Evening star., 1900-11-17


run on the cooperative plan-and takes the
stuff to Chinatown, where it Is sold to the
restaurant keepers and grocers, who may
sell 1t at retail send 1t for sale to the
Chinese colonies in Newark, Philadelphia
and other cities.
Owing to the primitive manner in which
the farming is conducted the Chinese till
ers of the soil. after paying their yearly
rental and their living expenses, do not
make fortunes. AS near as could be ascer-
tained they make above their actual living
about 50 a week-if the crops are good and
no untoward accident occurs. In China
this would constitute affluence; here 1t Is
different.
These farmers are. however held in high
esteem by the denizens of Chinatown, for
the latter do not like Americanraised prod
uCts. This dislike goes to the extent of
preferring dried vegetables imported from
China to the fresh ones obtahable here.
Likes and Dislikes.
Yuan Mel. the culinary expert mention
ed above, asserted "A ham Is ham, but
in point of goodness two hams will be as
widely separated as the sky and sea. So
the credit of good dinner should be di-
vided between the cook and the steward,
40 per cent to the steward and 60 per cent
for the cook That Is why the Chinese
cook is so particular about the ingredients
Of his mysterious concoctions. Yuan has
laid down some very strict rules. which the
Chinese chef with any pretensions to repu-
tation must follow. Says Yuan:
He who would serve the fish Alright
Must wash until the sinews show up white
And this holds good In all Chinese cook
ing. When the cook is through with his
dishes he scrubs them thoroughly and
hangs them up. When he needs them again
he washes them once more, for fear that in
the interval dust may have settled upon
them. These rules apply to both the Chi
nese and the Mauchus but in the matter
of tastes these two races differ materially
The Chinese are devotees of soup; the Man
chus adore baked meats. The Chinese are
fond of turtles sinewS: the Manchus have
a liking for sea slugs-tough and taSteleSs
and in appearance like turtle fat, CORFU
gated like tripe. The Chinese like see-yon,
an aromatic sauce: the Manchus prefer
moi-ta-ung, a ''sweet-sour sauce" made of
fruit acids boiled down to marmalade thick
ness.
Popular Dishes.
A universal dish Is chicken breast cut
into cubes and stewed with the liver. Still
another is stuffed goldfish. The fish are
scraped and cleansed and stuffed with
vegetable paste and steamed until cooked.
y popular side dish is soy. beans boiled
with wheat and plentifully seasoned with
salt Only the better classes can afford this
dish. for salt is a government monopoly in
China. and is expensive In consequence
No Chnaman will touch cheese, for 1t IS
considered rotten milk" The Chinese are
exceptionally fond of a sweetmeat made
from the seeds of the arbutus Custard
eggs are another delicacy. This dish is
true Chinese conCeit The original contents
of the egg are blown out through appropri-
ate holes and the shell filled with custard
OF all the COlOrS of the rainbow. Then the
holes are plugged up and the eggs steamed
A few other trif1es to tickle the palate Of
the Chinese gourmands are: T,ien va TN
fdttele0 ducks. fo0pCbi Sa1ta5 cbI
tasting like ham; hue tul, ham cured with
saltpeter. white in color and tasting like
veal: yu chin, shark fin, resembling amber
gelatine: hal II tZu. deviled oysters with
mushrooms; tang tsu yu fish prepared
with sweet sauce; pineapple chicken-the
fowl being boned and sliced and fried with
leek. celery and water nut. and served with
sauce OF pineapple and vinegar.
Famous Cake.
The dish Of dishes is the mooncake, eaten
by all Chinese at the moon festival, the 18th
day of the eighth Chinese month, which
usually comes in autumn. The rnooncake
is made Of a black bean, is the size of an
American meat pie, and is filled with
black paste that tastes like a mixture of
sand and glue. and weighs the eater down
with woe and anguish 1t Is eaten at the
beginning of the meal for, as Yuan Mel
says: Let salt food come first and after
ward rood or a more negative flavor Let
the hedVy pFeceue the light. Let dry dishes
precede those with gravy. No flavor must
dominate"
Not all these desired dishes can be OBJ
tanned mere The Chinese farming commu-
nifty at Steinway sadly admits that this
climate is unsuited to the growth of MANY
hlghly esteemed vegetables. One, In mar
ticular which resembles a large pea. fails
to sprout in the local soil. despite frequent
endeavors to cultivate it. Much trv. no
good, says the yellow-skinned farmer He
says 1t with gloom, too, for he could get
etables and fruits which are now imnorted
IN dried form from China. thereby losing
me best OF their flavor. "Flisco allie some
more Deuer, declared one of the agricul-
turists who has lived In San Francisco On,
the faclhc coast the Chinese gardener sue
ceeds better with his truck but he soils
II an IN the local markets, and sends none
OF IL across the continent. The cultivated
acres at Stelnway and the farms outside of
Boston run by Cinnamon furnish the chit
nese markets of the eastern cities.