It’s just six days to Christmas (Yay!) and today we’re sharing a foodie photo—fried rice! One of our favourite foods, but also super important for Asia.
Rice is the main staple food for much of East and Southeast Asia—compared to wheat or potato in Europe. (Africa also grows rice, but the scholarly consensus is that rice was first domesticated in China.) There are two main ways rice can be served—steamed or fried. Either way, it’ll usually be combined with some vegetables, egg or meat—and it’ll be a delicacy no matter what.
The planting of rice requires much effort on a rice field for almost the entire year. (Come to Hong Kong or Thailand, for example, you’ll find rice fields everywhere.) Some even say that even in China, the southern rice culture differentiates from the northern wheat culture, probably also because of the climate difference, and rice can be grown best in hot, tropical climates. (It never gets lower than 0°C in Hong Kong.)
No matter Yangzhou fried rice, Yakimeshi or Nasi Goreng, fried rice is practically everywhere in this part of the world—enjoy.
(And here’s a plate of Nasi Goreng from Kuantan, Malaysia in this photo; it costs less than 10 Malaysian Ringits, or 2 euros.)
P.S. Did you know? Thai fried rice is seasoned with fish sauce, while Chinese fried rice is seasoned with soy sauce. That’s why they taste different.
