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Post by Lotus Eater on Jun 9, 2006 7:31:56 GMT 7
You're safe Mr. N - super salty, pickled meat ain't finger lickin good.
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Post by Stil on Jun 9, 2006 7:41:20 GMT 7
Hey Og, to give you an idea of a typical meal in my area:
After playing basketball with the PE teachers some of us went out for a cheap dinner. We had frog, pig intestine, okra, kong xin cai (don't know the English name for this veggie. Anyone know it?) pig liver, ducks feet and some salted peanuts as an appetizer. As this is Hunan, everything is cooked with peppers. A couple of beers and you have a typical, cheap and delicious dinner in my area.
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Post by Mr Nobody on Jun 9, 2006 9:16:32 GMT 7
Ok, last night - eggplants in a casserole type of thing with dried fish and chillis, beef with peppers on a sizzling platter, and chicken with veggies and things. And rice.
Very ordinary, quite tasty and cheap. NOthing special, nothing 'weird'. Usually, at any banquet for more than 4 people, something that is 'weird' will be added for sure.
I like weird. However, I tend to think of it as kind of an appetizer, instead of a main meal. Munchy stuff to add texture etc.
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Post by Stil on Jun 9, 2006 11:07:05 GMT 7
Ok, last night - eggplants in a casserole type of thing with dried fish and chillis, beef with peppers on a sizzling platter, and chicken with veggies and things. And rice. This is common here too in 'real' restaurants but hole-in-the wall places don't have beef and that qiezi bao dish takes too long to cook so they don't serve those things either. That's one thing I like about Chinese food. Most of it is cooked fresh and you get it a minute after you order.
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Post by Raoul Duke on Jun 9, 2006 23:07:14 GMT 7
I'm not sure kong xin cai (the name means "empty heart vegetable" because the stems are hollow) even HAS an English name. But it's a long-standing favorite...wonderful stir-fried with garlic. Check it out while it's in season!
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Post by Mr Nobody on Jun 10, 2006 6:55:46 GMT 7
I think it is one of what we call 'weeds'.
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Post by OZgronk on Jun 12, 2006 13:24:46 GMT 7
Had my first taste of snake on Sunday in a village where cooked Kaa is the specialty.
One large bowl full was brought firstly to our table as we were the guests of honour and after asking the host to show us how its done , we found that it seemed to consist of a million tiny bones covered in some skin and little more. Well we tried it and politely pointed out that whilst it was interesting we didn't like all the bones.
We noticed that none of the other 8 locals at the table touched it, then the bowl went over to the other table and it reappeared 10 minutes later, none the lighter than when it left, so why the heck do they bother?
And its the same with the head, tails, beaks, feet etc.....it is all there on the plate but we seldom see anyone eat them...oh no, they all dive in for the good bits!
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Post by Stil on Jun 12, 2006 13:50:10 GMT 7
Had my first taste of snake on Sunday in a village where cooked Kaa is the specialty. What is Kaa? One large bowl full was brought firstly to our table as we were the guests of honour and after asking the host to show us how its done , we found that it seemed to consist of a million tiny bones covered in some skin and little more. Well we tried it and politely pointed out that whilst it was interesting we didn't like all the bones. We noticed that none of the other 8 locals at the table touched it, then the bowl went over to the other table and it reappeared 10 minutes later, none the lighter than when it left, so why the heck do they bother? I'm suprised. Snake is a popular delicacy here and much appreciated. (and expensive) There is 'snake' restaurant here and their snake has a lot of meat in it. We use two toothpicks put into the spine and eat it like corn on the cob. The bones are easier to deal with then most fish or frog dishes. The skin is very rubbery. And its the same with the head, tails, beaks, feet etc.....it is all there on the plate but we seldom see anyone eat them...oh no, they all dive in for the good bits! True, the heads are rarely eaten but the feet usually are and often specifically ordered, at least here.
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Post by Mr Nobody on Jun 12, 2006 13:56:29 GMT 7
I didn't know snakes had beaks and feet. Must be a different species than around here.
We would call them "Chickens", probably.
Sorry, just kidding.
