Eating Our Words-Chinese Style Quiz

Answer: Tea

The word 'char' (or cha) is an Anglican form of the Chinese word 'tcha', meaning tea, and is also close to the Indian word 'chai'. So by ordering char tea, or chai tea, you're actually ordering tea tea.

The practice of steeping tea leaves in water originated in China somewhere around 2700BC and it first spread to Japan and then Europe. The Portuguese princess, Catherine of Braganza, reportedly introduced the beverage to the court of King Charles II and tea became popular throughout England by the 1720's.

Phoenix Rising's leith90 brewed this question and poured it into the quiz, then happily sipped on a cup of coffee. No pinkie extended.

Answer: Char Siu

Traditionally, char siu is slowly roasted while suspended on forks, hence the name. Strips of sliced pork are marinated in a barbecue sauce that includes five spice powder and red coloring, originally from fermented red bean paste. The term has been transliterated into Japanese as 'chashu' and is frequently offered in ramen. In many Southeast Asian countries, rice with barbecued pork is available as char siew rice. In the Philippines, it is often called 'cha siu'. Hawaiians use the term mostly to refer to the style of cooking, whatever protein source is used.

Player pusdoc wrote this question for Phoenix Rising while roasting down in Texas, dreaming of a char siu barbecue joint.

Answer: Chin-Chin

Admittedly not much in use in modern times, 'chin-chin' is a rather outdated way of wishing good health when raising a glass. Stolen from Mandarin 'qing qing', an archaic Chinese toast that possibly traveled into English by way of other European usages. The phrase sounds reminiscent of two glasses clinking together and became quite popular in Italy, France, and Britain.

Phoenix Rising's Red Crew's smpdit raises a glass in your direction and clinks.

Answer: Dim Sum

The term 'dim sum' has come to specifically mean the small bites served steamed in bamboo baskets; the term more generally refers to appetizers. The 'sum' component refers to heart; some etymologists believe that the 'dim' portion translated as 'touch' was originally 'tim' meaning dot.

Player pusdoc craves dumplings after providing this question for the Red Crew during Phoenix Rising's Global Tour 2022.

Answer: Hoisin

Hoisin sauce contains no seafood ingredients nor is it consumed with seafood in most cases. The word for 'seafood flavor' is used as a descriptor in Chinese cuisine; in Sichuanese, it would be 'fish fragrant'. The English word (borrowed from Japanese!) we might best use for this is 'umami'. The word 'hoisin' is a 'partial calque', meaning that part of it has been translated and the rest borrowed in toto.

This question was basted into the quiz by player pusdoc of the Phoenix Rising Red Crew.

Answer: Brine of pickled fish

The true origin of 'ketchup' is undetermined. But theories point to origination with the Chinese. Ke-chiap is a Hokkien-Chinese word for fermented fish sauce, or brine of pickled fish. Another variation, Cantonese uses 'keh jup', which means tomato sauce. Meaning soy sauce, Malaysia uses 'kicap', 'kecap' or 'ketjap'. Indonesia circles back to fermentation with 'kecap', meaning fermented sauces. 'Kecap asin' is a salty soy sauce and 'kecap manis' is the sweet version. 'Kecap ikan' is a non-soy based fish sauce.

What started in southeast Asia, made its way to Europe by British and Dutch merchants in the 1600s. The tomato did not become the main ingredient in the non-Asian version of ketchup until the early 1800s. Anchovies were omitted from recipes in the 1850s. In 1890, America sweetened its version by adding sugar. Of course, the ketchup recipes of Europe and the Americas no longer use anchovies or mushrooms, but southeast Asia still makes fish sauce from salted and fermented anchovies.

PR's jaknginger squeezed this question into the quiz.

Answer: Oolong

Oolong, from the Chinese word 'wulong', meaning 'black dragon' was first used in 1857 to describe this amber-brown tea. Its name is thought to be from the leaves themselves which are dark, long, and curly and can resemble a dragon. Oolong tea is made by first drying the leaves in the sun so they wither and become oxidized. The amount of drying and oxidation before firing the leaves alters the final taste.

Pu'er and matcha are both types of green teas, while mugicha is a Japanese barley tea.

Phoenix Rising's leith90 liked the sound of dragon tea, but thought it was made from real dragons.

Answer: True

Ramen is a Japanese dish that appears to be based on a Chinese pulled noodle served in broth, often meat-based. The word 'ramen' is thought to derive from the Chinese 'lamian'. The Japanese have taken the 'la' to make a 'ra' sound and then added 'men' meaning noodle. It is felt that the noodle soup was introduced by Chinese immigrants in the late 19th century.

Red Crew's smpdit is partial to slurping large bowlfuls of noodles in a tasty broth.

Answer: Tofu

Tofu has its soy roots in Chinese cuisine dating back to the Han dynasty. Tofu use and production spread to Japan and Southeast Asia during the early centuries. The Chinese spell it 'doufu'. In Vietnam, tofu is described by its firmness. Soft is 'tauhu', and firm is 'taugoa'. Other variations are 'tahu' and 'tauhu' in Indonesia and Malaysia respectively. First mentioned in America in 1770, Ben Franklin mentioned trying Chinese 'cheese' while in London. Also, a letter to Mr Franklin mentioned 'towfu' and how to make the tofu from soybeans.

Being a soy product, tofu is a very good source of protein. Many Asian societies are Buddhist and therefore vegetarian. Soy helps with dietary needs with the omission of meats as primary sources of protein.

Jaknginger firmly entered this question into the Red Crew's team quiz.

Answer: Wonton

The world of dumplings is very diverse, the name wonton, wantan or wuntan is simplified English derived from Cantonese. The Shanghainese name is wenden. There are many different ways of folding filling into wrappers with many different shapes being produced. The imagery of 'cloud swallow' floating in broth is very evocative.

Red Crew's smpdit now has a hankering for pot sticker dumplings.