Chilli Peppers and the Southeast Asian Identity

Chilli Peppers and the Southeast Asian Identity Introduction Chilli peppers are an integral part of Southeast Asian cuisine today. Many people associate chilli so closely with Southeast Asian cuisines that some shops in Western countries selling Southeast Asian food have had to add excessive amounts of chilli to their food in order to cater to what foreigners think is Southeast Asian food. However, chilli peppers were actually introduced into Southeast Asia a little less than 500 years. Therefore, they are not an indigenous aspect of Southeast Asian cuisine but rather a product of globalisation. Yet today, Southeast Asian cuisines display a penchant for chillieswith almost every cuisine claiming a variation of a chilli condiment (Williams, 2010, p. 41). In this essay, the key issues will be to explore why chillies became so popular in Southeast Asian in the first place and how their importance has evolved over the years to make them an integral part of Southeast Asian identity through the means of cuisine. Firstly, we will look at the history of chilli peppers and how they were brought into the Southeast Asian region. Secondly, we will see what Southeast Asian cuisine was like before chilli peppers became such an integral part of it. Thirdly, we will explore why chilli peppers caught on so quickly as part of the indigenous cuisine. Lastly, I will argue that the role of chilli has evolved in Southeast Asian cuisine and today, its popularity transcends culinary trends to form an integral part of Southeast Asian identity. The History of Chilli The colonial powers and the prevalence of trade in the Southeast Asian region were the key factors in introducing chilli peppers to the cuisines of Southeast Asian. Chilli peppers were the indigenous plants of the Americas from 6000 BC. SEA Cuisine before Chilli Southeast Asian cuisine before the introduction of chilli already indicated a local preference for spicy food. In Thailand, people were seasoning their food with ginger and peppercorns. This preference for spicy food might be an indication of local conditions that made the region more susceptible or accommodating of spicy food. Unsurprisingly, when the Portuguese introduced chilli peppers to the regions in the 1500s, the Thai were the quickest to adapt them into their food. The Prevalence of Chilli in SEA Cuisine The prevalence of chilli in SEA cuisine after its introduction to the region less than 500 years ago is the result of a combination of factors that include sociological reasons, culinary reasons, scientific reasons and geographical reasons. It is hard to explain the popularity of chilli in the region due to biology. Recent studies have indicated that Asians 25% more likely than people of other races to be supertasters. Supertasters are more sensitive to certain tastes and Asians would therefore be more prone to experiencing the burn of capsaicin through chilli consumption. Yet despite this ethnic trait, the prevalence of chilli in SEA cuisine exceeds that of European or American cuisine. I argue that the popularity of chilli in the region can be explained by a confluence of factors exclusive to SEA countries. Firstly, rice is a staple food in all the SEA countries. SEA countries today are responsible for a larger than proportionate share of the global rice export market, with countries like Thailand and Vietnam being famous for rice planting. In the past, many people in SEA countries survived through subsistence farming and rice was a staple food because it was cheap and filling. Even when rice was not eaten, people substituted it with rice-based products like rice noodles. By making rice a staple part of the SEA diet, people could reduce their consumption of expensive meats and vegetables and therefore, lower the cost of their meals. With the introduction of chilli in the region, people began adding it into their meats and vegetables to give it extra spiciness. The extra spiciness of the meats and vegetables meant that the amount of meat and vegetables for meals could be further reduced since people ended up eating more rice to reduce the burn of the capsaicin from the chillies. By addin g a relatively cheap ingredient like chilli to their dishes, SEA people could therefore reduce their consumption of more expensive foodstuffs, thus explaining the prevalence of chilli in the cost-conscious SEA region. Secondly, chillies were adapted into a region which was already trying different methods to deal with food spoilage. In countries with landlocked areas and muddy rivers, it was not always easy to obtain the freshest of ingredients for the preparation of food. Vegetables grown in certain areas took on a weird taste and often contributed to what many people would consider unpalatable dishes in a meal. In a time with no refrigeration, it was not always possible to consume food before it started going bad in the hot and humid weather, which meant that rotting food was always a possibility during meals. To reduce food spoilage, fermentation of food (like shrimp paste) and sun drying ingredients (ie fish) had become a popular aspect of SEA cooking during this time. However, the resulting dried ingredients were more pungent and had a stronger taste than before and when added back into cooked food, could make it taste less palatable. With the introduction of chilli peppers into food cooked w ith dried ingredients, Southeast Asian cooks were able to Thirdly, recent studies have shown that chilli-based cuisine is popular because it promotes the release of endorphins. The capsaicin in chilli peppers have been found to promote endorphin release in the human brain in order to deal with the burn of spicy food, thus making a torturously spicy meal paradoxically pleasurable. In Britain, researchers were looking into the popularity of curry in the United Kingdom and they concluded that the reason curry had grown so popular was because the spice in the curry caused peoples hearts to beat faster after consumption, mimicking the after-effects of sex. Assuming that these findings of Western researchers can be applied to Southeast Asians, we can thus see that there is a scientific reason to explain the popularity of chilli-based cuisine in the region. Finally and most importantly, the popularity of chilli can be attributed to a self-perpetuating cycle of cultural transmission through immigration in a geographically connected area. Southeast Asian is a region of diverse cultures and religions and this regional trait expresses itself most clearly in the varied dietary restrictions among the different SEA countries. The Muslims abstain from pork, while the Hindus do not consume beef and the more religious Buddhists avoid meat altogether. However, chilli peppers are a plant-based cooking ingredient and do not violate any culinary restrictions of various SEA ethnic and religious populations. Being a geographically connected area that has long been involved in trade, SEA was exposed to the cultural transmission of chilli-based cuisines through local and foreign traders who eventually settled down in these lands as immigrants. As chillies became more widely used in local cuisines due to its culinary adaptability, more chillies were grown within the region itself and this resulted in a self-perpetuating cycle that cemented its place in Southeast Asian kitchens. A combination of these factors explains the prevalence of chilli in the Southeast Asian region and it also accounts for why Filipino and Northern Vietnamese cuisines incorporate less chilli in their food compared to their neighbours. For the Philippines, The Role of Chilli in Shaping SEA Identity Due to their popularity in Southeast Asian cuisines, chilli peppers have transcended culinary traditions and come to occupy an exalted role in shaping Southeast Asian identity today. Spicy food is now part of the identity of the region while the ability to tolerate and even relish chillies is now seen as an informal rite of passage among SEA communities today. Spicy food is now closely associated with the identity of the region in a globalised world. Southeast Asian cuisine seen in the eyes of non- Southeast Asian people is determined by the spiciness of the food and the excessive use of chillies in cooking. With the increasing influx of SE immigrants to Western countries, Westerners are exposed to Southeast Asian cuisine and because Southeast Asians use more spices and chillies as opposed to salt and pepper, Westerners have come to view chillies as a defining aspect of Southeast Asian cuisine. If you visit any hawker centre in Singapore today, an order of almost any dish will invariably be accompanied with chilli condiments ranging from chicken rice chilli to sambal goreng to the freshly cut chilli peppers soaked in soya sauce. Due to cultural perceptions of Southeast Asian food, more hawkers are inclined to include a chilli condiment with the kind of food they serve and this in turn exposes more people to chilli-based food that they come to see as normal or even synonymous with Southeast Asian cuisine. In many Southeast Asian communities, the ability to tolerate chilli-based food or even relish the taste of chilli peppers is the ultimate, albeit informal, rite of passage to adulthood. The irony of associating chillies with regional and personal SEA identity is that not all Southeast Asians embrace chilli as part of their diet. As mentioned earlier, Southeast Asians are supertasters and theoretically more sensitive to capsaicin. The absence of chilli in certain SEA based cuisines (Northern Vietnam Philippines)