Had several different types of snake, ranging from big ones to little, barbecued to soup, etc. Each tastes a little different. The big water snake in a soup (some kind of python is my guess - no head to guess by) tasted a bit like chicken, the flesh was almost white, and texture was like fish. Others have been the other way around.
Frog tastes a lot like chicken to me too. So I prefer to just eat chicken, usually. The slight fishy taste they have I can live without, anyway.
Chicken feet are yum.
(Later edit. THe "they" above is the whole reptile and amphibian thing. THey variously taste like chicken or fish or some combination to me. CHicken cooked in fish oil. Anyone had poulet fish? Like that.)
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Post by OZgronk on Jun 12, 2006 14:09:59 GMT 7
Kaa? You remember The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling? Kaa was the Python.
On a side issue, Kipling's "Mowgli" (the frog) is very similar to the Mandarin sound (or at least the local version thereof) name (albeit Indian) for frog, which is the very first Chinese word I have struck that is in another language, apart from mama.
However because my exposure to Mandarin has been very limited, there may well be thousands of similar words.
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Post by Stil on Jun 12, 2006 14:18:40 GMT 7
Kaa? You remember The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling? Kaa was the Python. Oh yeah! On a side issue, Kipling's "Mowgli" (the frog) is very similar to the Mandarin sound (or at least the local version thereof) name for frog, which is the very first Chinese word I have struck that is in another language, apart from mama. However because my exposure to Mandarin has been very limited, there may well be thousands of similar words. Intresting. baba and papa are not very different. Easiest sounds for babies I guess. The only name for frog I know is 'qingwa' I think there is another name but i don't remember it sounding like mowgli, but maybe.
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Post by Lotus Eater on Jun 13, 2006 15:03:35 GMT 7
I've eaten both the heads and feet of fowl. The heads I've had have usually been split in half, and as guest of honour, offered to me first - so I delicately pick out the brains and the slivers of meat that are there and eat them. Feet leave me a bit bored - rubbery and not much taste - need to have loads of spices before I enjoy them. Tiny sparrows deep-fried whole are ok - crunchy. Not super-fussed on duck tongue - too boney, not enough meat.
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Post by acjade on Jun 13, 2006 16:01:10 GMT 7
Im Melbourne I used to boil the chicken's feet to make Chicken broth. A woman I meant at the Chicken factory told me how to do this when I asked her what she was doing with a bag of claws.
I remember my mother asking guests what part of the chicken they preferred if she was serving chicken. The same for beef or roast lamb.
I don't accept the feet or the heads and always pass on the fish heads, too. I don't think I'm being impolite. If I invited someone to my house for a barbie and asked them how they liked their steaks cooked and they said well done that's the way I'd serve them. If they wanted blue, so be it. I'd still have mine medium-rare.
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Post by Mr Nobody on Jun 13, 2006 16:38:55 GMT 7
Good point AJ. Actually, there is only one part of the fish head worth eating IMHO, and that is the cheek, in some of the meatier species. The rest isn't worth the bother.
Feet are often nice and crunchy from the ligaments etc, but heads, nope, not my cup of tea. I don't like them making the soup, either, if I can have my druthers. No problem with the rest, though.
I don't eat brains. too much cholesterol for me. Cheeks of big animals are not bad eg pigs etc.
Chickens feet, especially the ones cooked with black beans and chilli, are yum. If anyone doubts it, try them when they get to HK or Guangdong. Often it doesn't taste too good in other places, but there, it is great. (Ednas - Sydney or, I am told, Melbourne to them good too)
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Post by OZgronk on Jun 13, 2006 17:01:08 GMT 7
The only name for frog I know is 'qingwa' I think there is another name but i don't remember it sounding like mowgli, but maybe. I actually had some frog for lunch today and the locals called it Mowgi and it wasn't too bad. One of the teachers said it was also called it Qingwah and something else as well but Mowgi was the Yongzhou term for it.
