Food combination lore in China

[abcdefg]

One night last week I went with Chinese friends to eat hot pot. I wanted to order both spinach 菠菜 and tofu 豆腐, but they quickly warned me against doing that, saying it would make me sick.

A day or two later I asked my teacher about it and she vigorously agreed. Then she searched up a list of similar food combination do's and don’ts which was of Biblical proportions. Pared it down to one page for my use. If I understood it correctly, some combinations would make me ill with only one use, others with repeat use over time. Some combinations only resulted in a cancellation of nutritional properties.

I'm wondering if this is just folklore or "old wives' tales" or if it is actually something I need to be aware of here. Also wondering if there is any science behind it.

I will attach the list.

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食物忌讳.doc

[skylee]

Is it not about the iron in the vegetable and one of the ingredients in tofu?

[Eranee]

From what I understand, the reasoning behind the whole spinach-tofu issue is that spinach contains high levels of oxalic acid, which shouldn't be combined with calcium rich foods (tofu being one of them). Has the potential for causing kidney stones. As for the others, I'm not sure.

[rezaf]

Eating them together can cause gastric concretion not kidney stone.

[abcdefg]

Calcium oxalate stones from tofu plus spinach would make sense, whether they be gastric or renal. I will henceforth avoid eating them together.

[xiaocai]

Another one I can remember is persimmon and crab. Apparently persimmons are high in tannins, which may react with protein rich food like crab to form precipitate.

[roddy]

That one has come up before.

[abcdefg]

Another one I can remember is persimmon and crab.

I rarely eat persimmon and I rarely eat crab, so it would not be a real sacrifice to avoid them together.

On the other hand I like to combine 白罗伯 and 胡萝卜 in a slow cooked winter 炖, usually adding 排骨。Hate to give that up since it tastes good and is easy to make.

Likewise, one of my summer light meal favorites is a 黄瓜 and 番茄 salad. Don't want to relinquish that one without a struggle either.

[skylee]

On the other hand I like to combine 白罗伯 and 胡萝卜 in a slow cooked winter 炖, usually adding 排骨。Hate to give that up since it tastes good and is easy to make.

Replace 白蘿蔔 with 冬菇, 排骨 with 燒肉 (optional), and add some oyster sauce in the stew before serving.

[abcdefg]

Replace 白蘿蔔 with 冬菇, 排骨 with 燒肉 (optional), and add some oyster sauce in the stew before serving.

Sounds like a good idea. I will try that.

On a related culinary note, is it generally best to add oyster sauce near the end of the cooking process rather than near the beginning? I am not skilled in its use, but enjoy the flavor and have some in my kitchen now.

My kind landlady left me many of her spices, sauces and condiments to use when she moved out. (I feel more like a guest here than a tenant.)

[xiaocai]

I don't think you need to worry too much about combinations if the reason to avoid is simply 没有营养. A lot of things we eat or drink are not "nutritious" but we still have them just for the taste. I'd rather go for food with great flavour but not very nourishing instead of those which are supposedly very healthy but taste absolutely revolting. And it is not like that you are just going to have the same dishes everyday; you can obviously get the nutrients you need through many other ways.

[skylee]

I think oyster sauce tends to be quite salty so I think it is better to use it sparingly and not to cook it for a long time. But this is just what I think. And I am not skilled in cooking at all. That is just my mom's dish.