Food for Thought

This came up the other day while I was having 'Yong Tau Foo' at Balakong with my family.

Me : Who brought Yong Tau Foo into Malaysia?

Oto-san : Should be the Hakka people.

Me : Who came up with Yong Tau Foo? I mean who thought of stuffing some fish paste into ladyfingers and taufu and called it Yong Tau Foo?

Oto-san : ...... (ignored me and continued eating)


That left me thinking a lot of the origin of certain food or cruisine.

  • Who was the first person who picked up land snails and ate them, leading us to the dish called 'Escargot'?
  • Who ever thought of opening an old coconut for its 'santan' and still know how to mix it with rice to give the taste call 'nasi lemak'
  • Where was the origins of Bak Kut Teh? Why only certain herbs can be used?
  • Who was the creator of Kuey Teow noodles, why do they need to create such a noodle?
  • What was the series of events that led to shark fin being a delicacy?
  • Who was the mean person who came up with Foie Gras?
  • Was there someone who drank from the cow's udders with the idea of drinking its milk?

Interesting that we only keep eating without taking one step back on how the food came about, or the story/cluture that came with its origin.

Anyone had any answers to the above or/and more?

Comments

Hahahah I've always wondered about that too.

How many people had to die eating pufferfish before someone discovered the proper way of cooking them?

=P