Corn in the husk, sweet potatoes, peanuts in the shell and red chilies lie on a bamboo mat, a cooked sweet potato is broken open and steaming, and behind them a cook ladles broth into a bowl beside a tub of steamed corn and sweet potato.
Sweet potato and maize
Introduction
Maize, sweet potato, potato, peanut, chili and other crops that came to China later.
Introduced crops are the grains, vegetables and fruits that reached China from the Ming onward, such as maize, sweet potato, peanut and chili; chili and peanut came originally from the Americas. According to a review by China News Service, the first clear record of maize is from 1560, in the Jiajing reign, and sweet potato arrived around the 1570s and 1580s, while the dates for peanut and chili are still disputed. On chili as food, a Guizhou record of 1721 says it was used there in place of salt. Tubers such as yam and taro and nuts such as chestnut are not covered here and go to Seasonal Vegetables and Fruits and Nuts, while chili processed into seasoning belongs to Chili Bean Pastes and Spices.