Why Is There No Cheese In Asian Cuisine?
This post may contain affiliate links which means that, if you choose to make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
If you have ever been to a Chinese, Thai, Korean, or any local Asian cuisine, you may have seen almost all the items on the menu have no cheese. Like many westerners, you may also be wondering, why is there no cheese in Asian Cuisine?
Historically speaking, Asians adapted to soy to satisfy their need for protein instead of cheese, unlike Europeans. However, the main reason is most probably because East Asians are lactose intolerant. Europeans have outgrown their intolerance by settling for cheese for centuries. Asians are yet to overcome this because of less exposure to cheese.
Well, there is more to it than just that! Aside from most Asians being lactose intolerant, you should also ask why there is so much cheese in European and American food. Keep on reading to find out more about cheese in not just Asian cuisine, but also European!
Why Is There No Cheese In Asian Cuisine?
For starters, Asians have never been a big fan of dairy, let alone cheese. Many Asians tend to be lactose intolerant, and have avoided dairy products throughout history. Now, I find it a bit odd as dairy food is supposed to help develop growth and definitely, it is good for human health.
So, why isn’t cheese a part of Asian cuisine? Let’s take a deeper look into the topic.
Cheese Do Not Sit Well With Asian Diet
Most Asians develop a low incidence in their gene and lactose persistence, as they get older. They start having difficulties with dairy consumption, and cheese gets intolerable for their overall health.
Hence, many dietary suggestions suggest adult Asians avoid dairy products at all times. The main reason Asians have a high rate of lactose intolerance is their poor transportation, storage, and climate issues.
Children, however, can handle dairy foods. It came as a shock to me to see the size of the dairy section in Asian grocery stores, mainly yogurt and milk. So, we can say the digestion of Asian adults is far more delicate than their children.
Since many people in Asian cultures avoid eating anything with a dairy product, they don’t see the necessity to include much cheese in their cooking. And that is why most asian recipes don’t contain cheese.
Adult Westerners Naturally Developed Lactose Tolerance
I have seen many Europeans get more into cheese and other dairy products as they reach adulthood. Unlike Asians, they have strong lactose persistence, so digestion is not an issue to them. Historians believe this may be due to our ancestors moving away to northern European regions. As a result, their need for protein continued to rise. Unfortunately, hunting down animals was not an option, as there were only a few animals. So, it could not fill the lack of protein.
It resulted in them starting to look for other means and ways to satisfy their protein demand. Soon, they settled for cheese, and is there any better and quicker way to get their protein from anything than cheese?
Besides, even if Asia does not include cheese in any of their food, they still have a variety of their own cheeses available all over the continent.
As you can clearly see, though it may differ from the usual western cheese, there are still many variants of cheeses in Asian Cuisine. Although most of us are lactose intolerant, we do have cheese in our cuisine.
7 Asian Cheese That You Have Never Heard of
Now, saying Asians don’t eat cheese at all would be going a bit too far. Though most Asian cuisines don’t contain it, various types of cheese culture have been seen to pop up here and there.
Given how massive and diverse Asia is, there is no wonder why so many cultures of cheese call the continent their home. To give you an idea, here are seven of the Asian cheese that you may have never heard of:
1. Chhurpi (Tibet, Bhutan, and Nepal)
There are not one but two variants of Chhurpi! One is the soft kind, and the other is the hard kind. But, before you go too far with the imagination, hard chhurpi is harder than your typical hard cheese.
It does not come from your farm cattle. Most Southeast Asians produce this using yak’s milk. In fact, some may even claim that the final hard product is tough as nails, kind of like chalk.
My personal favorite is the soft one, as it is the more pleasant variant in terms of texture. In our culture, we pick this to mix in curries instead of rice.
2. Rubing (Yunnan, China)
People in the Yunnan province of China produce this fresh white cheese using sheep or goat’s milk instead of cows’. Despite its popularity, it is mainly produced among ethnic minority groups:
- Bai
- Naxi
- Sani
Not to forget, its unique quality of not melting separates it from the rest of the crowd. That is why, most recipes involving Rubing have to do with steaming with rice wine, fried and stirred with carrots, tomatoes, and broccoli, or grilled.
3. Chhena (Bangladesh, Northern India, and Nepal)
Originating from the Southeast region of Asia, this cheese comes from either water buffalo milk, or cow’s milk. Chhena resembles a soft-curd, smooth cheese.
As an Asian, we love to use a cream topping on sweets, particularly on rasgulla to make its finger-licking taste delicious and look more appealing.
4. Paneer (India and Sri Lanka)
Paneer or Paneer may be the most liked and popular cheese in South East Asian culture. Personally, I love it because of its semi-soft cheese texture. Moreover, it is one of the most well-known dairy products used in Indian cuisine, as well as Southeast Asian cuisine.
However, you should know that it does not involve rennet as cows are very sacred in the Hindu religion. One of the many reasons why this is so high in demand is because you do not have to age it.
Adding to that, Paneer is an acid-set vegetarian cheese that does not take several fortnights before it is ready to consume.
5. Kesong Puti (Santa Cruz, Philippines)
Kesong Puti comes from none other than the town of Santa Cruz in the Philippines. As a matter of fact, this cheese is solely why this town is widely known for.
Furthermore, it also comes from the milk of the water buffalo species, similar to Chhena.
However, unlike Chhena, it has a salty kick to its flavor. Not to mention there is an entire festival dedicated to this cheese here in the Philippines.
6. Sakura (Hokkaido, Japan)
This one is a soft cheese originating from the Japanese Northern island of Hokkaido. Sakura is the first cheese that calls the Asian country of Japan its home to become widely acclaimed globally. Surprisingly, it also went on to win a gold medal in Switzerland at the Mountain Cheese Olympics.
Also, Sakura is not your typical mozzarella or cheddar cheese because you would not find a lot of white creamy cheese that is kicked up a notch using mountain cherry leaves. Interestingly, in Japanese, Sakura means cherry blossom.
7. Rushan cheese (Yunnan, China)
Similar to Rubing, members of the Chinese ethnic group Bai also produce the Rushan cheese. The cheese mainly originates from the Yunnan Province of China. They make it generally from cow’s milk.
However, this is not your typical white cheese. Most people love to roll it into thin paper before deep-frying it. Afterward, they roll it and put it on a stick like a Popsicle. In fact, there are a few websites with reviews suggesting it tastes much like mozzarella.
