Eating the Food

[chengdu4me]

I gotta ask this...I've been to China a few times. Been to HK many times. Been all over SE Asia.

 

I grew up on meat and potatoes. Good ole' all-american stick to your ribs kinda food.

 

I can't eat that crap they call food in China. Duck intestines? Chickens feet? I can't even try it because the thought of eating it just makes me want to puke.

 

Eating intestines, to me, would be like eating a sewer pipe....basically, thats what it is...

 

You all know what I'm talking about. The list of "things" that Asians call food is endless and, IMHO, 90% of it is disgusting...

 

How do you guys eat this stuff without puking??????

[Robert S.]

Well, the idea does not turn my stomach like you say but I understand where you are coming from. When I went to China in 2001 and then was waiting at the airport in Beijing to go home I went to the international travelers restaurant. The menu did not have one single kind of anywhere near normal food. I made some notes about it and when I joined CFL back when it first started this menu was one of the first things I ever posted about, and I got a lot of laughs and understanding nods at that time. I think most Chinese people don't eat the weird stuff either. They live on rice, noodles, and vegetables with a little pork thrown in, and onions and garlic.

[Guest Tony n Terrific]

I gotta ask this...I've been to China a few times. Been to HK many times. Been all over SE Asia.

 

I grew up on meat and potatoes. Good ole' all-american stick to your ribs kinda food.

 

I can't eat that crap they call food in China. Duck intestines? Chickens feet? I can't even try it because the thought of eating it just makes me want to puke.

 

Eating intestines, to me, would be like eating a sewer pipe....basically, thats what it is...

 

You all know what I'm talking about. The list of "things" that Asians call food is endless and, IMHO, 90% of it is disgusting...

 

How do you guys eat this stuff without puking??????

I can remember back 35 years ago major supermarkets like Kroger and A & P sold cow brains, tongue, pigs knuckles and yes intestines called Chitlings.

Different diets for different folks. Only thing you could not get then was the squeal.

[chengdu4me]

I can't even stomach the taste of tofu. I tried duck intestines in a hot pot and had to get up and go outside for a minute to get some air or I would have hurled all over the table. Maybe I have a more sensitive taste/smell system than most, but I don't care who cooks that stuff, I ain't eating it!

[Robert S.]

I can't even stomach the taste of tofu. I tried duck intestines in a hot pot and had to get up and go outside for a minute to get some air or I would have hurled all over the table. Maybe I have a more sensitive taste/smell system than most, but I don't care who cooks that stuff, I ain't eating it!

You've got to harden yourself!!! These people are descended from Genghis Khan!

[Robert S.]

I gotta ask this...I've been to China a few times. Been to HK many times. Been all over SE Asia.

 

I grew up on meat and potatoes. Good ole' all-american stick to your ribs kinda food.

 

I can't eat that crap they call food in China. Duck intestines? Chickens feet? I can't even try it because the thought of eating it just makes me want to puke.

 

Eating intestines, to me, would be like eating a sewer pipe....basically, thats what it is...

 

You all know what I'm talking about. The list of "things" that Asians call food is endless and, IMHO, 90% of it is disgusting...

 

How do you guys eat this stuff without puking??????

I can remember back 35 years ago major supermarkets like Kroger and A & P sold cow brains, tongue, pigs knuckles and yes intestines called Chitlings.

Different diets for different folks. Only thing you could not get then was the squeal.

By golly, I'm going to go out right now and buy some pig foot!!! Yes, even though my wife is not with me I actually cook this dish my own self now. She has made a convert out of me to some degree, though even she does not eat duck feet. But pig foot is really good! You boil it and then throw away that water and start again, this time using star anise in the pot from the beginning of the long cooking period, then adding onions etc and other spices after the foot has started to cook down pretty well. They you cook it to the point where it is not quite falling apart. Oh yeah!

[Guest Tony n Terrific]

You can look in older American cook books circa 1950 on back. You will find recipes for groundhog, squirrel, bear, buffalo, raccoon, oppossum, owl etc. Back in the "good old days" many people had to fish, hunt or trap their next meal. There where no Mickey Ds or Safeways along the path for Lewis and Clark and the brave pioneers that moved westward.

If we ever have a major technical power failure here in this country after a month there will be Donner party on every block.

[Corbin]

Don't ask what it is.

I agree with Don, sometime it is best not to ask what it is before you eat it. That way you can't prejudge it....

 

Although if you only knew how some of what you eat was made here in the US you wouldn't want it either.....

[chengdu4me]

You can look in older American cook books circa 1950 on back. You will find recipes for groundhog, squirrel, bear, buffalo, raccoon, oppossum, owl etc. Back in the "good old days" many people had to fish, hunt or trap their next meal. There where no Mickey Ds or Safeways along the path for Lewis and Clark and the brave pioneers that moved westward.

If we ever have a major technical power failure here in this country after a month there will be Donner party on every block.

 

 

I like squirrel, bear if it's cooked right, buffalo is very good. When I was a kid, we had rabbit stew many, many times. I've had BBQ rattlesnake meat. It was great! Catfish right out of the lake, bass, crappie, trout...I eat meat..not intestines, not feet, not brains, not stomach, not sinew, not hearts or eyeballs...

[IllinoisDave]

When in Rome...

If you don't like it, don't eat it. 99% of the food I saw/tried in China was delicious. The other 1% I either politely declined or tried only once. Black eggs come to mind.http://www.websmileys.com/sm/obscene/eck15.gif

 

I had no problem finding enough tasty food to keep my ample belly full.

[chengdu4me]

Don't ask what it is.

I agree with Don, sometime it is best not to ask what it is before you eat it. That way you can't prejudge it....

 

Although if you only knew how some of what you eat was made here in the US you wouldn't want it either.....

 

 

Asking what it is has nothing to do with it. I can tell by looking at it that it isn't meat. I've cleaned and dressed enough animals, fowl and fish to tell that this is something I am not going to want.

 

I guess what I am asking is, who likes this stuff? Do you force it down to keep your sweetie happy or do you actually like the taste of this garbage?

[Dan R]

They eat meat and potatos too. I've enjoyed some of the best roast lamb I've ever had in China. Also stews with potatos and vegetables.

 

The vegetarian places are very interesting. I don't know how they made the duck breast so real with crispy skin.

[Sebastian]

How do you guys eat this stuff without puking??????

 

I make sure there's a palpable sauce that hides the texture and bones.

 

YUM !

[Batmaniac]

I understand . . . it's all hit or miss for me too. I did brains and intestines once. I've had chicken feet a few times. I don't hate it and I don't like it. I am just sort of like "why?"

[Guest Tony n Terrific]

You can look in older American cook books circa 1950 on back. You will find recipes for groundhog, squirrel, bear, buffalo, raccoon, oppossum, owl etc. Back in the "good old days" many people had to fish, hunt or trap their next meal. There where no Mickey Ds or Safeways along the path for Lewis and Clark and the brave pioneers that moved westward.

If we ever have a major technical power failure here in this country after a month there will be Donner party on every block.

 

 

I like squirrel, bear if it's cooked right, buffalo is very good. When I was a kid, we had rabbit stew many, many times. I've had BBQ rattlesnake meat. It was great! Catfish right out of the lake, bass, crappie, trout...I eat meat..not intestines, not feet, not brains, not stomach, not sinew, not hearts or eyeballs...

Hey Chengdu don't ever travel to Sallee, South Carolina in November. They have a large Chitlin strut festival there. They boil and fill the air with all the intestines you care to smell.

 

http://www.chitlinstrut.com/chitlins.htm