Kuai (dish)

Kuai is a dish consisting of finely sliced raw fish or meat.

History

Raw fish dishes are first documented in China in the Zhou Dynasty, and are mentioned in the ''Shi Jing'',:



''Classic of Rites'' , ''Analects'' of Confucius,:



and ''Mencius''.:



Although the dish was not widely consumed during dynastic China, it enjoyed a very high status in Chinese cuisine. Although Chinese physicians recommended against it due to the very real possibility of serious illness due to s and other parasitic organisms, many prominent Chinese individuals maintained a strong affinity for the dish. It was believed that the application of strongly flavored spices such as mustard or Sichuan pepper could render the dish safe to consume.

Consumption of ''kuai'' in China declined sharply by the time of the Qing Dynasty. Since that time, most Chinese food has been cooked, though a Chaozhou dish called ''yusheng'' uses raw fish as its primary ingredient.

Related terms

Another Chinese term, also pronounced ''kuài'' refers specifically to finely sliced raw fish .