Hey guys, a few notes: 1. I know that this one was a purely food history sort of thing. We’ll be getting back to our normal recipe videos after the holiday. Dawei will be showing how to make a super classic Cantonese dish, which we’re excited about. 2. A big question that I know this video leaves unanswered is.. "why was China so seemingly quick to adopt new world plants - even, it seems, quicker than Europe?" I was mulling over getting into this topic in the video, but I didn't want to delve into it because I felt that we'd be on much shakier footing. The first question we'd need to figure out though... "*was* China actually quicker to adopt new world plants than Europe, India, West Africa, etc etc"? I honestly don't have the answer there, and wanted to do the question better justice than just wikisurfing the answer. But assuming the answer is 'yes', I think there's two possibilities there. First - food security was always an issue in China since... time immemorial. Expanding the area where wet-rice paddy cultivation could take place was always integral to the state since there even was a Chinese state. New world crops - particularly the sweet potato (though corn and the potato as well) - could grow in mountainous places where rice could not. If you look at areas in China where new world crops are especially dominant today, many of these places are in places like Guizhou, Gansu, etc. 3. Another aspect could be the monetary troubles of (both the Ming and Qing, but especially) the late Ming dynasty. For a spell there, Spanish silver formed the dominant currency in the country. There's a good discussion on this in the aforementioned 1493, but if you don't feel like buying a book, there's a 2005 article called "The Rise of the Spanish Silver Real" that's easily google-able that also has a pretty nice overview. 4. Re Western perceptions of Chinese history... one of the issues, I feel, with much of the way Chinese history seems to be represented around the Anglosphere is that much of it is very… academic. And that’s in no way a slight at the historians that work in the field! But if the *only* stuff that’s available on a certain topic is dry and boring, then I feel that in some ways it naturally follows for the general public to assume that the history *itself* is somehow dry and boring. Like… the last words of Julius Caesar probably weren’t “et tu, Brutus”, and the whole “molon labe” bit ostensibly from the Spartans was probably just rhetorical flourish on the part of Herodotus. But they’re fantastic drama that ends up ‘baked in’ to how people view Rome and Greece respectively. 5. So you might ask, “where can I read about the ‘drama’ of Chinese history?” For Chinese language speakers out there, we’ll edit in some book suggestions in a bit… but for the purely English language speakers out there, I’m going to give the most cliché of cliché suggestions: I’m going to recommend really delving into the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Some of you might be facepalming a touch, but it’s a fantastic story (like… GOT without the crap ending!) with *plenty* of English language resources. In particular, I’d recommend the 1994 CCTV TV series, which’s available with English subs on KZread: kzread.info/dash/bejne/YpOmlceQlrezdNY.html There’s flashier, more CGI-heavy modern retellings, but that one’s our favorite. There’s also a good translation online at threekingdoms.com with explainers. 6. Oh, also, lotus root starch is another common starch, historically - especially in the Jiangnan region. And when it comes to modern starches, tapioca starch and cassava starch are two other common choices in addition to corn and potato. 7. On that note, from a culinary perspective definitely check out the blog 'No Sweet Sour' for their guide to various types of Chinese starches. Brilliant post, we wish we'd though of it haha nosweetsour.com/ingredients-blog/2020/6/10/different-types-of-starches-in-a-chinese-kitchen

@ghlscitel6714

3 жыл бұрын

It is interesting that baking never found its way into historic China - no bread, no cake, no rolls. Of course, nowadays you find pizza and even German bread in a few places. But there is no own heritage. Or am I wrong?

@rosepearl7092

3 жыл бұрын

Hi! I thought that originally, Chinese food was thickened with arrowroot - it is indigenous to China after all. What do you think?

@caroline10081

3 жыл бұрын

@@ghlscitel6714 Chinese dessert is some bean or seed plus sugar. Ancient Chinese homes did not have ovens and the wok can do just about anything except bake. Macau has a baking tradition due to their Portuguese influence.

