I like Chinese, but I was almost going to go with the third option since I like Mexican better.
I say Chineese Food... You say... (select answer)
- Thread starter Plecostomus
- Start date
Seriously, I don't see how anyone living here can have a bland palate, unless totally by choice. Pretty much every ethnic group on Earth has a restaurant here, and most of those serve very flavorful (re: spicy) food.
As for the Chinese food, well I live and grew up within blocks of DC's Chinatown, so I literally can't remember ever not eating it in varying qualities. And it definitely varies in quality, although I find that the further away from Chinatown or East Asian neighborhoods you get, the more the quality deteriorates.
I also like how many of the ones here used to have two separate menus, one for Americanized (all the greasy fried stuff and "usuals") and another "Secret Menu" with supposedly real Chinese food (with octopus, squid, tongue, dumplings, mostly steamed/roasted foods and other hilarity), all written in Klingon...I mean Mandarin. Mostly it's just stuff that people in the know order "off the menu", but I hear some places actually still have these.
Seriously, I don't see how anyone living here can have a bland palate, unless totally by choice. Pretty much every ethnic group on Earth has a restaurant here, and most of those serve very flavorful (re: spicy) food.
As for the Chinese food, well I live and grew up within blocks of DC's Chinatown, so I literally can't remember ever not eating it in varying qualities. And it definitely varies in quality, although I find that the further away from Chinatown or East Asian neighborhoods you get, the more the quality deteriorates.
I also like how many of the ones here used to have two separate menus, one for Americanized (all the greasy fried stuff and "usuals") and another "Secret Menu" with supposedly real Chinese food (with octopus, squid, tongue, dumplings, mostly steamed/roasted foods and other hilarity), all written in Klingon...I mean Mandarin. Mostly it's just stuff that people in the know order "off the menu", but I hear some places actually still have these.
I understand what you're saying about Chinatown. My wife's job is near there, and she has her favorite places for noodles and such. They'll pretty much make it as you want it.
Even outside of DC in the burbs (we're in Loudoun county), there are great places for a bowl of Pho, Indian, Thai, Afghan, and even Ethiopian. One restaurant in our area actually has an Indian breakfast brunch on weekends. That's cool. And, lots of international markets are around now where you can find the authentic stuff to cook at home.
Haha, well being asian american all I can say.....wow, their loss.
Why would any Chinese place in the US go to the effort to round up and butcher dogs and cats (not to mention the risk if word ever got out) when theres perfectly good chicken, pork and beef available at any grocery? They eat dog back home mainly because its either all they can afford, or its the only thing available. Common sense people!
I love Chinese and Japanese food. At least I think I do. Apart from the obvious (mall food or bright red sweet and sour) I'm not really sure I know the difference between the authentic and Americanized versions. How do you tell the difference?
I love Chinese and Japanese food. At least I think I do. Apart from the obvious (mall food or bright red sweet and sour) I'm not really sure I know the difference between the authentic and Americanized versions. How do you tell the difference?
Actually, eating dog in some areas, like Korea, is a tradition. According to an article in Slate, each year about 1 million dogs are slaughtered in Korea, and dog meat is available in about 6000 restaurants. About 10 percent of the population eats it. Dogs simply aren't considered in the same way as we do in the west (pets, companions). In some other parts of Asia it's also considered a delicacy. It also has little to do with what one can afford per se, in the sense that a lot of traditional everyday ethnic dishes arose out of the need to be frugal or the lack of certain "high end" foods.
I'd say the biggest difference between "Americanized" Chinese food and the "real thing" is the amount of meat used in a dish. Far more is used in Americanized dishes. What goes into one serving would probably be for four or six, otherwise. Also, the seasonings and ingredients are adapted to what's available here. The "real thing" is also more likely to be found in a Chinatown, if you're lucky enough to live by one, as opposed to your favorite Chinese take-out restaurant.
Many Americans and other westerners keep pigs, rabbits, turtles, frogs, ducks and other known food animals as pets, so it's not at all far fetched that other cultures would include less food-associated animals on that list. Humans are like bears, rats, jackals and pigeons in that we'll eat anything we can stomach and that doesn't make us sick. The most nutritious food is often the most expensive to produce, and so some of use stick with what's readily available.
But I digress. The whole cat/dog thing is really just an offensive stereotype perpetuated on ignorance. Most East Asians have and will never eat dog or cat meat, any more than most Americans will eat pork intestines. They eat meat in such a smaller amount (as Franklin noted) that when most do, there is no need to resort to such low quality stuff.
I usually like the middle of the road when it comes to spice. No spice is bland, but I don't like spice to overpower the taste of the food. So somewhere in between banana peppers and jalapeno peppers is my prefered spiciness, most of the time.
Though recently I tried a Thai pepper which came with my ginger beef at a local Thai place. That was a mistake!
I usually like the middle of the road when it comes to spice. No spice is bland, but I don't like spice to overpower the taste of the food. So somewhere in between banana peppers and jalapeno peppers is my prefered spiciness, most of the time.
Though recently I tried a Thai pepper which came with my ginger beef at a local Thai place. That was a mistake!
