Everyone has a favorite cuisine - or a food they feel particularly passionate about. For my husband and me it is Asian food. And it seems we are not alone in our obsession with dishes from eastern cultures - Asian food rates as one of many westerners` favorite choices of food.

Although many Asian cultures share some similar traditions and there is some overlap, the various cultures of Asia each developed their own ethnic cuisine through the interaction of history, environment, and culture. The first Asian food is known as the southwest style that includes cuisines from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Burma. Rooting in Persian-Arabian civilization, they like eating a kind of flat bread along with mutton, kebabs. In addition, the use of hot peppers, black pepper, cloves, and other strong spices also becomes a staple in this dietary culture. The second major Asian food is the northeast tradition, comprising China, Korea, and Japan. This tradition emphasizes using fats, oils, and sauces in cooking. In addition, Asian people also use food as medicines to promote a healthy life. In addition, food became associated with many religious traditions as well, as many northeast Asian cultures often use food as symbolic offerings to worship their ancestors.Finally, the third major dietary culture of Asia is the southeast style, including Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Viet Nam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Brune whose emphasis is on aromatic and lightly-prepared foods, using a delicate balance of quick stir-frying, steaming, supplemented with discrete spices and seasonings, including citrus juices and herbs such as basil, cilantro, and mint.

One of my favorite Asian foods is tofu. In fact, soy is a very important component in the diet of Asian countries because soy foods provide a main source of protein in the daily diet. Soy foods such as tofu, miso and tempeh can be easily found in supermarkets. Soy contains elements, which are compounds that can stop the mutation of regular cells into cancer cells. Soy foods also lower cholesterol and are a good source of iron. Other popular soy products in the food market are soy milk, tofu pizza and hot dogs.

Foods in different countries nowadays are shared by people all around the world so does Asian food. Perhaps one of the reasons many people enjoy Asian food so much is that they become more adventurous with food choices, not constrained by history or tradition. When we say we love Asian food, what we actually mean is that we love certain flavors or styles of cooking, rather than any particular country’s cuisine. What is more, Asian food has been adapted to suit different tastes of people from the whole world. In all, since we are now living in the same earth village, people from all over the world can share the local food in this small planet.