Once Upon a Bite

From the pure natural honey produced by the 200-meter-high cliff in Nepal, to the desserts carefully made by the modern kitchen in Istanbul, from the steaming thousand-layer oil cake in the morning tea shop by the Slender West Lake in Yangzhou, to the sweet roasted white made from the mixture of lard and sugar in Qingcheng Mountain in Sichuan, the tender chicken head rice grown in the pond in Suzhou, to the sweetness brought by the bitter gourd soup that Hong Kong people love to drink, the sweet taste travels all over the world. , and finally return to one, between people's lips and teeth.

There are thousands of kinds of crabs, which are transformed into endless flavors. The king crab under the cold waters of the Arctic Circle has changed from an invasive species to a human table. The raw leg meat is plump and plump, charcoal grilled to add a burnt aroma, and boiled to make it sweet and moist; the soft shell crab in Venice, soaked in milk and then wrapped in flour and deep-fried, Swallowed whole, it is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, and has a gentle bursting texture; Chesapeake Bay in the United States bakes blue crab meat with bread crumbs, mayonnaise and other condiments to make Maryland classic crab cakes; Everyone agrees that water crabs with less meat can also fully release the essence of deliciousness in the cooking of rice porridge.

Whether it is a daily accompaniment or seasoning of dishes, most of the three meals a day of Chinese people cannot do without sauces. In more countries, sauces are also attached with other emotional sustenance. In the celebrations in the Himalayas, the raw meat sauce made of yak meat is still enjoyed by Tibetans; Roasted peppers and chocolate, the Mexican "magic sauce" that looks like "dark cuisine" to outsiders, but the locals call it "mother's sauce". Today, with a wide variety of food choices, many people still take a bottle of home-made sauce with them when they leave their hometowns to relieve their nostalgia. Sauces span the dimensions of space and time, forming the most ordinary but most indispensable taste memory.

In the early years, offal was used as leftover ingredients, but it was the food used by the poor to satisfy their hunger. With the passage of time, they have gone through thousands of twists and turns, relying on their own unique smell, and unexpectedly "countered attack" has become the most innovative feature in the world's delicious culture. No matter in ancient forests, bustling cities, or vast grasslands, or small towns, there are countless followers of offal and delicious food. For example, in the Philippines, pig offal can not only glimpse the subconsciousness of the local aborigines to "make the best use of everything", but also fully demonstrate the human's respect for food. What's even more surprising is that some offal are even "advanced" to become top ingredients. For example, Japanese anglerfish liver, which is compared to "foie gras under the sea", has attracted many diners because of its texture and taste.

Chicken is the most common source of poultry and meat around us. More than 60 billion chickens are eaten every year in the world, which is more than 8 times the population of the earth. It is the closest animal companion and an important source of protein for human beings. The progress of human civilization has profoundly changed us. In the tropical rain forests of Southeast Asia, in the northernmost villages in China, and in the tribes on the edge of the tropical deserts of Africa, in extreme and primitive environments, the status of chickens in people's lives is not just a delicacy on the table , it has more cultural value beyond the dining table.

In plain areas, eggs rule the world, but around rivers, lakes and seas, fish roe has become a food that the locals are very familiar with. In the tropics, insect resources are abundant, so they will eat insect eggs. This dietary structure created by environmental conditions is very interesting and very profound.

Although sausages have similar appearances, in every place—whether it is because of the good climate, eating habits, or the combination of local customs and customs—sausages will change into a variety of things. The fresher you taste the better the German white sausage, the Italian salami fermented by microorganisms in the air, the unique Thai sour sausage, the cuttlefish sausage from Taiwan, the Lianzhou sausage, all the food can be turned around gorgeously as long as you put them in the casing!

Potatoes, yams, ginger, white asparagus, sunflower, garlic, konjac. In the underground where the sun cannot shine, the rhizomes form a hidden but rich food world. Rhizome food cannot provide protein and fat, but it is rich in starch, sugar and vitamins, which is the fundamental guarantee for human survival.