@IamExcalibur

3 жыл бұрын

I love this kind of educational video. I think this adds more depth to your channel.

@haowenzhou7301

3 жыл бұрын

@@ghlscitel6714 Baking is sort of a professional thing in historic China. There are traditional desserts which have to be made by baking (say, mooncakes for example). I've seen vendors and shopowners using ovens that are cylindrically shaped with vertical cavity in the center. But normal people just go to the store and buy the products.

Next time Chris has to act too, not just Steph LOL

@ChineseCookingDemystified

3 жыл бұрын

Dude Steph killed that haha, there's no way I could follow that

@VulcanBaum687

3 жыл бұрын

@@ChineseCookingDemystified The part of "Oak Tree" is still open. You'd be a natural.

@shakiMiki

3 жыл бұрын

She was excellent.

@philso7872

3 жыл бұрын

@@ChineseCookingDemystified the flourish with which she snapped the fan closed at the end was just perfect

@iancontreras7688

3 жыл бұрын

absolutely!!

Everybody's talking about Steph's acting, but what killed me was the copy of Orientalism in the background

@SandraNLN

3 жыл бұрын

That whole scene was just top notch XD

@maett7101

3 жыл бұрын

That makes the scene even better, even without noticing Said in the background the sarcastic tone was so on point lmao

@cupofcustard

3 жыл бұрын

Glad I wasn't the only one to clock that!

@andolirien

3 жыл бұрын

I saw that too, and I just about busted a gut. Subtle move, and right on point. :)

@MyBoomStick1

3 жыл бұрын

What is Orientalism?

The use of hand drawings like slides is adorable.

I would also like to point out that there's a significant influence from Asia in Mexican cuisine that is ignored even by most Mexicans. Many of our traditional recipes have ingredients like cinnamon, claw, cilantro, cumin, black pepper, white pepper, tamarind and bananas, that we got from Asia through the Spanish trade. There are even a couple recipes which directly come from Asian cuisine. For instance, there's a very popular mexican snack called Chamoy, which is basically a spicy version of japanese umeboshi, but the name is likely derived from the cantonese word see mui (西梅).

@JoanEvangelista

3 жыл бұрын

Interesting. Here in the Philippines we have 'Tsampoy', with sweet, sour and spicy variants.

@Bojoschannel

3 жыл бұрын

I guess most people don't acknowledge the Asian influence in our cuisine since it's mostly in ingredients and not actual recipes. The only recipe influenced by east asian cuisine i can think of is pescado estilo ensenada, tempura being the influence.

@tubero37

3 жыл бұрын

Nothing compares to Mexico's contribution to the most important cuisines all over the world: chili peppers. All the verities of chili peppers in the world originated from Mexico.

@bg6012

3 жыл бұрын

Yes! Especially in places like Merida where the cuisine is so heavily influenced by Asian spices. Lechon made with recado blanco for example.

@Default78334

3 жыл бұрын

Meanwhile, down in Peru, one of the most popular dishes (lomo saltado) is basically an adaptation of a Chinese stir-fry.

Absolutely loved the skit with Steph. She's a gem! And frankly the history lesson and reminder of how "young" most cuisine -- even "traditional" cuisine -- really is. Puts it all in perspective. Well done, folks!

This is why I laugh when people say don't use a certain ingredient in something because it's 'not authentic' or 'not traditional'. We can invent new dishes. If it tastes good, why not?

@jctai100

3 жыл бұрын

Also general cooking techniques that we take advantage of today ( like consistent heat ) weren't commonplace in the old days. Honestly some historical dishes probably taste simplistic and horrid by todays standards.

@bsidethebox

3 жыл бұрын

@@jctai100 As a person who loves looking through really old cookbooks...absolutely. I mean...maybe minced beef in a sweet apple pie is amazing, but I imagine a lot of modern palates would balk at the idea. And just think of how much commonplace refrigeration has changed recipes!

@iskandertime747

3 жыл бұрын

Right? The people who created "authentic" or "traditional" dishes weren't worried about, well, being authentic or traditional. Why should we?

