{"id":16454,"date":"2020-11-16T09:00:55","date_gmt":"2020-11-16T14:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/?p=16454"},"modified":"2020-11-03T10:40:32","modified_gmt":"2020-11-03T15:40:32","slug":"asian-cuisine-presentation-at-food-and-nutrition-conference-and-expo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/2020\/11\/16\/asian-cuisine-presentation-at-food-and-nutrition-conference-and-expo\/","title":{"rendered":"ASIAN CUISINE PRESENTATION AT FOOD AND NUTRITION CONFERENCE AND EXPO"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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By Lucia Rivera, VRG Intern<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As part of the 2020 Food & Nutrition Conference &\nExpo, which is professional education for dietitians, nutrition experts Breana\nKilleen, Michelle Jaelin, Rahaf Al Bochi, Manju Karkare, and Tessa Nguyen\npresented an Education Session Spotlight titled \u201cAsian Cuisine: Beyond the Soy\nSauce.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

     The session focused\non nutrition and diet in the five regions of Asia: East, Southeast, Central,\nSouth, and West. All five speakers described staples in the respective regions,\nand gave the audience suggestions for creating regionally informed Asian\ncuisine recommendations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Vegetarian and\nvegan staples like rice, legumes, soy, breads, and vegetables were touched on\nduring the session, in addition to notes on the way religion lessens certain\nmeat-eating in some regions. In South Asia, for example, legumes are often used\nas a primary source of protein, for both vegetarians and non-vegetarians. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

     I believe that the\ninformation presented can also be applied well to daily life for travelers or\nfor those eating out at any kind of Asian restaurant. For example, vegans can\nlearn to keep an eye out for specific non-vegan ingredients that may be\ncommonly used in different cuisines, such as fish sauce in the Vietnamese\ncuisine. Contrastingly, it is also useful to know what vegan dishes you can\nlook out for, like the West Asian hummus made primarily from chickpeas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Breana Killeen\nspecifically spoke to the importance of not just \u201cgrouping together\u201d all Asian\npeople and cuisines. One way this can be avoided is through getting adequately\nfamiliar with regional Asian cuisine staples and traditions. The presentation\nfirst focused on East and Southeast Asia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

     The major staples\nin East Asia are rice and protein, which are used in [non-vegetarian] dishes\nlike South Korean Bibimbap and fried chicken. South Korean dishes also make use\nof key condiments including yondu and gochujang, which is a soybean and red\npepper-based sauce. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Gochujang is one of\nthe ingredients used to create the spicy aspect of some South Korean dishes, in\naddition to garlic and ginger. For sour flavors, people can make use of plum or\napple vinegar. Sweet ingredients commonly used are rice syrup and Asian pears,\nthe latter which can be found in western grocery stores as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      In Southeast Asia, however, rice and\nprotein staples are used in different ways. In Vietnamese cuisine, for example,\nrice is often used to make noodles and rice paper for pho and summer rolls,\nrespectively. Vietnamese cuisine also includes the use of chicken, pork,\nseafood, and soy for protein, whether that be as tofu, soybeans, or another\nform. Vietnamese condiments also range from soy sauce to Viet huong fish sauce\nto pork floss. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

     The ingredients\nthat are used in Vietnamese cuisine to achieve salty, spicy, sweet, sour, and\nunique flavors also vary from those used in South Asia. For example, salty\ningredients commonly used are fish sauce and soy sauce, while for spicy dishes\nbird\u2019s eye chiles and jalape\u00f1os are common in addition to ginger and garlic.\nSour limes, lemons, and vinegar are also ingredients used in Vietnamese cuisine\n(not as often in South Korean dishes), in addition to unique lemongrass, Thai\nbasil, and turmeric. Lastly, in order to sweeten the flavor of some dishes,\nonions, sweetened condensed milk, and five spice is used often in Vietnam. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Despite their\ndifferences, both Vietnamese and South Korean cultures emphasize communal\neating and the inclusion of certain flavors and non-vegetarian staples like\npork, in their cuisine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Next in the\nsession, Michelle Jaelin described the staples and common ingredients of\nCentral Asia, which includes China, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan,\nKazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

     In Central Asia,\nthe cuisine varies sharply between China and the countries often referred to as\nthe \u2018Stans.\u2019 In Tajikistan, Mongolia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and\nTurkmenistan, some key protein sources are horse meat, Mongolian khorkhog (a\ntraditional barbeque meat dish), kumis (fermented mare milk), suutei tsai (milk\ntea), and shubat (fermented camel milk). In these countries wheat is also used\nin a variety of breads, like lepyoshka bread in Kyrgyzstan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Rice, however, is\nan important staple throughout all of Central Asia. While white rice is common,\nplov, or pilaf, also is a dish from the \u2018Stans.\u2019 In Mongolia, budaatai khuurga\nis a rice dish traditionally eaten with meat and vegetables. Rice noodle\nvarieties are also prominent in Central Asian cuisine. When it comes to spices\nand herbs, chiles are used often in the Sichuan province of China, but Chinese\n5 spice, green onion, and garlic are used more widely. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Chinese cuisine\nalso features beef, egg, fish, pork, tofu, seitan, and insect sources for\nprotein. It is important to note, however, that many of these originate from\ndifferent regions of China. For example, BBQ pork is a traditional Cantonese\ndish, while tofu is used more often in Sichuan. In Chinese cuisine, you will\nalso not find as much dairy as in the rest of Central Asian food. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