Ka :: essays research papers

Karma Paper The concepts of Varna and karma are each closely related to the eastern civilization religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. Varna and karma go hand in hand with each other to explain themselves, as does karma with the doctrine of reincarnation. The complicated explanation of all of these concepts follows. In order to understand the concept of karma, one must first understand the term varna. An appropriate definition would be the rise of class system, which the Hindus adhere to. An English translation of Varna, however, means color. There are four social classes that break down the class system otherwise known as varna. Beginning with the highest class, there is the Brahmins or priests, followed by the ruling Kshatriyas, the Vaisyas (common people), and finally the Shudras (servants). The Brahmins said that if one was a member of any of the first three classes to be extremely careful to avoid the Shudras. Now that we have somewhat of an understanding of varna, the concept of karma can be more easily explained. Karma simply stated is that the way one lives his or her life now determines destiny or fate. In other words, the consequences of one’s actions in this life will determine what they do or become in the next life. Therefore, karma is what made one who he or she is in the present life due to the actions the person portrayed in his or her previous life. Karma is the cause of one’s destiny in the future life, and is what caused a person to be who he or she is today. Now we will explain the relationship between varna and karma. Let’s imagine the following situation. There are two people living in the Vaisyas class of commoners. One of them does only good deeds, has good thoughts, and portrays an all around good sense of well being. The other person commits crimes, has bad thoughts, and portrays an over all sense of evil or no good. The first person will perhaps become a member of the Kshatriya class, moving up on the wheel of samsara. The other person will most likely become a Shudra in the next life. So, perhaps in their most recent previous lives’, the first person was a good person of the Shudra class, and samsara declared that he or she rise in class; and the second person may have been a bad person of the Kshatriya class, therefore he or she declined in class.

