Lactose intolerance.

That's hilarious, I never even thought about it.

that could make chinese food a health risk

Because they don't use dairy products. For most of their history they have had no access to refrigeration and that is necessary for using dairy to it's fullest. So in their history they just didn't bother with it. Now that many do have cooling facilities of some sort, some of the richer Chinese are starting to eat cheese, but in other cuisines, like pizza and cheeseburgers not in their own dishes. Their cuisine has just developed without it and you can't just stick in in their dishes. It wouldn't taste very good. And most of the people still don't have refrigeration.

They don't use dairy products. Asians are much more likely to be lactose intolerant.

I've heard that most cheese has an unpleasantly sour taste to most Chinese people. I imagine that the taste of cheese would interfere with the flavor of the Chinese(?) dishes that I like, such as sweet and sour, Kung Pao, and black pepper chicken. I think it's great that Chinese cooking is so marvelously flavored without cheese. :)

How you ever heard of such a thing as a Chinese cow?

China did not have a culture of using animal dairy products and so their foods never included them. In fact, most Chinese don't like the taste of milk and cheese that much to have them included into their cookings in modern days.

It is fortunate that Chinese went for healthy products made from soy instead of the cancinogenic and calcium depleting ability from diary products (and other animal proteins) which leads to higher rates of cancers and osteoporosis in old age. The countries that consume the most dairy products and animal proteins has the highest rates of cancers, osteoporosis, diabetes and heart disease , just to name a few. So much so that these diseases have been nick named the diseases of the west or of the rich countries. Buddhist Shaolin monks have been performing superhuman ability on a vegan diet for over 15oo years and none of the monks suffer from osteoporosis or arthritis in their old age. Most remain very flexible to practice their amazing Shaolin Kungfu in old age! It is amazing how hospitals are still serving milk to their patients! They should be sued !!!!! But apparently the cattlemen does a good job in keeping the public (and even the doctors that goes by the book - not very smart afterall! ) brainwashed by their advertisements! The non-use of dairy products is one of the many things Chinese can be proud of over unhealthly Western cultures of eating. You may find a whole lot more on this topic in the book titled "THE CHINA STUDY" by Dr. T. Colin Campbell. http://video.google.com.au/googleplayer.swf?docid=-3881515735687284929&hl=showsearch=0

Great question. I don't have an answer for you. +5

Good question. I dont think they make Milk & Cheese do they? I've never seen a Cow in a Travel show about China. My mum drinks Soya Milk cause its supposed to be good for Arthritis. Theres also Rice milk and Rice derivatives. I think its thier Diet that makes them so youthful, healthy and have such beautiful skin.

What about Rangoons, They are stuffed with a Sweet Cheese like Ricotta? But for the most part you are right. Ive never thought about it.

I asked this question on one of my trips there. I was told that most Chinese are lactose intolerant. I also noticed that they don't do well with sweet deserts either. I was again told, that most Chinese are sensitive to sweet things so they don't like the really intense sweetness in their foods. The sweet things like their version of donuts (I don't know the Chinese name) are lightly coated with sugar. That's fine with me. The have recipes for everything else so you don't miss dairy products there and I don't care much for sweet things either. By the way Chinese food in China is different (and much better in my opinion) than in Chinese food in the U.S. The worst Chinese food, in my opinion, is in England. Chinese cooks in foreign countries try to adapt to local tastes. In England, they tend to like fatty food with little or no spice. The cooks oblige. The good thing is that while I was in England, I lost 30 pounds, the only good food was in the French and Indian restaurants.

Cattle require large tracts of grassland to graze and farm. Since arable land was at a premium throughout Chinese history, raising cattle or sheep was just not an option. It is simply a random dealing of the cards related to climate and geography. That's part of the reason why beef dishes are not as popular as pork dishes in Chinese cuisine (the other being Buddism). The only bovines around were much too valuable (water buffaloes) as tractors than to be slaughtered for meat or taken offline to be milked. The lactose intolerance was a byproduct of a milk-free diet...kind of like when fish lose their eyes over eons when living in caves.