Exotic Foods: Do you explore the cultures, too?

MercyL

MercyL

Member
I have a lethal weakness for Indian food, almost as bad as the fellow from Red Dwarf who loves Eggs Vindaloo. I enjoyed building curried dishes, from scratch, before age and pain required that I find ready made sauces. Now, I by Patak's curries from the local Arabian Market. When feeling especially wicked, I'll also pick up some Baklava.

I feel terribly lucky. My weakness is low fat and shopping for ingredients feels like a brief cultural exchange between us and the shop owners. We have been in the market when the call to prayer brought all transaction to a stand still. I felt quite special when the shop's owner did not shoo us away during their prayers. We just sat very quietly, watching them genuflect while facing Mecca.

We have little opportunities to experience different cultures, if we step outside of ourselves and pay attention. I think exotic foods prime the cosmic pump of understanding while giving our taste buds new experiences. What do you think?

What is your favorite exotic food? Do you explore the culture associated with it?
 

As a boy, traveling with my family, I tried numerous Asian and Pacific Islander foods. Now, as a stick-in-the-mud adult, am not that interested.
 
MercyL, I do like to try food from different countries, but there isn't much opportunity around here. We have the typical Mexican and Chinese places but nothing else.

My only real option is to find recipes and make it myself. Problem there is that some ingredients are not available.

I like the Chinese and Mexican food equally well.
 

MercyL, Maaaate.
I love Red Dwarf too and could murder a vindaloo any time.

Sydney, Australia is wonderfully multicultural and we can explore all kinds of cuisines without leaving home.
I grew up when all of Australia was bland and boring - white bread, meat and three veg, no garlic ever and great suspicion about Chinese food and stray cats. Little by little I discovered more exotic fare, starting with Italian and gradually discovering all the spices of the East. My palate has learned to appreciate hot curries and all kinds of sea foods that were undreamed of when I was a child.

When it comes to exotic cuisines I have to agree with Auntie Mame who famously said
Life is a banquet, and most poor suckers are starving to death
Click to expand...

Who's familiar with yum cha ?
 
They most likely put the cockroaches in for extra flavour lol after all they eat just about everything that crawls.
A few years back i worked in a large club in the bistro, Chinese took over the catering and OMG if you could have seen the kitchen they had dead ducks hanging in view of the public they sat on the floor stirring food in tubs, and everything they had chopped up was all kept in empty icecream containers {plastic], it was an eye opener i tell you, we never ate there.
 
Who's familiar with yum cha ?
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Hand up, waving frantically here. Should I be proved wrong and end up in heaven then Yum Cha will be served.

I don't even know what half the stuff is, but following the adage that if it tastes good and doesn't make you sick it's okay to eat I cut a swathe through it.

Cockroaches are protein you know, good for you. ... yeah, kidding. Funniest cartoon evva was one of a new Chinese Restaurant opening, with all the fireworks etc, but instead of having all the people holding up the dancing dragon, they were under a giant cockroach. I'll have to go through the archives and find that, still relevant.

I can't even abide the smell of curry so you'll never find me in an Indian Restaurant. I'm too woosy for chilli so no Mexican, found if you ate 3 Italian meals you'd had the lot, so Chinese is my life-long addiction.

I've been eating it since I was 5 years old, in ritzy joints and in absolute dives, in places from Sydney to Whitehorse Alaska, and I can honestly say I have never been sick on a single one of those innumerable Chinese meals. I do know that curry makes me chuck though.

[Story Alert]

The local 'Chowy' had a new girl, a relative of the owner, fresh in from Mainland China who was desperate to improve her English. She used to ask customers would they mind talking to her so she could practice but most gave up after a few moments as she was very heavily acccented and spoke at machine gun speed.
I used to talk to her while I waited for my order as I'd spent so much time doing just that over the years I'd learned 'Chinglish' pretty well.

While we were talking I was watching an old bloke sitting behind her who was open mouthed and looking from one to other of us like one of those clowns at a carnival. He couldn't figure how the hell he could understand me and not her and must have been wondering if we were speaking two different languages or something. His face was a picture of puzzlement to remember.
[/end story]

I am mildly interested in things Chinese, but not excessively, I just like and get along well with Chinese people so maybe that's why I've looked a little more closely at their culture than most. Then again, it could just be the foooooood. :cool:
 
rkunsaw said:
MercyL, I do like to try food from different countries, but there isn't much opportunity around here. We have the typical Mexican and Chinese places but nothing else.