@lilyk3734

3 жыл бұрын

@@bsidethebox I think your point backfired on me cos I'd absolutely love to try minced beef in an apple pie

@Bojoschannel

3 жыл бұрын

@@bsidethebox also love to cook from old cookbooks. Since I'm mexican I use those and one of the most peculiar ones i've tried is a "guisado de desposado" which is made with chicken in a sauce made out of pine nuts, serrano ham, chorizo, jalapeños, sugar, white wine, parsley, some spices and garnished with boiled lemon slices and acitron (candied cactus). The flavor is unlike almost anything else we eat today except for chiles en nogada, which is also an old dish that for some reason remained popular until today unlike this one.

One tidbit I learned from my grandma is that her great grandma actually used lotus root starch as a thickener! So that's another historical slurry.

@tfwwhennofitlitgf3300

3 жыл бұрын

tapioca starch too

@kylemeyer4266

3 жыл бұрын

@@tfwwhennofitlitgf3300 tapioca is from the Americas too.

@tfwwhennofitlitgf3300

3 жыл бұрын

@@kylemeyer4266 oh fuck

Steph is a really good actress. I was not expecting that.

@Hemphempmind

3 жыл бұрын

after that short segment of her.........it's in onlyfans :)

@z.deutch1334

3 жыл бұрын

I loved the video except that part, no offense but it kinda made me cringe

@lizs4644

2 жыл бұрын

Yes! So much fun! I think it would have been even funnier if she had made the speech in Chinese with English subtitles

“What food was like before the Colombian Exchange is more relevant to the historian....” I smell a Max Miller and John Townsend collab! Please make it happen.

@kelvint03

3 жыл бұрын

yessssssss

@woltews

3 жыл бұрын

history guy , cynical historian

@brandonvistan7444

3 жыл бұрын

Oh yes.

@ChineseCookingDemystified

3 жыл бұрын

Haha we've chatted with Max, love his stuff. We do want to do something, but collabs are always a bit tough to organize logistically. I was actually thinking about seeing if we could loop him into this one (and maybe give his favorite example of an almost unrecognizable pre-Columbian recipe or sth), but decided to keep things simple :) One day!

@JohnNathanShopper

3 жыл бұрын

@@ChineseCookingDemystified 🤩

Steph trying not to laugh is my new favorite thing.

Honestly I would love to watch a cultural history channel presented by you guys. You have the perfect unbiased, no-nonsense style for it.

@kme

3 жыл бұрын

Seconded.

@Ninjalectual

2 жыл бұрын

Nobody is unbiased, don't be ridiculous. Just say that you're okay with their particular biases

Never forget: The Silk Road and the Roman Empire were contemporaneous and spanned the entirety of Eurasia. The Chinese had records of the Roman Empire, which they called "Daqin".

@gretahardin1392

3 жыл бұрын

I have this idea in my head that the Persian (OVERSIMPLIFICATION - I know) Empire did all they could to keep Rome and China from actually contacting each other b/c there was so much money to be made as middle-men.

@nekodromeda

3 жыл бұрын

@@gretahardin1392 institutionally, sure. But you can't keep individuals from getting through. There was trade, just mediated.

@janpoelstra5823

3 жыл бұрын

Also, the Silk Road went two ways. This may seem incredibly obvious, but in western history books contact with the 'Far East' is generally represented as 'and then we got silk and cinnamon'.

@powerist209

3 жыл бұрын

And the time when Justinian got some Silkworms from monk-spies and kick started Greek and Italian silk industries.

@lucyparr4912

2 жыл бұрын

Not only that, but the empire between the two (Parthia, which spanned a good part of the middle east and some of Pakistan, roughly), was engaged in this elaborate con where they would take silk from Chinese traders (for a fee, of course) and take it to Rome. The silk that came from China was often in a thick brocade, which as you can imagine, doesn't really work for the mediterranean climate, so weavers in Rome would unravel the brocade and reweave it in order to make it thinner. The Romans would trade this version of the silk back to the Parthians (along with precious stones) and the Parthians would tell the Chinese silk traders that it was different silk made with special Roman silk worms, thus, keeping the Chinese traders unaware that they had a monopoly on silk and keeping the costs down!

