| Since variety is a great feature of Chinese | | | | deep-frying, or thelike, except on special |
| cookery, a proper banquet will include a sample of | | | | occasions. They believe that such foods create |
| most, if not all, the principal styles: one dish | | | | reh chih, a term readily comprehensible to any |
| roasted, one grilled, one stewed, one stir-fried-and | | | | Chinese but a puzzle to the foreigner. An eminent |
| one steamed. A Chinese dish can be very | | | | Chinese doctor with Western training, after long |
| complicated, but steaming is a triumph of | | | | reflection,decided that the closest Western |
| simplicity. One wonders why the rest-of the world | | | | translation, "indigestion," did not do justice to reh |
| has largelyignored this art. Anything cooked by | | | | chih. |
| steam preserves its original flavor, yet affords a | | | | To a Chinese "indigestion" describes the result of |
| taste so distinct from any other that the | | | | swallowing food too fast or eating too much or |
| Western palate instantly identifies it as "Chinese." | | | | eating what is by nature difficult to digest. Reh |
| Can you imagine a delicate, mouth-watering, | | | | chih is more subtle. Like many untranslatable |
| unusual culinary triumph that takes less time and | | | | Chinese words it requires a paragraph to explain. |
| work than a hamburger sandwich? Including | | | | It is "an acute or accumulated disagreeable effect, |
| preparation-often nothing more than cleaning a | | | | particularly harmful to a person during illness or in |
| shellfish and putting it on a platter-10 minutes is | | | | delicate health, resulting from eating things cooked |
| about standard running time for jeng. No sauce of | | | | through direct contact with the fire or with the oil |
| dominating flavor is ever used, lest it tamper with | | | | in "frying." |
| nature. The simple flavorings are usually just | | | | Whether reh chih has scientific validity or not, it is |
| scattered on the food, and the steam does all the | | | | a fact that a Chinese feeling a bit out of sorts |
| rest. | | | | wants hisfood steamed. And it is interesting to |
| Besides simplicity and flavor, the Chinese have a | | | | note that the Chinese so often look younger than |
| dietetic reason for favoring steam in their | | | | their age and haverelatively few cases of obesity, |
| everyday meals. Calling on centuries of | | | | high blood pressure, and heart disease. |
| experience, they avoid roasting, grilling, | | | | |