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India and China

Asian Cookery

Tea Leaves, Being a Collection of Letter... (by Drake, Francis Samuel)
The Curry Cook's Assistant, Or, Curries,... (by Daniel Santiagoe)
A Journey to the Tea Countries of China ... (by Fortune, Robert, 1813-1880)
The Chinese Cook Book : Containing More ... (by Chan, Shiu Wong)
Chinese Cookery in the Home Kitchen; Bei... (by Nolton, Jessie Louise, Ed)
Sassy Asian Party Cookbook (by Technical Books Center)

The Silk Road introduced Europeans to exotic, new flavors and launched them upon a culinary adventure as they developed trade and exercised imperialistic determination to conquer and rule. From Indian curry to General Tsao’s chicken, the spices, flavors, and textures of the Orient made their home in the Western world and began a subtle campaign to conquer the conquerors.

India

India’s two main culinary exports can be summed up as follows: tea and curry. A history of the East India Tea Company provides the reader with an exhaustive description of the tea trade, its part in the expansion of the British Empire, and its vital importance to the British economy.

The often bold and spicy flavor of curry, however, had a less dramatic, more subtle influence. Soldiers and merchants traveling to India for tea, riches, and adventure found the cuisine of their homeland ill-adapted to the climate and ingredients of the exotic countries they visited. Immersion in Indian cuisine became familiarity and fondness such that they brought those flavors home with them.

Cooks who had never been exposed to foreign cultures and ingredients had no way of knowing how to best use these exotic flavors. As usual, someone saw the gap of knowledge and filled it, such as The Curry Cook’s Assistant, Or, Curries, How to Make them in England by Daniel Santiagoe.

Indian cuisine remains deeply embedded in the British culinary experience.

China

“All the tea in China” did not arise from confusion as to where Great Britain’s favorite beverage was grown. The East India Tea Company also included China in its commercial empire. Trade with China imported much more than Chinese tea and fine porcelain. Chinese immigrants to North America brought the cuisine of their culture. They introduced new cooking techniques and flavors to tempt European and American taste buds away from a firm reliance upon meat to a diet that relied strongly upon vegetables and rice.

Books such as The Chinese Cook Book: Containing More Than One Hundred Recipes For Everyday Food Prepared in the Wholesome Chinese Way, and Many Recipes of Unique Dishes Peculiar to the Chinese, Including Chinese Pastry, Stove Parties, and Chinese Candies by Shiu Wong Chan and Chinese Cookery in the Home Kitchen; Being Recipes for the Preparation of the Most Popular Chinese Dishes at Home edited by Jessie Louise Nolton paved the way for the cliché of Chinese takeout in big cities.

Modern Asian Cooking

Today, Asian cuisine encompasses more than foods common to India and China. It envelops Korea, Japan, Thailand, Cambodia, Mongolia, Indonesia, and Vietnam. The custom of many Asian cultures to present food in bite-sized pieces translates perfectly into the Western tradition of serving hors d’oeuvres and other easily consumed finger foods at parties. For a modern take on traditional Asian cuisine, look up Sassy Asian Party Cookbook by Technical Books Center.

By Karen M. Smith