If you haven't heard of it, I highly recommend a book called "Eight Flavors: The Untold Story of American Cuisine". I was gifted it for Christmas a couple of years ago and enjoyed it immensely. The author takes 8 ingredients which are widely popular across North America and describes how they came to North America as well as how they grew to popularity. The list might not be what you're expecting; it includes black pepper and vanilla, but it also includes MSG and chili powder. It's chock full of fascinating tidbits and I'm sure it would tickle your fancy.

The fact that you had Said's Orientalism in the background sent me.

@FF-ob7wl

3 жыл бұрын

Did you enjoy the video?

@Darkkwalker

3 жыл бұрын

yes

I recently read a great book "The Land of the Five Flavors: A Cultural History of Chinese Cuisine" it's a nice complement to this video, also goes in important topics , like how food was stored, serve (how old are chopsticks for instance) and taught. Alcohol history in china also is very interesting !!! As always, Great video guys !!!

@adorabell4253

3 жыл бұрын

That book was part of my Chinese History curriculum.

Said's Orientalism was such a great touch. I guess I never thought about how The Columbian Exchange affected other parts of the world.

Hi, so I teach Highschool, and that graphic with no Pacific? Yup. It's in our textbook. We happened to wrapping up our unit on the Columbian Exchange 3 days after you put this out. I rewrote the lesson that day to make time for the video. It worked very well as a reminder to my world history class that even this random (albeit excellent) youtube Chinese cooking channel was impacted by the Columbian exchange. Anyways, you will now be a recurring part of the curriculum. Thanks!

When Steph act like a rich woman merchant, i thought it was another Rise of Kingdoms ads

@WeiHaoDr

3 жыл бұрын

omg looool!!!

@nightsage217

3 жыл бұрын

they should get an ad from that. would be so much fun!

@TurnOntheBrightLights.

3 жыл бұрын

Those ads are legit funny lmao

@ANTSEMUT1

3 жыл бұрын

Lol same, i was legit wtf.

@kretieg2943

3 жыл бұрын

How many gems do I need to romance her?

i certainly wasn't expecting a bread-tube esque bit of theatrics on this channel, but an occasional change of pace is fun

I need me some CCD/Tasting History crossover goodness.

@PranavViswanathan

3 жыл бұрын

I WAS JUST THINKING ABOUT THIS

@ChineseCookingDemystified

3 жыл бұрын

@Pastadudde I was thinking about her the whole time when we were filming that clip, lol.

Once, during the preshift meeting at the Italian restaurant that I worked, a coworker was talking about the shishito peppers we used in a dish, and asked "How can we use a Japanese pepper in an Italian meal?" I'm still amazed by my quick wit when I immediately responded "How can we use tomatoes in our sauce and corn in our polenta when they're both from the Americas?" Seeing the lightbulb go off in his eyes was such a rewarding moment.

@genderender

3 жыл бұрын

Honestly, this kind of thinking has led me to some wonderful flavor combinations. Douchi and cheese, amazing. Tawainese chili douban in tomato sauces and of course cheese, phenomenal. Black vinegar in some sauteed mushrooms, perfect. The ingredients are there, they just need to be used

@erinhowett3630

3 жыл бұрын

@@genderender One of my favorite things is congee with kimchi and white miso. 3 different cultures, and it's so good. Also, soy sauce makes everything taste better. My boyfriend puts it in the chili he makes and it's wonderful!

@timmccarthy872

3 жыл бұрын

Still working on a Mexican-Chinese fried rice with queso fresco recipe. Will keep you posted.

@erinhowett3630

3 жыл бұрын

@@timmccarthy872 I'm going to need that in my life. Maybe something like the seafood cheesy rice?