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Post by Lotus Eater on Jun 13, 2006 21:11:04 GMT 7
If I am offered - as guest of honour - the best that my hosts believe they can offer, then NO WAY do I refuse. I figure it is not only impolite, but extremely insulting. In Arabic circles I would eat sheeps eyes if offered as an honour, here - chicken/duck heads, dogs, whole baby sparrows - you name it - if it is considered an honour, I metaphorically shut my eyes and go for it. This is a country based on rituals and hospitality, especially around food - the real greeting isn't ni hao - but chi le ma? have you eaten?. Our culture is not so food based, so most times we can tell a host/ess without offence we don't want something s/he has prepared. But even so, if s/he has nothing we want to eat, we would not be so rude as to refuse all s/he has, and if we know that s/he has spent a lot of time preparing something special, even if we don't like it, we would generally at least try it. Genuine, die if I eat this allergies are acceptable as reasons for not eating - both here and at home. I have eaten what we would call weird foods both in Oz and overseas, and in villages I eat what the farmers eat, on one lot of travels I managed to eat cabbage (pickled, with slivers of meat, with noodles, with rice, on bread - but always cabbage as the main ingredient) 3 meals a day for 5 days, with tsampa for an extra treat, becasue that was what they had. And after a while, yak butter tea starts to taste really good - but not the stuff they serve foreign tourists in Lhasa - foul after the real village stuff. I eat what is put in front of me, especially if I am treated as an honoured guest. Qingwa is also what they call ugly guys - kong long (dinosaur) for ugly girls.
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Post by solongtinik on Jul 20, 2006 21:32:02 GMT 7
hey! how do i know if im eating a cat's meat?!?!?!? w aaaa hhhh!!!!!!!!
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Post by Lotus Eater on Jul 20, 2006 21:40:25 GMT 7
What we call 'strange' meats - cat, dog etc are generally more expensive, so you won't be eating them in your normal everyday roujiamo. And if you don't know - then it won't make you sick will it?
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Escaped Lunatic
Barfly
Civet Burger? Sounds tempting. Can I get fries with that?
Posts: 567
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Post by Escaped Lunatic on Jul 20, 2006 22:14:21 GMT 7
>And if you don't know - then it won't make you sick will it?
It's what happens if I find out just after swallowing it that worries me. Although declining something offered to a guest of honor would be bad, wouldn't throwing up in front of everyone be just a tad worse?
Rattlesnake isn't too bad (I just have trouble convincing them that I'm the predator and they're the prey). Alligator burgers with cheese are great.
Ah well, all this talk about food has made me hungry. Guess I'll open up that new box of Soylent Green and have a snack.
"I tried marijuana once. I did not inhale." - William J. Clinton
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Post by Raoul Duke on Jul 21, 2006 1:48:11 GMT 7
Best rule to follow in China: If it tastes good, eat it...and don't ask a lot of silly questions.
But Lotus is right....you really aren't very likely to be served something like cat in China...
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Chian
Upstanding Citizen
Cool Raoul, Relax Max, Lucky Mary, ...
Posts: 120
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Post by Chian on Aug 6, 2006 16:41:30 GMT 7
I was once told by one of my Chinese colleagues this explanation: "Look at those people; do you think they have the money to buy Beef or Chicken for you? No, they do not, they have cats, and dogs living in apartments, on roofs and behind buildings, and this is what they are feeding you with."
I have been to large and nice restaurants in GZ, where cats are in cages next to ducks and chickens. I have witnessed at two ocassions dogs being prepared in kitchens.
Hell yes they eat CATS and DOGS here, I remember when RATS became a delicatessen in Shanghais, I was still in the US and it was all over the news...
I am referring to the BBQ stands that were arriving at 9pm till 1AM and where located next to the University’s gates, we had 6 gates...
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Post by George61 on Aug 6, 2006 18:07:50 GMT 7
I think it's still open, isn't it? Right across the road from the Sofitel?
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Chian
Upstanding Citizen
Cool Raoul, Relax Max, Lucky Mary, ...
Posts: 120
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Post by Chian on Aug 8, 2006 20:18:34 GMT 7
Sofitel being a French Hotel, we all know that, and the saga continues....
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Post by Raoul Duke on Aug 9, 2006 1:19:50 GMT 7
Maybe in some parallel dimension?
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Post by icebear on Aug 9, 2006 1:31:51 GMT 7
No offense Chian but you've left me completely baffled as well. Save some of that good stuff for when I get there. Ok maybe some dog too. There's a local restuarant called How How that was exposed about a decade ago for serving cat. How'd the find out? The garbage men found a dumpster full of cat bones/scraps one week...
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