Explainer | Why do people in China use opium poppies in cooking? Restaurant chefs secretly sprinkle ‘spice’ on food despite ban
- Red flowering plant holds powerful place in psyche of Chinese people
- Chefs, domestic cooks still add its ground-down form to pep up dishes
The poppy plant has a bitter history in China and the recent jailing for six months of a woman who grew it for hotpot cooking has stirred controversial memories.
Poppies contain opiates like codeine and morphine and is used in the production of the opium.
The medicinal value of the plant – for treating coughs and conditions involving the digestive system – was recognised in ancient Chinese literature.
However, in the 19th century, Britain exported huge amounts of opium to China, which at the time was ruled by the country’s last dynasty, the Qing (1644-1911).
As a result, many Chinese people, including members of the military, became addicted to the drug, triggering the authorities to ban its import – a catalyst for the First Opium War, also known as the Anglo-Chinese War, in the 1840s.
Today, China completely forbids opium and other drugs and the cultivation of poppies is strictly controlled by the authorities.