@lactofermentation

3 жыл бұрын

@@genderender Butter and corn on miso ramen. Or butter and miso anything. They just work together.

This is a good start but people should look into the history of the Philippines-Mexican exchange when Spanish galleons were making the trade exchange via the Panamas and ppl and goods actually routinely crossed the Pacific. Anglo-American and Chinese sources tend to discount the entire South Pacific/Java region.

@ChineseCookingDemystified

3 жыл бұрын

Yep! That was by far the most common entry point for this stuff. Acupulco --> Manila --> Fujian

@rosepearl7092

3 жыл бұрын

@@ChineseCookingDemystified Is that why most American Chinese food is Fuzhonese?

@Default78334

3 жыл бұрын

​@@rosepearl7092 The major wave of immigration from Fuzhou to the US is a mid to late 20th century thing. The first wave of Chinese immigration was mostly from Taishan and came during the California gold rush.

@alejandroojeda1572

3 жыл бұрын

@@ChineseCookingDemystified and you can still see the trail! mexico has their cilantro, the phillipines their adobo, there's corn starch in china and tomatoes in Spain. You can see how food went along the trail, changing ever so slightly from one place to another.

@otsoko66

3 жыл бұрын

@@ChineseCookingDemystified Which is why 'salsa china' (soy sauce) is a standard ingredient in Acapulco cuisine, so you also get Fujian --> Manila --> Acapulco.

Good shit with Orientalism in the background and the Ingres-esque "Odalisque" pose - had me laughing!

What's most intriguing to me is what was Chinese cuisine in general and szechuan cuisine specifically like before chili peppers were introduced from Mexico. Also Thai, Korean, and Indian food.

Steph completely caught me off guard 🤣🤣🤣 GREAT JOB!! 👍👍

@iskandertime747

3 жыл бұрын

That was hilarious!

@WanderTheNomad

3 жыл бұрын

That was definitely something different.

@genderender

3 жыл бұрын

That bit had me dying, perfectly on the nose

Just when we thought Steph couldn’t kill it anymore than she already was. You guys are legends🙌🏻🔥

The bit with Steph and the beginning was genius. Loved the video guys. Food history is like much of history. It was considered lower class and not recorded. For example, we just recently rediscovered the Roman formula for concrete. Their concrete was superior to modern concrete and we did not know why. We now know through chemical analysis that they used a specific volcanic ash as one of the magical ingredients. A prime example of their concrete work is the dome of the Pantheon in Rome.

I find it very interesting how food from one part of the world is now heavily used in another. e.g. Egyptian food makes very heavy use of tomatoes. It's a good thing as tomatoes are cheaper than using cream and butter to make a sauce.

@pocketsand5216

3 жыл бұрын

I despise the 2 hours ago bit. No one can know by reading your comment that you were the first comment

@WanderTheNomad

3 жыл бұрын

@@pocketsand5216 why would anyone care about a comment being first

@pocketsand5216

3 жыл бұрын

@@WanderTheNomad A tiny amount of people would, and if the timestamp goes into days nobody would know anyway. I shouldn't say I despise it, it's only frustrating

@kaizerkoala

3 жыл бұрын

I can't imagine Thai food without chili either.

@laertesindeed

3 жыл бұрын

@Paddy C What does the Roman empire and the caliphate have anything to do with the use of tomatoes in Egypt? One of those violent empires was already gone, and the other violent empire was diminishing before tomatoes were ever introduced into the mediterranean.

Always blows my mind that Sichuan and Thai cuisine would've been without chili peppers for most of their history.

@skrenos

3 жыл бұрын

Don't forget Korean, too. Kimchi prior to the introduction of peppers would have been the equivalent of sauerkraut.

@KevinAllOver

3 жыл бұрын

@@skrenos There's a really interesting connection to northern Chinese Suancai - it uses napa like kimchi does, but it's just brined with salt. Seems like it could've been a precursor to kimchi.

