Food cultures · OrienX Journal
Shiyang: care through everyday meals
From Chinese and Japanese food traditions to the gestures of a contemporary plant-based table.
How can Asian food cultures find a place at a French table today? OrienX starts with specific Chinese and Japanese traditions, develops plant-based practices that can be prepared and served, then selects ceramics suited to those gestures. A cultural origin to understand and a first preparation to try: this is how we approach shiyang.
In the Chinese tradition, food belongs to daily life
Shiyang places the meal within care for life. In the Zang qi fa shi lun chapter of the Suwen, grains, fruit, animal foods and vegetables are considered together. Grains nourish, fruit accompanies and vegetables complement. This passage belongs to ancient medicine: it shows the place ordinary foods held in that period's understanding of care.
OrienX takes from it attention to the meal we prepare regularly. The plant-based table we propose is a contemporary choice. It invites us to know grains, pulses and vegetables better, discover how to cook and combine them, and find our own way of eating a meal. The ancient text illuminates a cultural origin. Today's nutritional choices require current knowledge and consideration of each person's needs.
In shōjin cooking, simple ingredients deserve care
The shōjin cooking of Japan's Sōtō school offers another reference. The tenzo, responsible for temple meals, makes cooking a practice. In its presentation of Dōgen's Instructions to the Cook, the Sōtō school highlights equal care for ordinary and precious ingredients, consideration for diners, and respect for the work that makes a meal possible.
This attitude invites us to look at the food already within reach. A carrot can be roasted in pieces or cooked until tender, then served with pulses. Grains prepared today can provide a portion for the next meal too. We propose an everyday expression of this: take time to prepare, taste and share, then keep the gestures you wish to repeat.
Bring these references into today's kitchen
Chinese shiyang and Japanese shōjin cooking each have their own history. This article follows two threads: the nourishing place of ordinary grains and care for ingredients and diners. In a French kitchen, lentils, white beans, carrots, cauliflower, endives and pears provide accessible starting points for contemporary plant-based expressions.
Begin with a dish you enjoy: bring together cooked grains, lentils and roasted carrots, or arrange tender cauliflower with white beans. Taste, then add a little lemon, olive oil or herbs. Noticing the grains, the softness of pulses and the sweetness of vegetables helps you find combinations of your own. Quantities and cooking stages can be detailed in a recipe.
Through the seasons, choose available local vegetables and adapt preparation to their condition. For two, place the meal at the centre of the table and serve one another. Alone, still set aside a moment to sit and eat. Choosing, preparing, tasting, serving and sharing give this attention concrete form. A single gesture you want to continue is enough to begin.
A familiar piece to accompany the meal's gestures
OrienX develops a practice from a specific food-culture idea, then chooses a form that can accompany it. Opening, depth and interior curve influence how ingredients sit, where sauce gathers and how a utensil takes a mouthful. You may choose a piece for the cultural meaning you identify with, or begin the preparation with tableware already at home.
Sprout · Shallow Bowl spreads out the ingredients. Its 20.6 cm opening makes room for cauliflower and cooked white beans; its curved walls collect a little sauce. Colours and shapes stay visible, with space to pick up and combine foods. In our article on Taoist simplicity at the table, we connect this presentation with attention to restraint. This is OrienX's contemporary interpretation, based on a cultural reading and the bowl's shape.
Grain · Deep Bowl brings the meal together. Its taller walls gather grains, pulses and roasted vegetables, which can be eaten with a spoon. We associate this way of serving with the attention given to ordinary meals in shiyang. A bowl becomes familiar through use; it can remind us of the wish to prepare our meal with care.
Continue from your own meal
Choose one gesture you want to continue: gather grains, pulses and vegetables, taste before seasoning, or leave a dish easy to share at the centre of the table. Repeat it tomorrow and notice what you enjoy or find useful. A practice can grow from that concrete detail.
A ceramic piece you enjoy gives your chosen cultural meaning a presence to see, touch and return to. It brings aesthetics, identification and rituals of use; food and long-term dietary habits provide physical nourishment. Vegetarians, flexitarians and anyone wishing to cook more plant-based meals can start with their own everyday life.
To cook, read Bulgur, lentils and roasted carrots. To continue the cultural reading, discover Taoist simplicity at the table. To explore shapes, see Which will be your first piece? The Journal will continue these connections between food cultures, recipes, nutritional pointers and uses, so that one meal opens onto a next practice.
Cultural references: Suwen, Zang qi fa shi lun chapter; Sōtō school: preparing meals with consideration. These traditions retain their historical context. The plant-based practices and connections with the pieces are OrienX's contemporary interpretation. The shallow bowl's cultural connection is developed in our article on Taoist simplicity.
