Comment by soyelmango | Hacker News Reader

Comment by soyelmango | Hacker News Reader

Parent Full thread

(I submitted this link, and I should add that I'm not the author.)

I think the commenters who write about distinguishing learning vocab from digging deeper into understanding etymology ( eg skermes, http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1439131 ) have hit the nail on the head (translate that one!). At that point, learning vocab, whatever the language, becomes more fun for me.

Back to the cooking thing though...

I'm surprised that most comments I see so far are about the language, because what drew me to the article in the first place is the author's connection between the Chinese language and Chinese cooking with non-specialised tools, and how that contrasts with western cooking.

I think both Chinese and 'western' cooking tools have specialized, though interestingly in opposite directions. The Chinese specialization towards one wok, one cleaver, one chopping board (prep hygiene, anyone?), chopsticks (and food cut and cooked to size) and green tea minimizes the toolset.

The 'Western' way specializes in a different way: specialize the tool to what's being cooked and eaten - a fish pan, a medium sized knife to prep, a fish knife to eat, and white rather than red wine.

I'm not saying one is better than the other - I'll happily eat both Chinese or western food (or any other) if you're cooking for me! ... I'm just interested in studying the differences and similarities.

Disclosure: I'm Chinese.

Also, when eating out in Western culture you are more prone to just ordering your own meal, whereas in Chinese culture it's typically family style.

It is also, with few exceptions, acceptable to grab food in the 'center' with your own chopsticks. I guess chopsticks don't get dirty :)

One thing that drives me crazy about chopsticks is when you want to cut something, you have to do that X trick and sort of cross the chopsticks, or use the spoon. I'm a wiz with chopsticks, but a knife and fork is the ultimate combo. It wins at every category except noodle soup and sushi.

Those chopsticks and communal sauces do get 'dirty', but hey, a few germs keep your immune system on its toes! There may well be an aspect of group bonding there in saliva-exchange.

If you have to cut food, that's someone else's failing before it gets to the table - tough cheap meat, cut too big, or cooked badly. But yes, I've often had to cut meat with a blunt china spoon too!

Yes, the spoon - glad to hear you're one of the few non-Chinese (I presume, from your name) who uses it. Always amusing to watch people eating rice 2 grains at a time with chopsticks...

I always have the idea that the westerners are more aggressive because they use knife on the dinner table. If you cut your own food, and sometimes see blood dripping out from it, you tends to think making others bleed is more or less a pleasure, or even a daily need.

As a programmer, I think the cooking process should be well encapsulated, and the knives should be left in the kitchen. The eaters should care about sending the food to the mouth, rather than having to postprocess it.

It's marketing that 'Western' cooking has many cookwares. They need you to buy an egg beater even if a spoon/knife/fork works fine.

It's the same thing that Mother's Day is invented.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com