@fsdds1488

3 жыл бұрын

And interestingly Sichuan cusine is divided by Guanfu(Mandarin style) and Jianhu(Commoner style), the mandarin style seldom uses chilli and is more reminiscent of the more ancient culinary style that only uses Sichuan peppercons as spicy flavouring, and the commoner style is just spicy, oily dishes that everyone thinks of when it comes to Sichuan cusine.

@fsdds1488

3 жыл бұрын

Also, despite Sichuan dishes are world famous with chili, but in reality almost all inland cusines are chili heavy, coastal people tend to have a lighter taste in comparison, mostly because of the culinary tradition and people not being spicy tolerant (mostly due to the climate, I was very chili tolerant when in Xian, but my stomach instantly went off when I was back in Hong Kong, I was staying in Xian for five days so I'm pretty sure that it was not the food quality issue).

@BenjiSun

3 жыл бұрын

@@fsdds1488 in older communities there's a lot of traditional adage on the use of chilis and spices to counteract miasma (瘴气) from inland humidity and heavily forested bogs, that places with stronger currents or ocean air are able to dispel. which sometimes it doesn't make much sense as Hangzhou is a steaming basin in the summers(100% humidity with a shallow West Lake, surrounding hills, and summers can get up to 43C, but mostly around 33-35C) and Hangzhou people generally suck at eating spicy foods.

How many times this has crossed my mind! Corn, potato, chilies, paprika. Thank you for making this video. More food history!

Thank you so much for this video. As an historian, linguist and cooking enthousiast, I appreciate this on several levels. It can't be repeated often enough that no culture is an island and that cuisines of a given country are no exception. I would argue this is the best and most insightful videos you've ever come up with and the proof of what something seemingly mundane as a cooking channel can convey.

This reminds me of Iron Chef Japanese Rokusaburo Michiba's philosophy: there are no borders to ingredients. If memory serves, it's also ironic that Chef Kandagawa (a traditionalist Japanese chef and main rival of the Iron Chefs) made a non-traditional dashi from common ingredients one can find anywhere (Kandagawa calls it a universal broth) and he won against Iron Chef Sakai in that battle. Whereas Iron Chef Michiba's dashi (broth of vigour) is almost always a traditional one made from konbu and katsoubushi.

@amilyester

3 жыл бұрын

*A la cuisine!*

@zalibecquerel3463

3 жыл бұрын

"I want our challenger to rip Kobe apart, just like he's ripping apart those scallions... I'd like to see him do that... I'd like to see him cry" - Kandagawa.

@billh230

3 жыл бұрын

"This reminds me of Iron Chef Japanese Rokusaburo Michiba's philosophy: there are no borders to ingredients. " It does put that insanity known as "cultural appropriation" down.

You two have really stepped up your production game. Between the watercolor, the detailed history with illustrations, and the fan scene: I was blown away by this video, compared to what is normally expected. Even still, I won’t be disappointed by normal cooking videos in the future. Just wanted to say that this one was awesome!

I'm always blown away by the quality of your content! Not to mention the history, acting - but the watercolors!!! Wow!!!

This might be the most interesting video I have seen this year, absolutely amazing!

SHOUT OUT FOR CHARLES C. MANN For anybody who is just generally interested in what the Americas were like before Columbus and the history of the contact between Europeans and the Indigenous societies living in the Americas at the time, Mann's two books, 1491 and 1493, are just absolutely amazing. It's a great corrective for people who have been spoon-fed European Exceptionalism for most of their lives, and it's a wonderful counter to the bullish and ultimately bunk ecological determinism of people like Jared Diamond. Absolutely fantastic video, Steph is hilarious, and the tidbits I learned about here (was unaware of where Cloves come from :x) are very informative and has me wanting to dig for more info there.

I'm not sure if you plan on doing more videos in this format, or how much work it was compared to the regular cooking videos, but I absolutely love this style as a fellow food geek. Definitely wouldn't be opposed to the occasional, dedicated regional food history videos in addition to the fantastic blurbs sprinkled through all the recipe videos.

super interesting topic and a nice companion to the other recipe videos. really great work with this one.

