East Asian cuisine in the context of "European cuisine"

Tofu (Japanese: 豆腐, Hepburn: Tōfu; Korean: 두부; RR: dubu, Chinese: 豆腐; pinyin: dòufu) or bean curd is a food prepared by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into solid white blocks of varying softness: silken, soft, firm, and extra (or super) firm. It originated in China and has been consumed for over 2,000 years. Tofu is a traditional component of many East Asian and Southeast Asian cuisines; in modern Western cooking, it is often used as a meat substitute.

Nutritionally, tofu is low in calories, while containing a relatively large amount of protein. It is a high and reliable source of iron, and can have a high calcium or magnesium content depending on the coagulants (e.g. calcium chloride, calcium sulfate, magnesium sulfate) used in manufacturing. Cultivation of tofu, as a protein-rich food source, has one of the lowest needs for land use (1.3 m/ 1000 kcal) and emits some of the lowest amount of greenhouse gas emissions (1.6 kg CO₂/ 100 g protein).

Momordica charantia (commonly called bitter melon, gouya, cerassee, goya, bitter apple, bitter gourd, bitter squash, balsam-pear, karela, karavila and many more names listed below) is a tropical and subtropical vine of the family Cucurbitaceae, widely grown in Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean for its edible fruit. Its many varieties differ substantially in the shape and bitterness of the fruit.

Bitter melon originated in Africa, where it was a dry-season staple food of ǃKung hunter-gatherers. Wild or semi-domesticated variants spread across Asia in prehistory, and it was likely fully domesticated in Southeast Asia. It is widely used in the cuisines of East Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.

American cuisine consists of the cooking style and range of dishes prepared in the United States, an especially diverse culture in a large country with a long history of immigration. It principally derives from a mixing of European cuisine, Native American and Alaskan cuisine, and African American cuisine, known as soul food. The Northeast, Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, South, West, Southwest, and insular areas all have distinctive elements, reflecting local food resources, local demographics, and local innovation. These developments have also given some states and cities distinctive elements. Hawaiian cuisine also reflects substantial influence from East Asian cuisine and its native Polynesian cuisine. Proximity and territorial expansion has also generated substantial influence from Latin American cuisine, including new forms like Tex-Mex and New Mexican cuisine. Modern mass media and global immigration have brought influences from many other cultures, and some elements of American food culture have become global exports. Local ethnic and religious traditions include Cajun, Louisiana Creole, Pennsylvania Dutch, Mormon, Minnesotan, Tlingit, Chinese American, German American, Italian American, Greek American, Jewish American, and Mexican American cuisines.

American cooking dates back to the traditions of the Native Americans, whose diet included a mix of farmed and hunted food, and varied widely across the continent. The Colonial period created a mix of new world and Old World cookery, and brought with it new crops and livestock. During the early 19th century, cooking was based mostly on what the agrarian population could grow, hunt, or raise on their land. With an increasing influx of immigrants, and a move to city life, American food further diversified in the later part of the 19th century. The 20th century saw a revolution in cooking as new technologies, the World Wars, a scientific understanding of food, and continued immigration combined to create a wide range of new foods. This has allowed for the current rich diversity in food dishes throughout the country. The popularity of the automobile in the 20th century also influenced American eating habits in the form of drive-in and drive-through restaurants.

A wonton (traditional Chinese: 餛飩; simplified Chinese: 馄饨; pinyin: húntun; Jyutping: wan4 tan1) is a type of Chinese dumpling commonly found across regional styles of Chinese cuisine. It is also spelled wantan or wuntun, a transliteration from Cantonese wan4 tan1 (雲吞/云吞), and wenden from Shanghainese hhun den (餛飩/馄饨). Even though there are many different styles of wonton served throughout China, Cantonese wontons are the most popular in the West due to the predominance of Cantonese restaurants overseas.

Wontons, which have their origins in China, have achieved significant popularity in East Asian cuisine, as well as across various Southeast Asian culinary traditions.

Chopsticks are shaped pairs of equal-length sticks that have been used as kitchen and eating utensils in most countries of the Sinosphere for over three millennia. They are held in the dominant hand, secured by fingers, and wielded as extensions of the hand, to pick up food.

Originating in China, chopsticks later spread to other parts of the Sinosphere such as Korea, Japan and Vietnam. Chopsticks have become more accepted in connection with East Asian food in the West, especially in cities with significant East Asian diaspora communities. The use of chopsticks has also spread to the Southeast Asia either via the Chinese diaspora or through some dishes such as noodles that may require chopsticks.

Fish sauce is a liquid condiment made from fish or krill that have been coated in salt and fermented for up to two years. It is used as a staple seasoning in East Asian cuisine and Southeast Asian cuisine, particularly Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. Some garum-related fish sauces have been used in the West since the Roman times.

Due to its ability to add a savory umami flavor to dishes, it has been embraced globally by chefs and home cooks. The umami flavor in fish sauce is due to its glutamate content.

Perilla frutescens var. crispa, also known by its Japanese name shiso (紫蘇) from Chinese zisu, is a cultigen of Perilla frutescens, a herb in the mint family Lamiaceae. It is native to the mountainous regions of China and India, but is now found worldwide. The plant occurs in several forms, as defined by the characteristics of their leaves, including red, green, bicolor, and ruffled. Shiso is perennial and may be cultivated as an annual in temperate climates. Different parts of the plant are used in East Asian and Southeast Asian cuisine.