According to this article, rice is rich in starch. Usually, when we eat rice, we must chew it first and then swallow it into our stomach. In the process of chewing, salivary glands secrete saliva, which contains amylase to help starch convert into maltose. This amylase acts as a catalyst in chemical reactions. Although it can be transformed without it, the process will be much slower. When we chew white rice, we feel sweet in our mouth, which is also the reason for this amylase. Porridge is generally drunk, that is to say, it does not need to be chewed, so it will lack the catalytic conversion of amylase, which will make starch stay in the stomach for a long time, which is not conducive to digestion and absorption. If this goes on for a long time, it will affect the health of the stomach
For Chaoshan people, porridge is the most familiar. Basically, every day. Many families even drink porridge in the morning and evening. Chaoshan people regard porridge as their staple food. Isn't that terrible? Is it a mistake to drink porridge for Chaoshan people with very good health? However, this is not the case. Yes, human body needs the help of amylase to digest starch. Everyone who has read biology in middle school knows this very well. Although the rice in the porridge has been cooked, it can be swallowed directly without chewing, but is it really the same as drinking water without chewing? The answer is no!
Compared with all kinds of porridge and even the famous Chaoshan casserole porridge, Chaoshan people have a special liking for rice porridge. Every morning, a bowl of rice porridge with a dish or even several dishes of miscellaneous salt is the favorite of many Chaoshan people. The rice porridge here in Chaoshan is different from other places. It is called "rice" in our Chinese language. The method is to turn off the fire when the rice is just boiled and not scattered. This kind of rice porridge not only has distinct grains, but also has a sticky feeling because the starch has flowed out, which is very Chaoshan. But many people can't understand why Chaoshan people have a special liking for rice porridge, which is insipid. The most important reason is salty.
Miscellaneous salt is a general term for all kinds of side dishes in Chaoshan area. There are also various raw pickles, fish rice, olives, olives and pickles. There are many kinds of miscellaneous salt in Chaoshan, so it is no exaggeration to describe it as "Manchu-Han banquet". It can really be called "three thousand beauties in the harem"! Rice porridge doesn't matter, it won't rob the salty taste of miscellaneous vegetables. On the contrary, because of its indifferent characteristics, it can dilute its salty taste and set off the taste of these side dishes. It can be said that the miscellaneous salt sets off the rice porridge in a colorful way, and the rice porridge makes the miscellaneous salt show its talents. The two complement each other, it's a perfect match!
Many people say that you don't have to chew porridge, but Chaoshan people don't agree with this. On the one hand, as I said before, our Chaoshan porridge has its own characteristics, unlike other places, which are poorly cooked. The porridge in Chaoshan has distinct grains. In this case, although chewing is still not necessary, people will instinctively let it stay for a while, grind it a little, and then swallow it. This is also a chewing process.
On the other hand, it is salty, because rice porridge is light, so it is salty, mostly salty (and of course sweet). After mixed salty food enters the mouth, in order to neutralize this heavy taste, saliva will be secreted in the mouth for dilution, and many mixed salty foods are brittle, such as pickled pickles, which need to be chewed constantly, increasing the secretion of saliva. Therefore, when you eat a mouthful of salty food and then drink a mouthful of rice porridge, you will feel a faint sweetness as the salty taste is diluted, which is the reaction of starch in rice porridge and amylase in saliva. Many people in our father's generation especially like to drink pickles or pickles in rice porridge. In addition to the living habits formed in the poor years, they still like the unspeakable delicious taste of pickles and rice porridge.
Therefore, drinking porridge without chewing is not good for the stomach. This situation has long been solved by our ancestors in Chaoshan. Moreover, Chaoshan people's habit of drinking porridge is not for health preservation or stomach nourishing, but is developed under helpless circumstances. In the previous Chaoshan area, there were few land and many people, especially when the rice yield was still very low, it was difficult for ordinary people to eat. In this case, the way to fill your stomach and save food is to cook porridge. I wanted to have a taste of rice porridge, so I salted some pickles and dried radish to match it. I didn't expect it to have a different taste, so this eating habit was handed down. Until now, Chaoshan people have always regarded porridge as a habit, not for the so-called stomach.