QUESTION:
Chinese
cuisine is famous for using a much wider variety
of ingredients than almost any other in the
world. An old saying is that people from the
southern Chinese province of Guangdong will
eat anything with four legs--expect a chair;
they will eat anything that flies--expect
an aircraft; and they'll eat anything from
the sea--expect a ship.
One ingredient resembles human
hair and no Chinese New Year celebration would
be complete without it. Often mistaken for
a type of seaweed, it is actually a type of
freshwater algae that grows in the Mongolian
dessert.
What is this strange and mysterious
ingredient?
A. Egg noodles;
B. Prairie grass;
C. Hairmoss;
D. Flax.
ANSWER:
C
is absolutely correct. Hair Moss. Also known
as black moss, hair seaweed, and hair vegetable,
dried hair moss resembles black human hair.
It is often featured in vegetarian
dishes served on New Years Day, as it is a
Buddhist tradition to not kill any meat or
fish on the first day of the year.
Chinese pharmacists value hair
moss for its healing properties as it is believed
to be useful in cleansing out the colon.
Enjoy!