I was not expecting this video. Probably the best so far from this channel.

Very informative! Love these kinds of videos inbetween cooking.

thank you. this channel is one of the best in so many levels. I love it

I am actually really glad you guys made this video. I have been wondering about this for years now and its nice to know im not the only one

I have always wondered about this exact question, especially when using corn starch. And in a funny coincidence, as you were posting this, I was making mapo tofu from your recipe. Thank you!

I love this video and I love the burst of theatre in there-love seeing channels I’ve been sticking with for a long time start to take more creative risks!!! :)

One of your best videos. Keep up the good work!

I REALLY enjoyed this episode. Food history is a very interesting topic, and I love this manageable overview of Chinese food history. The drawings were a really nice addition to the video. I'd love to see more videos like this scattered around between the cooking videos.

Love your queenly repose Steph. I think you have found your true calling! Thanks for this fabulous information guys. I love geeking out to food history.

@walternicolas6927

3 жыл бұрын

Hello how are you doing today...

I find this kind of content FASCINATING! Great video! I love this for the same reason I love James Townsend's channel. It's fun and informative looking back at what people used to eat and how it was prepared. It really gets you thinking about what is necessary in the kitchen and makes you more appreciative of the convenience of modern times. The Americas offered so much to the world's cuisine that is taken for granted. I can't imagine Indian and Chinese food without peppers or Italian food without tomatoes.

Really liked this video. Your approach to history is succinct and good.

This is my new favorite channel !!!! Sooooo many great contents !!! 😍

Well done Steph and Chris! It is always good to be reminded of how tradition can be (and actually is) so distorted and open as a concept that it naturally loses every inch of its too often displayed excluding-attitude! Plus, I think that the drawn-slides techinque is very nice and really adds something to the video. Bravo to the sketcher :)

this was a great video. a great complement to the recipe videos too. culture and history are really interesting!

Such a cute and informative video. Love the in-house illustration! :)

This was so informative! Please do more!

Love these deep-dive videos!

Great! I would really enjoy more Chinese history from this channel 😁🙏

You are always welcome to lay some history on us, excellent episode

This was so informative! Thanks guys!

I've always wondered this, great video!

This was awesome. So entertaining and informative at the same time. The art work was brilliant to say the least.

Love this historical focus on food ingredients brilliant addition to your food channel.

Amazing video. I have always been very curious about this specific topic

Love this episode...love food history and all the illustration ❤️

I would LOVE to see more of this kind of content from y'all!!!!!

You always have a bit of history in your videos, but this took it to another level and was fascinating. Would love to see more of this style in addition to the great recipes you guys always share.

Not only was this video super insightful, as usual, but Steph's sketch and your cool drawings really cracked up. lol Thank you!

the sassy close-the-fan move at the end of Steph's bit was top notch. She must have had a blast with that bit.

A history piece!!!! I love history! Hope to see some more of these! Acting was on point, Steph!! Chris, waiting on you! 😄

Great video, learned a lot today, I would love to see more of these cooking history content.

I'm a chef, I cook for a living, and love love love your channel. You are my go to guys for Chinese cooking. I have used your chili oil recipe vs. Jason Wang's. Your recipe is killer. Just had a little problem sourcing the chilies. But keep up the good work everything you guys do is exceptional. Thanks for sharing.

I enjoy your videos that have some food history blended in. Thank you

Could you please do more of these videos? Learning the history about Chinese dishes is something I never thought was that interesting, and yet it's so captivating listening to you talk about it. More videos like this in the future please! :D

I love hearing more about food history, thank you for doing things like this.

Did this bring tears to my eyes? Yes. So happy you made this excellent video.

