The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1892-10-07
WITH THE CHINESE.
Tastes of the Inhabitants OF tho
Celestial Empire.
Eho, Have r. i"nin--- tor Di,hr. Th.'
~r.r.l iu;thIaE Hut limiting
NmrrIcan-~om-
Queer DIinti-s.

In passing through Chinese towns the
ustouishingly large number of cook
shops interest ana attract the foreign
passcr-lv Ones curiosity j. often
aroused to know the ingredients OF the
nesSc~ he s~ea being concoctcd. Uut in
vrstigatiou very often ends in some uu-
pleasant disclosure and unless one is
possessed Of 4 veritable cast-iron
stomach and = nose well hardened |"
(! iEc-c smells. he had better beware
of even i Chinese DclmOnicO's. These
places are unpleasantIy pressed upon
,iic pcGc&t rian. however. for the front
l. invariably open To the street and in
order To- tempt customers by the sight
and smell al viands the cook prepares
lnS dishes over charcoal fire IN full
view and sets samples Of his materials
and hlS bill If fare ont on Il show
board before him. Tables ami
stools are placed iE the rear.
aud here the hungry wayfarcr
may banquet OF such dclicaciaS
~ particularly tickle the thine>e palate
Among the common people an ordinary
meat consists of boiled rice, coarse
greens and a litJ.c fat pork, goats flesh
.r fish. At the public eating houses
dainties ont II the ordinary line are to
b, had and Chinese cookery is executed
w.th :: flourish as it were. All sorts of
ii~h flesh and fowl, beasts of the sea.
air and land are represented in a Chr
ucsc Iaenu. The Frcnchman il not the
only one who has his froglegS and snail
soup, for The Celestial, too, rcvcl~ iH
these daintie~, and many more even
more strange. Snakes and eelS alike
',now the fryingpau, and when skinned
and dressed appear very much alike.
Many varieties of nOn-poi>OnOuS snakes
are used for food. Silllworm yrubS are
regarded a. a choice mOrsel and are
~teved IN lard and eaten as a relish,
and Il multitude Of other insects are
deemed edible. One variety commonly
seen IN the fish stalls looks like an
American locust before IL has taken on
wings. and a large white grub that ia
habits the bamboo sprouts Is much
sought after in the south Another Va
ricty of edible worm Is found at the
root Of the Sugarcane- The cane 10 gen
orally pulled up, the roots being used
for fuel, and the Earvesters a. they go
along pick up these worms and drop
them INTO a little basket which they
strap about In" waist.
Many Chinese things taste very good,
but their food Is, oh the whole, any
ching but tempting. Their cookery
abounds in mad" dishes of compli-
,.atcd construction, highly flavored
with spices and herbs, and, on account
of the limited use to which the chop
sticks can be put, the ingredients are
cut up into small pieces. Boiling,
stcwing and frying are popular meth
odS Of preparation. and the cook shops
show u variety of nauSeating-l looking
mcsscS whose OdorS arr not To bc met
with outside of China. The worst have
vet encountered come from the duck
eggs that have been kept in wet clay
until they are high, and fermcnted
radiShcs which bear u strong family
cmblancc Ia saurrlraut, and these
can best bc described 10y the southern
expression powerful bad" Although
we turn up our noses at John China
mans bin of fare. he in turn looks
asIlance at ours and thinks we are dis
gISting creatures to drink milk and
eat cheese, and he cannot be induced Ia
touch butter.
II seems to he the general impress
sion that dogs and cats form staple
articles of diet. This is not true. They
are eaten t. a greater or less extent 10y
the poorer classes only, and vary in
popularity according to the district
In the Seaports, where animal food i
readily obtained, they are not con-
Sumed, and in Canton there are only
three or four stalls where their flesh
Is sold, but in country districts
many people eat these animals.
and rats. also. The Hallllas, II wild
hill tribe occupying the mountainous
district west of Annoy, go III
for eat and dog more largely than any
other people and their method of pre-
pairing them for culinary purposes Is
horrible in the extreme Dogs paws
are frequently seen among their meats
in the butchers stalls. Black cats are
universally deemed more desirable than
white or spotted, and tortoiSe-shell eats
are seldom eaten \ well-known mis-
sionary Ia these people, in relating his
experience with these animals, says
that his family can always keep tor
toise-shcll, while a black cat invariably
disappears. llurseiiesh iS extensively
consumed throughout the empire, but
il horribly tough, for only old bea rs
unfit for use are killed for food. Both
house rats and a kind of wild rat that
inhabits the rice fields are eaten and
are hawl5cd about the streets strung mp
hV the tails.
The famous bird's-nest soup i
rare delicacy and can he aitor"eu - ,.,
by the rich. 1t IS serve" AZ ~
course At grand dinners uSuaiiy;
nests are built Icy a kind OF s"al,oN o'l
high rocks by the seashore' anu 'iI -
t.~;ai - secrcted 10y glands inside the
birds bill. | think it was Huxley Wno
facetiously remarked that ms
~ ,heir nests ..ali out OF their OWL