     In respect to\ncondiments, they are more prevalent in China, where soy sauce, chili oil,\nhoisin sauce, sesame oil, Shaoxing rice cooking wine, oyster sauce, black bean garlic\nsauce, rice vinegar, and doubanjiang (bean chili paste) are all used.\nSpecifically to achieve spicy flavors, peppercorns, hot pepper oil, chili\npaste, cayenne pepper, and more are used. Sweet flavors in Central Asia are\nachieved with sugar, hoisin sauce, rock sugar (crystallized sugar), dried\nfruit, and more. Overall, though, less fresh fruit and vegetables are used in\nthe \u2018Stans\u2019 than in China. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

     After discussing\nCentral Asian cuisine, Manju Karkare spoke on South Asian cuisine, which spans\nacross Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Bhutan,\nand Nepal. The rice staple in South Asia is used through both long grain\nbasmati rice dishes and short grain rice dishes. The former is primarily used\non special occasions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Flatbread is another staple of South Asian\nfood, and can be found in the form of naan in Northern India, Pakistan, and\nAfghanistan, but also in the form of chapati, puran poli, dosa, poori, and\nparatha in other regions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

     For protein, people\nin South Asia make use of both plant and animal protein sources. More\nspecifically, chicken, seafood, and mutton are common animal protein, while\npork and beef are uncommon due to the religious demographics. Plant proteins\ninclude beans, lentils, and sprouted beans, which are eaten by both vegetarians\nand non-vegetarians. Dairy is consumed in the form of ghee, buffalo milk\nproducts, and paneer, in dishes like rasmalai (cream and cheese dumplings). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Additionally, South\nAsian foods include many nuts, seeds, and dried fruits, in addition to coconut.\nCoconut is used green, fresh, mature, or as milk. Coconut is one of the sweet\ningredients commonly used, in addition to jaggery (unrefined sugar), dates,\ngolden raisins, and dairy cream. Spicy flavors come from the use of chiles,\ncumin, coriander, cloves, garam masala, ginger, and garlic. Sour flavors can be\nachieved through the use of tamarind, green mango, yogurt, buttermilk, lemon,\nand fermented foods as well. Ingredients unique to South Asian and Indian\ncuisine include saffron, rose, jasmine, turmeric, and cardamom. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

     When shifting to\nWest Asian cuisine, we can see that there is even more diversity between\nregional Asian dishes. West Asia includes Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey,\nCyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Bahrain,\nQatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Some of the major\nstaples in West Asian cuisine are legumes; fruits and vegetables; grains;\nbread; yogurt; animal proteins; and fats, oil, and nuts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     When it comes to legume use, fava beans,\nchickpeas, kidney beans, and lentils are often used in dishes like soup,\nfalafel, and hummus. Common fruit and vegetable ingredients are olives,\nradishes, cucumbers, spinach, eggplant, zucchini, peppers and more. An example\nof a dish that makes use of these ingredients is a yogurt dip with mint,\ncucumber, radishes, and olives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Grains eaten in\nWest Asia range from cracked wheat (bulgur) to freekeh, to various kinds of\nrice. Bread is also used, specifically pita bread, saj bread, and lavash bread.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     For protein, yogurt\nis often used, whether it be as a drink, dip, or within cooked meals. Common\nanimal sources of protein are meat kabobs, shawarma, and fish, but not pork.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nuts (such as pine nuts, almonds, walnuts, and pistachios) are\noften roasted, but pistachios are also used fresh. Ghee and extra virgin olive\noil are also staples in West Asian cuisine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Lastly, sumac,\ncumin, baharat, zaatar, turmeric, saffron, and cardamom are all spices common\nin West Asia. Tahini, a sesame seed paste, is also used, in addition to\npomegranate molasses, which is made from boiled down pomegranate juice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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     Overall, all this\nknowledge can be used to be specific and accurate when preparing, describing,\nor creating recipes inspired by different parts of Asian cuisine. For example,\npeople should avoid using words like \u2018global\u2019 or \u2018ethnic\u2019 to describe dishes,\nand focus on being regionally specific instead of using phrases like \u2018Chinese\nfried rice.\u2019 It is also important not to describe food by comparing it to\nanother staple dish, such as saying something is the Asian version of a taco or\nhamburger. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Asian cuisine is\nmuch more detailed and diverse than sometimes presented, but it is always\npossible to gain culturally sensitive and accurate knowledge on regional\ncuisine, and appreciate the differences between those cuisines as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For vegan ethnic cuisine recipes, see: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/journal\/CookingAndRecipes.htm#cr-ethnic-cuisine<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The contents of this posting, our website, and our other\npublications, including Vegetarian Journal, are not intended to provide\npersonal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified\nhealth professional. We often depend on product and ingredient information from\ncompany statements. It is impossible to be 100% sure about a statement, info\ncan change, people have different views, and mistakes can be made. Please use\nyour best judgment about whether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do\nfurther research or confirmation on your own.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Lucia Rivera, VRG Intern As part of the 2020 Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo, which is professional education for dietitians, nutrition experts Breana Killeen, Michelle Jaelin, Rahaf Al Bochi, Manju Karkare, and Tessa Nguyen presented an Education Session Spotlight titled \u201cAsian Cuisine: Beyond the Soy Sauce.\u201d      The session focused on nutrition and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16454","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16454","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16454"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16454\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16457,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16454\/revisions\/16457"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16454"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16454"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16454"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}