Whatcha thinking about now?

[nbdy]

Re: What Are You Thinking About?

Costco rocks -- proof that you can offer great prices and services without screwing over your employees.

[Gleb]

Re: What Are You Thinking About?

It is feeling a bit lonely here.... Hm.... Also, I hope the situation in this damn country will be more or less calm tomorrow. For I like Tuesdays.

[Maria de Luna]

Re: What Are You Thinking About?

Let's define our terms here, so we are on the same page. "Chow mein" means a lot of things depending on where you are.

In Grays Harbor it means tiny bits of meat, slippery bean sprouts, mixed vegetables, some sort of thin gravy, and a small amount of what were at one point crispy la choy style noodles totally hidden underneath so that they get all soggy and fall apart at the most minor of agitation.

Pretty much the only thing I can reliably pick up is the celery and sometimes I can manage a water chestnut, and yet I've seen it eaten with chopsticks on many an occasion yet I am still none the wiser. Hence, my accusation.

rice can be eaten with chopsticks, and mostly I mix that stuff in with rice anyway, makes it stickier and more easily eaten, but it really just takes practice, as it is doable without rice, harder, but worth doing...

[Rhaethe]

Re: What Are You Thinking About?

The best I can do with chopsticks is use them as a makeshift shovel

[Gleb]

Re: What Are You Thinking About?

Music possesses unbelievable powers. It really makes me feel better sometimes.

[ChainLightning]

Re: What Are You Thinking About?

Let's define our terms here, so we are on the same page. "Chow mein" means a lot of things depending on where you are.

In Grays Harbor it means tiny bits of meat, slippery bean sprouts, mixed vegetables, some sort of thin gravy, and a small amount of what were at one point crispy la choy style noodles totally hidden underneath so that they get all soggy and fall apart at the most minor of agitation.

Pretty much the only thing I can reliably pick up is the celery and sometimes I can manage a water chestnut, and yet I've seen it eaten with chopsticks on many an occasion yet I am still none the wiser. Hence, my accusation.

Yeah, the terms vary, that's true. Americanized dishes of rice chow mein, Honk Kong chow mein, steamed chow mein and lo mein are distinctly different versions, depending on the region. Some with just a passing similarity to the rest.

I learned to use chopsticks with the crispy noodles, Honk Kong-style, and when I switched from crispy noodles to soft noodles, or rice, it became quite a bit easier. The thing of it is, we learn to use a fork or spoon to pick up an item, just one food item (aside from certain small veggies, soups and the like). Chopsticks are meant to pick up a [small] "pile". They can be used to pick up a single item, if the food item is big enough, but the standard is more like a tablespoon of the meal, all in one go.

I mean, even with the Honk Kong-style, and those crispy noodles, the impression was like picking up a small haystack. And the slippery bits would just be hidden away inside the stack, on their way to be consumed. It took a long while before I truly got the hang of it, I must admit, but pick a variety, I can eat it using only chopsticks.


What I need is a video of it, I think. Who wants to make chow mein and take a video of me eating it??

[anunitu]

Re: What Are You Thinking About?

The Chinese do have a spoon,not like our spoon but a ceramic one(Mainly for soup and the like,I had occasion to use one while I was in Taiwan)

See here.

[Medusa]

Re: What Are You Thinking About?

The Chinese do have a spoon,not like our spoon but a ceramic one(Mainly for soup and the like,I had occasion to use one while I was in Taiwan)

See here.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]3247[/ATTACH]

I love these spoons for their soup! They don't spill off the edges. I learned to use chopsticks when I was 8. My brother was coming back from a missionary trip in Japan. He brought us all black lacquered chopsticks and taught me how to use them. I'm pretty handy with them by now. I use the peace sign with thumb talking motion.

[ChainLightning]

Re: What Are You Thinking About?

The Chinese do have a spoon,not like our spoon but a ceramic one(Mainly for soup and the like,I had occasion to use one while I was in Taiwan)

See here.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]3247[/ATTACH]

Hell yeah. I have a couple Chinese spoons. One of them has inadvertently become a gravy ladle, it is so efficient and well-shaped.




Also, in looking up videos on choptick chow mein, I happened upon a chow mein burrito. I need one of those!


ETA Terriyaki Chicken Chow Mein Quesadilla, too!

chow-mein-quesadilla.jpg

[Medusa]

Re: What Are You Thinking About?

I feel so hoity toity. I purchased some lavender scented toilet paper. I guess my girly bits are gonna be all calm and tranquil on the thrown!

[Denarius]

Re: What Are You Thinking About?

The thing of it is, we learn to use a fork or spoon to pick up an item, just one food item (aside from certain small veggies, soups and the like). Chopsticks are meant to pick up a [small] "pile". They can be used to pick up a single item, if the food item is big enough, but the standard is more like a tablespoon of the meal, all in one go.

See, that's kind of the opposite of the way I learned. Chopsticks for things like chicken balls, dim sum, sushi, potstickers, tonkatsu, teriyaki chicken. Just grab one or two things and eat them. Pretty much the only thing that's like you say is noodles.

I bust out the fork for non-sticky rice, and stuff like chow mein where it's all small pieces. Chop sticks just feel like they take twice the effort to get half the results of a fork, they just feel like the wrong tool for the job. Every bit as much as eating most soups with a fork would feel like.

Because to me the fork has always been about shoveling, probably because I've never (cared to) learn/ed table manners and don't really ever stab things with a fork.

Except for like steak, or the slipperier bits of salad. Besides, we all know that the correct way to eat a steak is with our hands. (Which is why I tend to order steak sandwich when available, or just eat my own steaks at home.)

I really don't get why tearing off a chunk of steak is so offensive. Your fingers aren't really going to get any greasier than if you picked up a piece of fried chicken, which is totally acceptable btw. As long as you don't make a mess of yourself or the table and chew with your mouth closed, why the hell would anyone care?

Hmm, I think I just veered off into a rant.

[Juniper]

Re: What Are You Thinking About?

I really don't get why tearing off a chunk of steak is so offensive. Your fingers aren't really going to get any greasier than if you picked up a piece of fried chicken, which is totally acceptable btw. As long as you don't make a mess of yourself or the table and chew with your mouth closed, why the hell would anyone care?

I'd be totally OK with eating Steak like this!

[ChainLightning]

Re: What Are You Thinking About?

Huh. I wonder why the difference. I've always felt chopsticks were about shoveling. Maybe it's that I haven't been around too much of the other meals, like dim sum or sushi, that is larger or mouthful-size. Most foods I've had were small morsels, even like that tonkatsu (katsudon, actually) and the teriyaki chicken were diced fairly small.










And do you know how hard it is to find the name of some dish, that's just referred to as "pork with rice" when it's made for ya? Katsudon. Never heard of it. Tastes great, though!

[Denarius]

Re: What Are You Thinking About?

Most foods I've had were small morsels, even like that tonkatsu (katsudon, actually) and the teriyaki chicken were diced fairly small.

This here is usually what I'm going after:



Sticky rice, good sized vegetables. Nothing here that's difficult. Image courtesy of Happy Teriyaki.

[MaskedOne]

Re: What Are You Thinking About?

Codes to change, multiple codes to change