Actually, I think it's because I wasn't blessed with very sensitive taste buds. I read a NYTimes article years ago that said that folks with "less dispersed" taste buds can tolerate hotter foods than those without. On a recent episode of "Good Eats", Alton Brown also said one of the reasons hotter foods are in fashion is probably because baby-boomers are getting older and their taste buds are less sensitive.
As it is, my mother-in-law (whom I adored) loved hot foods, too. Years ago, the first time we'd either ever seen a habanero pepper, we challenged each other to eat one raw. Neither of us would let our agony show. My wife and her father were in tears laughing. We were just in tears.
So, enjoy your sensitive taste buds, and pity those who get their kicks from more powerful stuff.
Oh, so that's where she went to work after she quit here.
...most of it's going to homeless shelters around the area as I can't eat 500 potstickers in one go.
Share, please.
Is this the yuppie version, like Pei Wei, Panda Express or Firebowl? Or one of the more authentic Chinese places?
Of course the question we REALLY need to be asking is;
Chopsticks, or fork?
*would love to make my own chinese, if only I knew what spices to use*
Chopsticks, or fork?
*would love to make my own chinese, if only I knew what spices to use*
Well, I'm embarrassed to say that for the life of me, I can't get the hang of using chopsticks. It's not from lack of trying. I'll get going with them, then start thinking about it, and it's fumbling time again. So, I always end up with a fork.
Chinese is a varied cuisine, so it's hard to say what's typical for spices or seasonings. I'd say accumulate a few recipes you'd like to try to do and go from there. A lot of the bigger supermarkets will carry what you need, or if your fortunate enough to live in an area with the large Asian-Latino supermarkets (like Grand here in NVA), definitely go there. The variety may be bewildering at first, but it's fun.
While I've had great success cooking authentic Indian and some Thai dishes at home, it's hard to get the "taste of the wok" for wok-cooked Asian dishes (like many Chinese dishes) at home unless you have a very hot heat source for the wok. A friend of mine actually goes outside and sets his wok on top of burning coals set inside one of those coal towers used to start coals for a grill. Very hot.
Usually chopsticks, but sometimes I have to switch to a fork because I find chopsticks sometimes make the muscles in my hand hurt.
I LOVE Chinese food. The only food I like better is Thai.
I prefer the more authentic to the Americanized versions...but in truth, pretty much all Chinese food sold in the U.S. is Americanized to varying degrees.
Having spent a month in China...the food we have here just doesn't taste the same.
As for chopsticks...well, I've traveled alot in Asia: I lived through a month in China, about 10 weeks total in Japan, and 3 weeks in Vietnam (Cambodia doesn't count cus they use western utensils). So by now? Yeah...I can eat pretty much anything with chopsticks. Including soup.
I prefer the more authentic to the Americanized versions...but in truth, pretty much all Chinese food sold in the U.S. is Americanized to varying degrees.
Having spent a month in China...the food we have here just doesn't taste the same.
As for chopsticks...well, I've traveled alot in Asia: I lived through a month in China, about 10 weeks total in Japan, and 3 weeks in Vietnam (Cambodia doesn't count cus they use western utensils). So by now? Yeah...I can eat pretty much anything with chopsticks. Including soup.
Stop showing off.
I only use chopsticks with sushi or gyoza, and that's at the sushi place. At home I eat sushi with my hands.
I like Chinese food. It's arguably my favorite form of take out. A friend's family owns an excellent Chinese restaurant, so that's the only place I go now.
Mainly because of this.
http://www.wkbw.com/news/local/33311729.html
See, I don't subscribe to the whole "cats & dogs" in the food thing, but if a restaurant is unsanitary ( not just Chinese restaurants-any restaurants), they've lost my business. This place, I've witnessed the cooks stick they're bare hands into a container of cooked veggies, then put them in the container, and hand the food to us. We walked out, without the food, and without paying. And that was before the whole deer incident. I don't think they were serving it (I like venison anyway), but the fact that roadkill was in the restaraunt...yuck.
So, I stick to my friend's place. A bit more pricey, but worth it, because the food's good, and the opalce is of high quality. It's also right down the street from that...other place.
Oh, and my favorite dishes are General Tso's, Sweet & Sour chicken, and Egg rools. The yellow fried rice is also good.
Mainly because of this.
http://www.wkbw.com/news/local/33311729.html
See, I don't subscribe to the whole "cats & dogs" in the food thing, but if a restaurant is unsanitary ( not just Chinese restaurants-any restaurants), they've lost my business. This place, I've witnessed the cooks stick they're bare hands into a container of cooked veggies, then put them in the container, and hand the food to us. We walked out, without the food, and without paying. And that was before the whole deer incident. I don't think they were serving it (I like venison anyway), but the fact that roadkill was in the restaraunt...yuck.
So, I stick to my friend's place. A bit more pricey, but worth it, because the food's good, and the opalce is of high quality. It's also right down the street from that...other place.
Oh, and my favorite dishes are General Tso's, Sweet & Sour chicken, and Egg rools. The yellow fried rice is also good.