No potato and tomato in chinese diets

[moon88]

Dear cecil,
Why chinese diet is devoid of tomato and potato? Looked at lots of chinese recipes and did not find much use of either tomato and potato.( it is pretty non existent). Thanks.

[Cecil Lee]

Dear Anon,
1. I believe potatoes contain carbohyrates.
2. The staple carbohyrate of the Chinese is `instead' rice. Rice is easily cultivated and the unique thing about rice is that it `aborbs'.
3. Rice can be eaten with other ingredients or cooked with food to absorb the flavour.
4. Thus I believe, that since, `we' already have sufficient carbohyrates, it would be best not to grow too many but instead other `food' or vegetables.
5. While potatoes are `different', it does not absorb what has been added to it.
6. For tomatoes, as it is a `vegetable' or some call it fruit, it is harder to grow, depending on the climate conditions.
Most common vegetables include bamboo shoots, cabbages, lettuce etc.. which can even be salted and kept during winter weather.
I am not sure how, one can `salt' or pickle tomatoes.
Thus, most food or vegetables, can be kept all four seasons.
You will be surprised to learn that Chinese even have `waxed' ducks, salted, or preserved pork meat etc...
The above are my opinion only.
Warmest Regards,
Cecil

[Robert]

Hi!
One must remember that Chinese cuisine is very ancient and most ingredients in Chinese diet are well established through historical precedent.
Both Tomato and Potato were only added to the European diet since Christopher Columbus brought them back from the "New World"
As Cecil has put it, the need for potato is not there in the Chinese diet.
India, conversely has absorbed both these two "New" items completely into her cuisine.
Interestingly enough Chinese cuisine has embraced the use of capsicum (peppers & chilli - not black or white pepper)types of vegetables totally. The capsicum vegetables also came from the "New World" as did corn(maize) and Tobacco.
Robert B.