'White people food' is trending on Chinese social media

[NJCher]

I think the headline for this story is unnecessarily provocative and also not quite true. It should be something else but I don't know what, so I left it as it was at the NPR web site.

I heard this little three-minute story and it explained so much to me, which is why I wanted to post it. The actual topic being discussed here is prep time for meals.


'White people food' is trending on Chinese social media
June 27, 20235:10 AM ET
Heard on Morning Edition
Emily Feng
3-Minute Listen

A look at the "white people food" trend that's caught on with millennials in China.
https://www.npr.org/2023/06/27/1184461298/white-people-food-is-trending-on-chinese-social-media


Here are the issues it solved for me.

1. I was always so curious when I went to the big Asian market here. What puzzled me is why there was so much prepared food. Kits. Frozen dinners, Cartons with all the ingredients for a certain type of meal.

Doesn't anyone cook from scratch, I asked myself. Of course, they had plenty of ingredients like what I needed so I would just buy them and forget about all the package meals.

This little news story explains it. Asians are just as time pressed as we are but their cuisine takes a lot more time to prepare, thus the packaged dishes at the Asian market.

2. In the last week or two, I've been focusing on recipes and dishes that are diabetic friendly. My brother is Type 2 and he's not doing well with cooking his own food. Says he doesn't have time. Consequently I said I would help him. I try to find meals that can take about 5" to put together. I test the recipe or idea out and then send it to him.

Now I see this issue of simple eating/no time for preparation is not a concern for only a busy guy without a penchant for cooking, it's an issue for a good many people.

It took another culture to point this out to me.

Now that I think about it, I'll bet a lot of DUers just grab whatever for dinner because there is no time to prepare more complicated meals.

Finally, does anyone remember this post on the C & B "What's for Dinner?" thread? This person posted "an avocado."

Yep, that was it. That was dinner. An avocado. Prep time about 2".

[intrepidity]

1. Interesting.

Seems like the "Lunchables" and "Crustables" phenomenon, IOW, toddler food or school lunches.

Too bad it's spreading, and too bad they like it.

Yet, due to various constraints, I find much of my diet is just like that. I wish it were otherwise.

[Major Nikon]

2. As far as convenience food goes, you can do a lot worse than an avocado

I often use them as meal substitutes and usually pick up a bag of them every time I go to the market.

[Skittles]

3. doesn't anyone cook

I absolutely HATE cooking and will avoid it at all costs

[NJCher]

5. On the nightly What's for Dinner thread here at DU

You will find about 10 people (average a night) post interesting meals they make. Some are very creative. So yeah, people do cook.

I'm one of those people who makes a different recipe just about every night. My prep time is sometimes as much as two hours! However, that two hours is good for a lunch the next day, maybe two. My deal is that I like healthy meals and also that use my garden produce, since that is my big thing in life, gardening organically.

The RG can cook up a fabulous meal that you'd pay $70 for in a restaurant in only 15". However, he travels a lot so the meal prep lately is all on me.

It just never occurred to me how important this issue of time in meal prep is--in your case because you don't like to cook, but in a lot of cases, just no time.

There are cookbooks called the 3-ingredient, 4-ingredient, and 5-ingredient cookbooks. Different chefs like Jamie Oliver put them out. Most big name chefs have a book like this published. Those are pretty simple recipes with good ideas.

I think this is what the speakers on this news story are talking about. How can you have good food but not spent a lot of time in meal prep? And it's also interesting how certain cultures, like Chinese, have more intensive time requirements for their meals.

[Walleye]

4. The most cooking I ever do is scrambled eggs with ham and cheese, on a whole wheat Kaiser roll

Takes about five minutes. Cleanup is easy. Otherwise it’s fruit and nuts and cereals and raisin toast with honey

[NJCher]

6. what do you do about vegetables?

Do you buy and cook them? Grow them?

[Walleye]

8. Sometimes I buy homemade soup from the local grocery. In walking distance

I like fresh broccoli steamed for a couple of minutes.I’m not very good on keeping up with my vegetables, I do eat a lot of fruit. Mostly salads

[Warpy]

7. An avocado for an evening meal is just fine

I've always found that the midday meal should be the big one, a big meal late in the day can mean feeling bloated and weighed down and interferes with sleep. These days, my supper is extremely spare. I prefer apple to avocado, but that's just me.

[Retrograde]

10. You do you, but for me

avocados are for lunch! With leftover tuna salad in the hole, or just some oil and vinegar.

[Old Crank]

9. I like to cook

but not so much for one. For one I just do really simple stuff. I don't really have access to the lunchable things. But there are things like that in Munich that are prepared or partially prepared. I just haven't tried them.