OMG this is so interesting. Please make more of these videos on food history

This video is sooooo good. Gold. Thabks for that ;)

As someone who teaches Chinese history, you just made my day...and that intro was hilarious ^___^

I love this new style of video! It seems more fun yet still informative

I hope you get this is in a best way possible. I really enjoy your insight on cooking but what I really love is the cultural background and history that you provide in your videos. This is super interesting and I love both "sides" of your channel. I wish there was more channels like this about other cuisines.

I have been looking for food anthropological info recently because so many /old/ culture's food has been so heavily impacted by the "new world" foods. I love cooking and I find it so fascinating!

Yea its kind of interesting to think that before trade with the americas things like chocolate, tomatoes, potatoes, corn, and chilies were simply not available before the start of globalization. It makes you think that national staples where those ingredients might be now popularized (italy, ireland, france, china) werent known for the contemporary versions of those dishes.

@kasperelburg5041

3 жыл бұрын

And tobacco :o

@greenmachine5600

3 жыл бұрын

Food could still be spicy though, interestingly enough. If you use enough spices like pepper(and Sichuan pepper)clove and mustard, ginger and garlic(especially raw) then food can still be plenty spicy. Also you can get a different spice with horseradish and wasabi

@slikshot6

3 жыл бұрын

@@greenmachine5600for sure, but you dont get things like sichuan peppers for chinese, tomato sauce for italians, potatoes for the irish etc all these things either dont exist or as you say, done differently.

@user-mq3ke4ly1d

3 жыл бұрын

@@slikshot6 but I thought sichuan cuisine main profile is the peppercorn. That's native to the sichuan region. The red peppers are from the americas, not the sichuan peppercorn

@slikshot6

3 жыл бұрын

@@user-mq3ke4ly1d sure, your right you dont get anything spicy without the peppers, so any modern 麻辣 dishes were just probably only peppercorn, i'd be curious to learn how those types of dishes evolved or if they even existed before the pepper

Said's Orientalism in the corner there is a pretty funny little detail. It's always funny to me when people in the west think China's so traditional that it was closed off to foreign influences, when in reality it was one of, if not the, strongest economies in the world, until the Opium Wars.

@elleboman8465

3 жыл бұрын

Also, the Sinosphere was always too big and internally diverse for this "closed off"-concept to make any sense, even during the more isolationist periods. I mean, you rarely hear europeans call pre-columbian, pre-silkroad Europe "closed off" since each european region is considered its own cultural entity open to foreign influence from other european traditions.

@Blodhelm

3 жыл бұрын

Leftover impressions of the late Ming? Perhaps. Difficulty for Europeans in learning the language/culture? Definitely. Of course the disinterest in the Qing for buying European baubles and gadgets was absolutely a factor. When businessmen make assumptions about a place no one else from their culture visits, the perception of that place must go through their mercantile filter. It's also humorous because the Qing was a Manchurian dynasty and so was already a foreign influence on the rest of China ^___^

Nice informative video! Great job!

I LOVE you guys tackling some food history! You should do a collab with Tasting History

Stellar video as always

this is a great format for you two and you should do more of them! i'd love to hear more about persia - india - china foodways, for instance

Loved it. Really interesting and different video!

I've definitely wondered about this topic while cooking but I always seem to forget about it by the time I'm done so I've never looked it up. Great video topic!

Super interesting video guys and fun! Thank you

Really great video! Thanks!

what a though-provoking video ❤️ thank you

This was a really interesting video - thank you!

This is the best comment section on KZread.. It's almost as good as the video. I've learned so much today on a topic I didn't even know I was interested in!

Steph, you are amazing!!

THE BOOK IN THE BACKGROUND lol y’all crack me up. I never took a Chinese history class but I did take an art history course focused on Ancient to imperial China and it is fascinating and complex and rich history, even from an art centric POV. I think it’s really important to unpack our western views of China and orientalism in general.

I LOVED this. Love the history (I'd 100% love more history episodes) and I thought Steph's Contrapoints-esc scene was hilarious.

This video is AMAZING I would watch an entire series of these

Pleeeeaaaase collab with Max! This channel and tasting history are the only things I watch these days!

That’s such an interesting content. Thanks!