Blog Post 3
April 20, 2015
Mark Markosyan
China is full of unique people from unique regions. These
people like to eat meat, but, most Chinese vegetarians are Buddhists, following
the Buddhist teachings about minimizing suffering. In addition, many Yoga
enthusiasts in China are vegetarians or vegans. Nowadays, in order to keep healthy and fit,
more and more Chinese people who are not vegetarians or vegans, tend to eat
vegetarian food from time to time. Therefore, vegetarian food is common and
readily available in China, though vegetarianism is only practiced by a
relatively small fraction of the population. Moreover, an emphasis on fresh
vegetables makes Chinese cuisine perfect for vegetarians. The mainstays of
Chinese cuisine, noodles, rice, tofu, and vegetables, are all fine for
vegetarians. It takes some effort and a bit of flexibility to find fine
vegetarian food in many restaurants, which do not have vegetarian menus. Besides
large varieties of vegetables, Chinese vegetarian food often uses tofu (bean
curd), dry bean curd, nuts, mushrooms, fungi and water plants as its
ingredients. Interestingly, you will frequently find dishes resembling a type
of meat or seafood. For example, in Fried Mock Oyster, mashed tofu pieces are
shaped like an oyster. Besides good taste, Chinese vegetarian food emphasizes
appearance, displaying a harmonious balance of colors and textures as well as
flavors.
http://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/chinese-food/
I did not realize most Chinese are vegetarians. Are these vegetarian Buddhists the founders of tofu or did they merely adopt the food?
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