"It has always intrigued me to note that of all of the cuisines of the world the Italian has far less in common with those of its Latin neighbors Spain and France than it does with that of China. Both Italy and China make pasta, for example, to cite one of the most obvious parallels. But their culinary paths draw close in so many other ways: in their direct handling of ingredients, in the many quick-cooked dishes, in the integration of vegetables with meat or fish, in pairing sweet with sour. When I first saw strips with broccoli stems and carrots cut into thin sticks in this dish I wondered who the Chinese cook was in the kitchen . . . ."That is from the introduction to "Pork Strips with Broccoli and Carrots" in Marcella Hazan, Marcella Cucina 327 (1997). Here is the previous post.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
More on Italian Stir-Fry
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Gosh, I'm not sure I buy this. I mean, Hazan is an authority on Italian food, and I am not, but I would have thought there were many more dissimilarities between Italian and chinese flavors than similarities - for example, the Italian use of cheese and cream, emphasis on simplicity, not especially piquant flavors, love of the tomato, etc. "Far less in common" than France? Hmm.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure whether "cuisine" and "flavors" mean the same thing. I think the point is that Italian cooking methods-- howevermuch the ingredients may differ-- are more Chinese than Latin. (But I grant that her remark about pasta cuts against my interpretation.)
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