HSC 037 Promote and Implement and Safety in Health and Social Care Essay

At our home the main aim is to ensure the effective operation of the health and safety system in the home and to ensure all staff work safely and report any hazards that they encounter. Our manager ensures that we have the following available to our clients, staff and they are displayed at the entrance to our home, they are: The Health & Safety Policy, QP-05 The home’s certificate of employers liability. Health and safety manual that includes the latest updated Health and safety policy, QP-05. The Fire Safety Policy, QP-03. The Smoking Policy, QP-12. COSHH Regulations, C4-020. Our main health and safety responsibility within the home is to ensure all our staff are suitably trained to safely and effectively carry out their duties. The manager is responsible for ensuring that all staff is aware of their role and responsibilities in relation to health and safety in the home. The manager should also ensure that individual staff working alone is risk assessed. This is risk assessment should follow the lone working policy, QP-25. Our manager should ensure that a suitable number of appropriately trained staff is available to deal with accidents and health emergencies. Staff will receive training in first aid, and there will be a suitable first aid box provided by the home, and appropriate records will be maintained in accordance with the homes first aid policy, QP-22. All staff is responsible for adhering to the requirements of the environmental policy, QP-30. All substances governed by the COSHH regulations should be stored safely and securely in the designated storage area which is kept locked. The manager should include health and safety training as part of the homes training plan to ensure all staff have received the appropriate level of training. Our health and safety training covers: induction training on-going training, which is specific to the work undertaken by staff on a daily basis. Refresher training to ensure that certification for time limited accreditation remains current and embraces updated practices. First aid. Food hygiene. Manual Handling. Fire safety. Only staff who are authorised by the manager may be asked to supervise new staff. The manager ensures that regular checks of the home are made to identify potential hazards and to confirm the continuation of safe working practices. The manager should carry out inspections at frequencies stated in the health and safety inspection schedule and ensure all areas identified are included in the health and safety inspection check list. Where the checks highlight the need for action to be taken, the manager should take the action necessary to remedy the situation or document the reasons why actions cannot be taken. The manager is responsible for maintaining a system of recording which records all reports of accidents, incidents and hazards. In some cases there is a legal obligation to use forms which must conform to the requirements of the health and safety executive. All staff should be aware that they are responsible for reporting any accident, incident or hazard to the senior member of staff on duty. The manager should be aware of the requirement to report to the care quality commission any event which is covered by regulations 16,17 and 18 of the care quality commission (registration) regulations 2009. Information regarding these notifications can be found in the CQC statutory notifications procedures, MA-22. The manager is responsible for ensuring that any accident, incident or hazard is reported to the relevant enforcing agency in the proper way. These agencies will include: The health and safety executive, RIDDOR notification form F2508,C4-085. Environmental health department, report of infectious or communicable disease form, C4-074. Care Quality Commission, using the relevant statutory notification form. As a minimum, the manager should ensure that the following records are maintained in the home to ensure legislative compliance and support the health and safety system in use at the home: An accident/incident report form A supply of RIDDOR notification form Senior staff communication book Significant events of importance book. Before any contractors begin work within the home, they must have been made aware that they must comply with all statutory health and safety requirements for the work being done. To ensure this happens, the manager should ensure that the contractor is included on the approved suppliers list, and has properly completed the approved supplier’s application. This will ensure that the necessary acknowledgements have been signed prior to work commencing. The home provides a living and leisure environment for older persons, some of whom are frail, and are especially vulnerable to a variety of risks. The manager or delegated responsible person is someone who has control or a degree of control over the premises and fire prevention systems and they will ensure that there is a fire management plan which will be implemented and maintained. The manager will ensure that risk assessments are carried out where required using the fire safety risk assessment form. Clients and all staff should all have a copy of this fire policy and the fire management plan, which forms part of the crisis management and service continuity plan. In addition, it is posted on notice boards around the home. The local fire authority will be consulted to see that they are satisfied with the safety measures that we have put in place and we will seek their advice on where improvements should & could be made.

