Vegetarian Way : Chinese Style
When it comes to Chinese food, two different thoughts come to mind. firstly, during last twenty years Chinese food has become a very common name in Indian cities, kasbahs and even villages. You may find Chinese food served on Thelaa, Bundis or small eateries in any nook and corner. But believe me if is a person come from Mainland China , he will simply not accept it as chinese at all ! I have travelled to parts of China and there the food is very different from what is served here in most of the common places in the name of Chinese food. but the problem with we the vegetarians, we always have a fear while entering in a food joint in China that nothing can be possible in eating without animal or animal fat. A lot of my friends, who love to eat non-vegetarian food, they also simply can not accept chinese non veg, as in may contain any animal ranging from snake, frog to dog.
Every day I used to see some girls, ladies and gentlemen of chinese origin in the nearby park, performing some kind of exercises with some soothing music, to me it looks more like ritualistic dances as performed in temples with lot of artistic leg and hand movements. Out of curiosity many of our friends have joined this unique session. All of them do not know either English or Hindi but looking at the benefit of their soul lifting music and exercise session people have become their real fans.We also become a part of this group. Only one girl among the lot knows workable English her name is Lilian. As a token of appreciation what they or doing, we invited the group for dinner to our place through our interpreter friend Lilian on the very same day when the Chinese premier was dining with our prime minister Manmohan Singh. Young smart and beautiful Lilian put only one condition, they will eat only vegetarian food without garlic and onion. It was unbelievable pleasant surprise.
They came to our place.While conversing, they shared that they are not from Mainland China, Lilian is from Hongkong, her real name is Chen Yan and is into designing. The other girl who speak a bit of English and thoda thoda Hindi is Ye Yaa Chi, she is from Taiwan. All of them enjoyed the typical Tomoto-Peas Soup, Chola, Paratha, Kaddu Bhaji. they were overjoyed to know that we do not use any kind of oil and fat while cooking our food.
So our Chinese friends were thrilled to extend invitation to us for joining them for dinner at their place. Though we were little convinced, but still I have some apprehension how Chinese may live without eating snake, frog, dog.
As we entered into their flat, we could see tall Laughing Budha statue on a long table, two Chinese clay pots with bamboo stems were kept just behind the statue. The each pot was having three holes in the upper ring and the light was coming out, they call it Yin Yang. The concept of yin-yang is used to describe how seemingly opposite or contrary forces are interconnected, and interdependent in the natural world; and, how they give rise to each other as they interrelate to one another. Many natural dualities (such as male and female, light and dark, high and low, hot and cold, water and fire, life and death, and so on) are thought of as physical manifestations of the yin-yang concept. The concept lies at the origins of many branches of classical Chinese science and philosophy, as well as being a primary guideline of traditional Chinese medicine and a central principle of different forms of Chinese martial arts and exercise, such as Baguazhang, T'ai chi, and Chi Kung and of I Ching.
Yin and yang are actually complementary, not opposing, forces, interacting to form a whole greater than either separate part; in effect, a dynamic system. Everything has both yin and yang aspects, (for instance shadow cannot exist without light). Either of the two major aspects may manifest more strongly in a particular object, depending on the criterion of the observation. The concept of yin and yang is often symbolized by various forms of the Taijitu symbol, for which it is probably best known in Western cultures.
Probably, due to their faith in Budhism, our Chinese friends swear by vegetarian way. They served us beat root soup topped with roasted cashew nuts, cauliflower. The main course was further simple brown rice with some light Chinese spices and two mixed vegetable dishes one with thick gravy and the other one dry one, and finally roasted chick peas, wheat, rajwan in light sweet soup as sweet dish. They take their dinner by 7 or 7.30 in the evening , easily digestible light food, simple exercises, bit of mediation
help them to remain lean and thin. In the group Hweu Me Wa and Sthe Me Chen both are 70+ but look much younger to the Indian ladies in the same age range.
Sy Sey (Thank you) my dear Chinese friends for this enlightenment.
Every day I used to see some girls, ladies and gentlemen of chinese origin in the nearby park, performing some kind of exercises with some soothing music, to me it looks more like ritualistic dances as performed in temples with lot of artistic leg and hand movements. Out of curiosity many of our friends have joined this unique session. All of them do not know either English or Hindi but looking at the benefit of their soul lifting music and exercise session people have become their real fans.We also become a part of this group. Only one girl among the lot knows workable English her name is Lilian. As a token of appreciation what they or doing, we invited the group for dinner to our place through our interpreter friend Lilian on the very same day when the Chinese premier was dining with our prime minister Manmohan Singh. Young smart and beautiful Lilian put only one condition, they will eat only vegetarian food without garlic and onion. It was unbelievable pleasant surprise.
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| simple veg chinese food |
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| enjoying beat root soup |
They came to our place.While conversing, they shared that they are not from Mainland China, Lilian is from Hongkong, her real name is Chen Yan and is into designing. The other girl who speak a bit of English and thoda thoda Hindi is Ye Yaa Chi, she is from Taiwan. All of them enjoyed the typical Tomoto-Peas Soup, Chola, Paratha, Kaddu Bhaji. they were overjoyed to know that we do not use any kind of oil and fat while cooking our food.
So our Chinese friends were thrilled to extend invitation to us for joining them for dinner at their place. Though we were little convinced, but still I have some apprehension how Chinese may live without eating snake, frog, dog.
As we entered into their flat, we could see tall Laughing Budha statue on a long table, two Chinese clay pots with bamboo stems were kept just behind the statue. The each pot was having three holes in the upper ring and the light was coming out, they call it Yin Yang. The concept of yin-yang is used to describe how seemingly opposite or contrary forces are interconnected, and interdependent in the natural world; and, how they give rise to each other as they interrelate to one another. Many natural dualities (such as male and female, light and dark, high and low, hot and cold, water and fire, life and death, and so on) are thought of as physical manifestations of the yin-yang concept. The concept lies at the origins of many branches of classical Chinese science and philosophy, as well as being a primary guideline of traditional Chinese medicine and a central principle of different forms of Chinese martial arts and exercise, such as Baguazhang, T'ai chi, and Chi Kung and of I Ching.
Yin and yang are actually complementary, not opposing, forces, interacting to form a whole greater than either separate part; in effect, a dynamic system. Everything has both yin and yang aspects, (for instance shadow cannot exist without light). Either of the two major aspects may manifest more strongly in a particular object, depending on the criterion of the observation. The concept of yin and yang is often symbolized by various forms of the Taijitu symbol, for which it is probably best known in Western cultures.
Probably, due to their faith in Budhism, our Chinese friends swear by vegetarian way. They served us beat root soup topped with roasted cashew nuts, cauliflower. The main course was further simple brown rice with some light Chinese spices and two mixed vegetable dishes one with thick gravy and the other one dry one, and finally roasted chick peas, wheat, rajwan in light sweet soup as sweet dish. They take their dinner by 7 or 7.30 in the evening , easily digestible light food, simple exercises, bit of mediation
help them to remain lean and thin. In the group Hweu Me Wa and Sthe Me Chen both are 70+ but look much younger to the Indian ladies in the same age range.
Sy Sey (Thank you) my dear Chinese friends for this enlightenment.
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