egyptians were building the pyramids and baking bread for the workers. Modern chefs still use this method, burying a clay pot in the ground and heating it with well-stocked wood fires. Some say this was the basic idea that created the Crock Pot.

The Tandoor The tandoor works on the same principle as an oven, by providing a high heat that wraps around whatever is being cooked. This makes it ideal for cooking meat or bread. A chef in India might marinate their meat or fish in spices and yogurt based sauce, then cook it in a tandoor to produce Tandoori chicken or Tandoori fish.

Japanese Knives In Japan the most common cooking utensil is the Japanese knife. Not only because they cook less (raw fish), also a result of the intricacies of Japanese cuisine and the traditional adherence to beautiful presentations of their dishes.

Spanish Paella Pan Also called a paellera, they are commonly made of stainless or carbon steel. A paella pan is always broad and shallow, usually has side handles and does not have a top. The shape of the pan is what creates the layer of toasted rice at the bottom of the pan, essential to making authentic paella.

Mexican Three-legged Bowl Like a mortar and pestle, they are used for making salsa and guacamole. But they can also be used as a cooking vessel where they are heated to a high temperature, and filled with a mixture of onions, bell peppers, chicken, beef, shrimp and sometimes cheese.

Eating Utensils Depending on where you travel, you may find yourself using fingers, chopsticks, knives, forks or spoons or a combination of these to eat. Each region has developed traditions for the use of utensils over many generations.

India Fingers are the main utensil used in India. Only the right hand is used as the left is used for cleaning yourself and is considered dirty.

Thailand Cutlery; the spoon and fork are used to eat most meals, except noodle soup which is eaten with chopsticks and a typical Asian flat-bottom soup spoon. The spoon is used for putting food in the mouth while the fork is used for cutting and shovelling. It seems strange to Thai people if you put the fork in your mouth!

Japan Unlike Chinese chopsticks, which are squared-off and blunt at the end, these Japanese utensils are rounded and tapered to a point at the end (and much more difficult to use). It has been suggested that this is in order to facilitate the removal of bones from fish, which makes up a great part of the Japanese diet.

Eating Customs In China you are expected to leave a small amount of food uneaten on your plate. If you finish everything, you are sending the insulting message that not enough food was served to you. In Crete people rarely eat the last meal of the day until 9 PM or later. Restaurants will be largely empty during what is considered the dinner rush in America. In Egypt, a loud belch after a meal is a way of expressing your satisfaction and complimenting the cook. In Japan it is acceptable to loudly slurp noodles and similar foods. In fact, it is considered flattering to do so, because it indicates that you are enjoying the food.

Eating Customs In Kenya and other places in Africa, there are still people who practice the warrior tradition of drinking cow's blood, either directly from the cow, or after mixing it with milk as a delicacy. In Mexico it is considered rude to leave the table until a respectable amount of time has passed after a meal. To get up to make a phone call, use the bathroom, step outside for some air, etc. should be avoided right after a meal. In Sweden, going "Dutch" is the norm. Even on a date, it is customary for each person to pay their share of the bill. Generally in fact this is calculated precisely; it is not enough to estimate it roughly.

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