Plato, the symposium essays

Plato, the symposium essays Plato, the Symposium was written about a gathering in 416cBC . It begins with two gentlemen walking on a road, and one of them wants to hear the speeches delivered at Agathons party. However, the story of the two men ends at the beginning of the story, it is never mentioned again. The party begins with the gentlemen sitting down to eat. Once the meal is over, the gentlemen agree not to drink heavily that night. As each speech ends, another one begins. When they were finished, they all agree on who had the best speech. I will begin by using the class lecture to defend, or to develop the reading of Plato, The Symposium. I will discuss the way Athenians were addressed, the unimportant role of slaves in Athens through Phaedrus speech on honor and the rules of love between men, and also Alcibiades speech concerning Socrates. In the Symposium, two men were addressed by their demes. In the opening lines, Apollodrus is referred to as a Phalaria man. Aristodenus was announced as Aristodemus, of the deme Cydatheneam. This supports the lecture that Athenians were moving away from their kinship. In 416cBC at the time if this gathering, Athens had been divided into demes by Solon decades before. The people were ruling the government of Athens. As this government expanded, family rivalries developed. In an attempt to end the family rivalries, Solan uses a grid of the city to establish which deme a citizen was a member of. By discouraging kinship and moving away from the family identity, it became where you lived. This was a step closer to being identified to the land. In the Symposium, slaves are referred to very little. It is at the beginning of the meal when the slaves are spoken of, and at the end of the meal when the flute player was sent away. She is not mentioned again until she helps Alciviades inside after he arrives intoxicated. This supports the topic that Greek aristocrats, such as the philoso...

Free Essays on Myocardial Infarction

The heart is arguably the most vital organ in the human body. What happens when the heart muscle begins to die? A myocardial infarction (or heart attack) is the death of a part of the heart muscle due to its sudden loss of blood supply. What causes this sudden loss of blood supply? What is reperfusion? What is a PTCA? What causes the heart muscle to lose its blood supply? Usually, the loss of the heart’s blood supply is caused by the total blockage of a coronary artery by a blood clot on a cholesterol plaque in the artery. Cholesterol is a fatty chemical which is a part of the outer lining of cells in the body. Cholesterol plaque is the formation of a hard substance within the walls of the artery caused by deposits of cholesterol over time. This process begins while a person is in their teenage years. If a person begins eating unhealthy foods at a young age, he or she will be prone to a heart attack at a later age. What is reperfusion? Reperfusion is the main goal in treating heart attack victims. The chance of survival increase the sooner reperfusion is established. This process restores blood flow to the heart muscle. Once blood flow is restored, the patient becomes pain free. If done soon enough, the amount of damage to the organ is minimized and the pumping of the muscle is preserved. Optimal benefit is reached if reperfusion can be attained between 4 and 6 hours after the attack. The most common method of reaching reperfusion is by performing a PTCA. The most direct method of opening a blocked artery is to perform an immediate coronary angiogram and PTCA (percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty). A tiny plastic catheter with a small balloon at the end is advanced into the artery. It is moved up to the blockage point and is inflated thus pushing the clot and plaque out of the way. This process can be up to 95% effective within the first 60 minutes. This process also allows testing of the status of... Free Essays on Myocardial Infarction Free Essays on Myocardial Infarction The heart is arguably the most vital organ in the human body. What happens when the heart muscle begins to die? A myocardial infarction (or heart attack) is the death of a part of the heart muscle due to its sudden loss of blood supply. What causes this sudden loss of blood supply? What is reperfusion? What is a PTCA? What causes the heart muscle to lose its blood supply? Usually, the loss of the heart’s blood supply is caused by the total blockage of a coronary artery by a blood clot on a cholesterol plaque in the artery. Cholesterol is a fatty chemical which is a part of the outer lining of cells in the body. Cholesterol plaque is the formation of a hard substance within the walls of the artery caused by deposits of cholesterol over time. This process begins while a person is in their teenage years. If a person begins eating unhealthy foods at a young age, he or she will be prone to a heart attack at a later age. What is reperfusion? Reperfusion is the main goal in treating heart attack victims. The chance of survival increase the sooner reperfusion is established. This process restores blood flow to the heart muscle. Once blood flow is restored, the patient becomes pain free. If done soon enough, the amount of damage to the organ is minimized and the pumping of the muscle is preserved. Optimal benefit is reached if reperfusion can be attained between 4 and 6 hours after the attack. The most common method of reaching reperfusion is by performing a PTCA. The most direct method of opening a blocked artery is to perform an immediate coronary angiogram and PTCA (percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty). A tiny plastic catheter with a small balloon at the end is advanced into the artery. It is moved up to the blockage point and is inflated thus pushing the clot and plaque out of the way. This process can be up to 95% effective within the first 60 minutes. This process also allows testing of the status of...

