The Devil's Chow Quotes

“Chairman Mao's influence on Chinese food cannot be overstated. Under his rule, hundreds of millions of people didn't get enough of it.”
― Stephen Jack, The Devil's Chow: A Chinese Food History

“Go on, eat one," he urged.
"I'm not sure …" I hesitated, not out of revulsion—these little dead creatures just looked out of place on a serving dish. Normally I'd expect to see them pinned neatly to an entomologist's display board.
"You don't need to worry, they're fresh. Cooked this morning."
I picked one up with my chopsticks, twirling it around for a closer look. It was an inch and a half long and, except for the antennae, it was perfectly intact: head, thorax, abdomen, wings and legs. Its compound eyes, however, bulged no more; they'd been burnt out.
"Do I eat the head?" I asked.”
― Stephen Jack, The Devil's Chow: A Chinese Food History

“When the Dongpo pork was finally ready he carried it out to a courtyard table. A large square slab of pork belly with toffee-toned skin capped alternating layers of meat and fat. The dish is fei er bu ni, 'fatty but not greasy.' The fat, much of it rendered down, permeated and deliciously moistened the meat. The garnish of finely grated young, tender ginger also helped to offset the oil. The meat was so tender it was easily pried away in bite-size pieces with chopsticks.”
― Stephen Jack, The Devil's Chow: A Chinese Food History

“When I was growing up, if a pet dog or cat went missing, some joker would say, "Better not order Chinese for a couple of weeks." The underlying suspicion never entirely went away that Chinese cooks might be substituting Porky with Fido or Kitty.”
― Stephen Jack, The Devil's Chow: A Chinese Food History

“My second dim sum dish of the day: cha siu bao, savoury-sweet roast pork encased in gaping steamed buns as fluffy as cumulus clouds. It was my final meal in China, and I was thinking, this had better be good. And it was.”
― Stephen Jack, The Devil's Chow: A Chinese Food History

“Later, Daoists, in their quest for immortality, grabbed the reins of this alchemical tradition and rode it with a vengeance. Daoist seekers scaled misty mountains, crossed vast deserts and navigated the vagaries of the high seas, all to get their hands on exotic plants, creatures or minerals to experiment with. While the elixir of life eluded them, they discovered decoctions of death and sickness time and time again as potions despatched alchemists and sometimes even emperors.”
― Stephen Jack, The Devil's Chow: A Chinese Food History

“A well-formed baozi has a pleated top that gives it the appearance of a puffed-up ivory flower. Baozi are cooked in distinctive circular lattice steamers; interlocking stacks of these can be seen at restaurants—bamboo chimneys billowing aromatic steam. The most succulent baozi are cooked to order and eaten right from the steamer.”
― Stephen Jack, The Devil's Chow: A Chinese Food History

“How a matching pair of thin sticks came to be used in one hand like tongs or finger extensions remains a mystery, but chopsticks have proved themselves ideal utensils for eating certain kinds of dishes. Chopsticks are such a simple device that their invention seems more a triumph of dexterity than of technology.”
― Stephen Jack, The Devil's Chow: A Chinese Food History