My only real option is to find recipes and make it myself. Problem there is that some ingredients are not available.

I like the Chinese and Mexican food equally well.
Click to expand...

I was stunned to discover that Chinese dishes feature those little red -hot peppers. You know, the peppers that almost kill you if you eat one whole? I think they are used to make the hot oil that accompanies many Chinese dishes.

I tried to eat one, unaware of the risk I was taking. Hotter than any Mexican green chile sauce, the experience scared me half to death! What an education.

Speaking of Mexican food, there is a little family owned fast food restaurant on the west side of town, called Chubby's. They sell a homemade green chile that everyone knows, from the west side all the way out to the upper-crust-country club. Lines form at lunchtime comprised of construction workers AND Ralph Lauren suits. They sell french fries slathered in it, and the burritos do the backstroke while you slurp it up. Once you take that first bite, it is impossible to stop. I have been full and unable to stop myself without putting what's left in the refrigerator and forcing myself to walk away.
 
Diwundrin said:
...I don't even know what half the stuff is, but following the adage that if it tastes good and doesn't make you sick it's okay to eat I cut a swathe through it.

Cockroaches are protein you know, good for you. ... yeah, kidding. Funniest cartoon evva was one of a new Chinese Restaurant opening, with all the fireworks etc, but instead of having all the people holding up the dancing dragon, they were under a giant cockroach. I'll have to go through the archives and find that, still relevant. ...
Click to expand...

A Washington Post article, published back in May, said the U.N. wants us eating more insects. This says something about our food supply that isn't being addressed, at all, but I digress.

The Chinese are masters at making just about anything edible, as the result of feeding the largest population on earth. That is also why they had the one child rule for so long. It is also why they eat anything that is a protein source and supports the flavors, from herbs, used to make what we consider a family pet, palatable.

I have never heard of Yum Cha, though. It sounds like Kim Chee, but I doubt it has any cabbage in it.

What is in Yum Cha? How is it cooked? Oh wait...is it cooked?

:playful:
 
Warrigal said:
MercyL, Maaaate.
I love Red Dwarf too and could murder a vindaloo any time.

Sydney, Australia is wonderfully multicultural and we can explore all kinds of cuisines without leaving home.
I grew up when all of Australia was bland and boring - white bread, meat and three veg, no garlic ever and great suspicion about Chinese food and stray cats. Little by little I discovered more exotic fare, starting with Italian and gradually discovering all the spices of the East. My palate has learned to appreciate hot curries and all kinds of sea foods that were undreamed of when I was a child.

When it comes to exotic cuisines I have to agree with Auntie Mame who famously said

Who's familiar with yum cha ?
Click to expand...

I have heard that Australia is more diverse than the USA. I don't know if that is really true, but your experience working your way from Italian food to curries sounds positively divine.
BTW, Patak's makes a wonderful vindaloo and, yes, we'll make "eggs vindaloo" when watching a few of our red dwarf episodes, saved to...now get this...video cassette tapes.

Gotta love it!
 
Yum cha is a variety of different dishes served in small portions, I suppose the nearest thing I can think of would be like a Tapas bar.
You buy each one separately to try a bigger range of their offerings than you'd get from just ordering something from the menu.
Yum cha is usually only found in specialist Restaurants because of the high level of work in the kitchen to turn so many different types of food out. They're invariably also expensive for that reason.

My real favourite is those restaurants who serve it 'smorgasboard' flat price style. It's probably a higher health risk, if you're obsessive about that side of it, but offers a chance to try a little of everything instead of just a meal of one particular kind.

Those hot pepper Chinese dishes are only the Sezchwan variety, or perhaps Thai. I always stick to Cantonese for that reason, can't handle hot spicy food.
 
rkunsaw said:
MercyL, I do like to try food from different countries, but there isn't much opportunity around here. We have the typical Mexican and Chinese places but nothing else.

My only real option is to find recipes and make it myself. Problem there is that some ingredients are not available.

I like the Chinese and Mexican food equally well.
Click to expand...

That is so sad. You sound positively deprived! With the internet so chock full of shopping opportunities, you might find a website selling the ingredients
your local grocer does not stock. I know that basmati rice is not available everywhere, but substituting a different polished rice might work just as well. The big challenge with the rice is adding saffron.

I hear that saffron is the most expensive spice in the world. I bought a few strands for almost $20.00, but it's worth every penny.
 
