In the past few years, demand for fake meat products has surged in the Western world, as people seek environmentally sustainable and healthier alternatives to red meat.
Two of the biggest US plant-based food companies, "Impossible Foods" and "Beyond Meat", have made millions from a growing appetite for meat-free burgers. By mid-2019, there were so many orders for "Impossible Meat" the company admitted they were struggling to keep up.
But long before the first plant-based patties hit the grill in the West, China had been sculpting and flavoring traditional meat-based dishes out of mushrooms, nuts and vegetables.
Some records of monks eating tofu-based "vegetarian meat" date back as early as the Song Dynasty in the 10th century. It was known as "fanghun cai" or literally "imitation meat dish".
China's early adoption of fake meat products is closely linked to its long history of Buddhism.
Buddhism was introduced to China as early as the Han Dynasty, around 2,000 years ago. Over the centuries, its popularity has risen and fallen in line with the preferences of the country's leaders. Today, it's practiced by around 20% of China's population – some 250 million people.
A central tenet of Buddhism is respect for all living creatures, and vegetarianism is common among its followers. Dunlop said that while China's monasteries provided a strict vegetarian diet, they would often have to accommodate for the dietary choices of visiting pilgrims or patrons.
"[The visitors] would expect [meat-based] meals and this was where the tradition came from. You'd get all the dishes you'd expect to eat at a banquet, but made from vegetarian ingredients".
Chinese Buddhist vegetarian food became "extraordinarily sophisticated" in the centuries after the Han Dynasty, according to Dunlop.
"In the larger monasteries... people could dine on grand dishes of "shark's fin", "abalone" and other delicacies cunningly fashioned from vegetable ingredients", Dunlop wrote in her book "Food of Sichuan".
Today, she said the widespread influence of imitation meat can be seen in the range of dishes offered. In Shanghai, you can eat stir-fried "crabmeat" made from mashed potato and carrot. In Sichuan, restaurants offer traditional "twice-cooked pork" made without a scrap of meat.
"Everyone in Shanghai eats vegetarian "roast duck" or "goose", which is made from layers of thin tofu skin, which are flavored and then deep fried so that it has a golden skin like the real dish", Dunlop said.
It can be correctly claimed that Chinese vegetarian food is more complicated than the Western version. It has more forms, more tastes. The Western version is simple and dare I say, unsophisticated.
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