Dynamics of Leadership - Leadership Interview Essay

Dynamics of Leadership - Leadership Interview - Essay Example The reason for interviewing a company manager is to get the strategies and approaches that one uses in implementing leadership. In this way one can determine if the style and theories adopted by the leader may be conversant for the environments or irrelevant. The interview covers the main influential aspects that relate to the company that has influence in the general management. The roles of a manager are to oversee and supervise the activities of the company and its employees. It is the mandate of the manager in charge of small businesses to keep workers aligned with the company goals. In business, the managers have to report to top strategic management, crisis management responsibilities, business employee responsibilities and financial management supervision. A complete interview questions are used to determine the leadership skills and potentials of the candidate. They help in seeking to identify the leadership styles practiced by the candidate from his own perspective and the perspective of his direct peers and reporting staff. It helps in determining if the candidate’s style is congruent in the organizational culture. It is essential to create a leadership profile beforehand that can be used to identify the skills and traits of leaders who are successful within the organization. The best demonstration of leadership style is found on stories, self-serving commentary interviews and self-examination. It is therefore prudent to get as many stories as possible from the candidate so that it can help you analyze the leadership styles applied by the candidate. The positive suggestion and intentions of the candidate towards the company also implies the ability to develop the company and create good strategies. Tell me about yourself. This is not a question but a request. The response should be purposeful and focused. â€Å"Born in Canton in the year1964 on March, lived in Ohio and attended Lincoln High School.

Organizational Behaviour - Leadership in Organizations Case Study

Organizational Behaviour - Leadership in Organizations - Case Study Example These theories discussed different styles of leadership also which include leadership styles such as situational, transformational, servant-leadership etc. The topic of this essay is to discuss the contingency model of leadership and the subsequent changes which took place over the period of time in the concept and theoretical foundations of the concept. However, before discussing the concept, it is important that a comprehensive look at what the leadership is and how it emerges must be taken into account. As discussed above that there were different attempts being made in defining the process of leadership and how it emerges. Leadership has typically been defined as the process of influencing others in order to accomplish some objectives through others. Leaders often achieve this through their personal attributes such as values, knowledge, ethical considerations as well as character. However, on an organizational level, leadership is more concerned with organizational functioning as well as the coordination of various activities in order to achieve the intended objectives. Recent advances in the literature, however, clearly indicate that leadership is not just limited to the concept of accomplishing tasks through personal attributes rather it is more of a collaborative effort which does not rely on the leader but on followers also. This leadership is, therefore, a two-way concept involving both the leaders and followers to accomplish any given task. A historical look at the development of leadership theories would suggest that it started with the emergence of Great Man theories which emphasized the in-born capabilities of the leaders. Such theories highlighted that great leaders are born leaders and leadership is something which cannot be acquired or developed over a period of time. (Horner,1997). The next generation of change in leadership theories focused on the contextual relationship of the leadership with the organization. The situational leadership theories, therefore, concentrated on studying the influences of the external environment on the behaviour of the leaders and attempted to define the external environment as an influential factor on the overall shaping of the leader. Situational theories are based on the assumption that leaders emerge either due to the economic condition of the country, group dynamics, threats which are external to the organization as well as the different organizational culture prevailing in organizations. The situational leadership is therefore considered as the result of a leader's reaction towards the different external settings and influences faced by the organization. (Hollander, 1971). Fiedler's contingency model is part of this school of thought about leadership.