I've had a few Indian dishes that were very nice. We'd have it more often, but Indian restaurants in my area are very expensive, and they serve very small portions. We have a great Chinese restaurant nearby, that also delivers. Love many of their dishes including Mongolian Beef, Coconut Curry Shrimp, Pork with Black Mushrooms. Beef with Scallions...and on, and on...great food! Mexican, I can eat a couple of times a week. There's a wonderful place by us that has excellent tender Pork Carnitas, also crispy Chili Rellenos to die for. Homemade Finnish Pulla bread is the best I've ever enjoyed! :)
 
I stopped eating Chinese several years ago, when I found ONE WHOLE cockroach and several pieces in the Chicken Fried Rice

Don't give up on it TWHRider..that was the restaurant, not Chinese food in general...there are many restaurants that have issues like this from all cultures.
We have a lovely Chinese restaurant near us and have been eating their food for many years and never had any problems at all...
And yep, I love Chinese food...we used to have a great Greek BBQ place but it disappeared some years ago, it was brilliant...
 
I've been grossed out when watching Kitchen Nightmares with Gordon Ramsey...but I can say that I've found a whole cockroach in a prepackaged slice of cheesecake, that was from an American company...so the roaches do make their way in many restaurants, especially in the big cities. I've enjoyed a couple of good Greek Gyros in the past, tender lamb with garlic and onions...sooo good!
 
I understood that yum cha literally means "delicacy with tea".
It seems to have originated in Hong Kong and also became popular in Singapore.
The dishes are trolleyed around the tables and if you like the look of something you accept it. Your table's card is then stamped with the price of the dish and you keep going until you are satisfied. Then the account is tallied and I have always found the cost to be very reasonable.

Some information about this custom here: http://www.asianresearch.org/articles/2729.html

I took some teenagers for yum cha a few years ago and the first dish that appeared was Phoenix Talons AKA chicken feet. I expected them to refuse but they were up for new experiences and we all tucked in. It was not as bad as you might think. The link has photos of other dishes including steamed dumplings and buns.
 
Yum cha in Cantonese Chinese means drinking tea, it is now linked with the small delicacies that are bought round tables on trolleys which are known as dim sums.

When I lived in Hong Kong I used to meet up with friends at least twice a week for dim sums but not being a tea drinker, I never had the yum cha.

http://chinesefood.about.com/od/diningout/p/dim_sum.htm
 
I live near a town with a high ratio of Indians living in it, mostly Sikh. They have a big temple there and have been in the area for around a century. I've only seen one Indian Restaurant in the town. There's a takeaway that sells fish 'n chips and a few dodgy looking plastic takeaway containers with what looks like something organic in curry. But I always wonder where the locals eat? They don't seem to frequent the little restaurant, mostly tourists eat there I think.
While Indian food seems to be a staple in the UK, it's Chinese by miles out here for takeaways, very few Indian restaurants by comparison.
 
Have you ever visited the Temple?

A Sikh temple (or Gurdwara) is a place of worship in the Sikh religion.


Other people and communities are allowed to visit a Gurdwara.


It is a place where people can develop spiritual knowledge and wisdom.


It is open to everyone, of every age, sex, caste, and creed. All men, women and children are treated as equals.


The temple offers shelter and food to anyone in need.


A free kitchen is attached to every Gurdwara. There, the food is prepared and served.

________________________________________________________________________

Indian Butter Chicken

If you have not cooked it yourself here is an Indian Recipe.

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=axjCZADvXNE
 
Given the choice between Indian food and Chinese food, I would choose Chinese everytime.:)

..................but on the other hand you can't beat good old roast beef and Yorkshire pudding:)
 
Being a good northern England girl you can't beat meat and tatie pies either. ;)

I was brought up in the Middle East and after leaving school I worked in a travel agency where one of my work colleagues was an Indian gentleman. One evening he invited a crowd of us to his house for a meal. When we got there his wife had set out a buffet type meal. Couldn't tell you what was on there - apart from samosas - but definitely not curry dishes, just lots of tasty spicy snacks. Also, a regular outing every Friday was a visit to the company restaurant for a curry lunch. I love Indian food but I also love Chinese, Italian, Moroccan and last, but not least, good old fish and chips.

For decades, fish and chips has been the top take-away in the UK. This was overturned this year and Chinese is the tops. Indian is a close second with fish and chips coming third.

http://www.scotsman.com/news/uk/fish-suppers-lose-out-to-a-chinese-for-top-takeaway-1-2878739
 
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