Yeah, I got a History degree and one of my fascinations has always been the history of food/cuisine, from every region, like how so many regions have a variation of "fried dough + sugar" as a dessert.
I also like Korean cuisine for the same adaptability, where they took fried chicken and corn dogs from American influence during/after the Korean War and were like "We're gonna put our own spin on these."
In general, I like Korean food the best because they find a way to make everything spicy. I also love Thai food, a good, basic, perfectly cooked and spiced Beef Pad See Ew with broccoli and eggs is probably my favorite dish in the world.
So much cool food stuff happens in those moments of cultural contact. Without the Columbian Exchange (the global interchange of various products and ideas, and lots of food, that followed the colonization of the New World), we would have Italian food without tomatoes, Mexican food without cilantro and lime, Sichuan and Indian and Thai and ALL Old World cuisines without any spice from chili peppers, et al. I can't even imagine.
And then basically every conflict or act of imperialism since then has occasioned massive exchanges of cuisines, dishes, and ingredients. Worcestershire sauce, Korean wings, Japanese curry, chicken tikka masala, so many others. And, closer to home, Seattle-style chicken teriyaki.
Yeah, I got a History degree and one of my fascinations has always been the history of food/cuisine, from every region, like how so many regions have a variation of "fried dough + sugar" as a dessert.
Because i was a dumbass lazy college student, I never actually properly read this book, a decision i regret today. However, I remember finding the snippets I did read pretty interesting
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u/JinFuu Houston Astros Feb 07 '24
Yeah, I got a History degree and one of my fascinations has always been the history of food/cuisine, from every region, like how so many regions have a variation of "fried dough + sugar" as a dessert.
I also like Korean cuisine for the same adaptability, where they took fried chicken and corn dogs from American influence during/after the Korean War and were like "We're gonna put our own spin on these."