Ethnic foods you're supposed to like (but hate)

Originally Posted by matadorpoeta

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let's take the hamburger. what is a hamburger like? i'm talking about a hamburger a poor person would buy, not the $12 burger at a pub. how fresh is the meat? what preservatives are in the bread? how about the mustard and ketchup? made at home or in a factory? (and the fake cheese!)

good chili takes a lot of time and good ingredients to make. i doubt you can sell it that cheap as to be eaten by peasants. are peasants in new england eating fresh seafood all the time? if so, you win.

Ehh, have you ever met an actual fisherman? Have you ever actually gone to the fisheries and met these people? I certainly did, once with Eric Ripert. Many small communities in Alaska, New England and Nova Scotia (think Peggy's Cove) have extremely modest families eating something that was swimming or crawling on the ocean floor a few moments prior. Same as you'll have people in Omaha eating pretty decent beef, not to mention all the rural communities in the northern midwest and many parts of PA which benefit from Amish farmers.

Chili is time intensive. So is a proper tandoori or curry, or coq au vin or anything else. That doesn't mean poor people can't eat something that isn't time intensive. Do you not realize that in fact, many of the most time intensive techniques and recipes are in fact from poorer people? When you have a tough cut of meat and inferior product to deal with, you need more cooking time to get something great. It's a common thread in the food of poor people. We've gotten many of our modern day high end classics from peasant food, so when I say peasant food, it isn't a pejorative term.

In the south a housewife will get up early in the morning to make a brisket. You aren't proving any points. A lot of the best hamburgers are at places like Louis Lunch or a diner in some truck stop in Indiana. It's one of the best foods anyone has come up with, which is why everyone on Ferran Adria to Morimoto has done something with it.

Originally Posted by Macallan9

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No, actually I think Indian food is great going down but I've never had one experience that didnt end with complete vaporization of my bowels.




Yes, that is a problem for a lot of people. I think I've gotten used to it. Things like turmeric, fenugreek and chillis can really upset an unprepared stomach.

Originally Posted by matadorpoeta

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let's take the hamburger. what is a hamburger like? i'm talking about a hamburger a poor person would buy, not the $12 burger at a pub. how fresh is the meat? what preservatives are in the bread? how about the mustard and ketchup? made at home or in a factory? (and the fake cheese!)

good chili takes a lot of time and good ingredients to make. i doubt you can sell it that cheap as to be eaten by peasants. are peasants in new england eating fresh seafood all the time? if so, you win.

Do you think it is easier to catch fish/ dig up mussels/ catch crabs, or to raise a cow, kill it, and find a way to preserve all the meat?

Seafood is VERY cheap if you live near fishing areas. ****, you can catch it yourself.

Bah, SField said everything already and better than I could.

Originally Posted by SField

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Very spicy food usually occurs in societies where sophistication and good produce were scarce.

I think this is the most revealing statement you've made.

It is, of course, false.

Very spicy food usually occurs in very hot climates where, especially before refrigeration, food-borne bacteria was both more common and more diverse. The antibacterial properties of spices, not a lack of sophistication on the part of these "ethnic" societies, accounts for the prevalence of spice in these cuisines.

Originally Posted by sjmin209

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I think this is the most revealing statement you've made.

It is, of course, false.

Very spicy food usually occurs in very hot climates where, especially before refrigeration, food-borne bacteria was both more common and more diverse. The antibacterial properties of spices, not a lack of sophistication on the part of these "ethnic" societies, accounts for the prevalence of spice in these cuisines.

Completely disproven by most middle eastern and meditarranean food.

Originally Posted by SField

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I seldom order anything fried. I'm actually refering to most of the things comming out of a wok. Anything like eggplant, mapo tofu bok choi is going to be swimming in oil. I do enjoy steamed dumplings and vegetables but most of the time this is a very generic flavor (steamed veggies).

Fish dishes and whatever else are usually cooked in a ton of oil as well. You find this literally all over china, and chinese people anywhere in the world will tell you that oily food is extremely common. I have many asian friends and they all admit this, and it's something you observe being in China. Japanese food also tends to be on the salty side, which is a carry over from food preservation, since a lot of the country is mountainous.

I don't know, Field. AFAIK, and from our experience at home oil is used sparingly when you cook in a wok just enough to hasten the cooking process, since for the most part wok cooking is about cooking food at the quickest possible time to seal in the flavor. If you're eating eggplant swimming in oil and mapo tofu (which is also claimed by the Japanese as their dish) then more than likely the food is Szechuan.

I apologize for the deviation, but I would like to hear more about your experience at the fishery with Eric Ripert. Big fan.

As for American streetfood, BBQ is a huge American street food. I have seen it in Los Angeles, Tallahassee FL, Houston, and NYC. Often just a couple of men with a large BBQ on a trailer. For six bucks or less you can get an Amazing BBQ Sandwich. For 10 bucks or less a large tray of lip smacking ribs.

Originally Posted by SField

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Completely disproven by most middle eastern and meditarranean food.

Or else soundly demonstrated by a scientific study that, curiously, avoids using the word "ethnic" in its 43 page analysis:

"Antimicrobial Functions of Spices: Why Some Like It Hot," Jennifer Billing and Paul W. Sherman, The Quarterly Review of Biology, Vol. 73, No.1, March 1998

I dislike Korean food.

Lots of things thrown together to make a crude amalgaration. Kimchee is offensive.

Originally Posted by LabelKing

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I dislike Korean food.

Lots of things thrown together to make a crude amalgaration. Kimchee is offensive.

+10. Korean food is overrated.

Originally Posted by LabelKing

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I dislike Korean food.

Lots of things thrown together to make a crude amalgaration. Kimchee is offensive.

What about Korean BBQ? It's just meat and rice with some side dishes.

Originally Posted by sjmin209

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Or else soundly demonstrated by a scientific analysis that, curiously, avoids using the word "ethnic" in its 43 page analysis:

"Antimicrobial Functions of Spices: Why Some Like It Hot," Jennifer Billing and Paul W. Sherman, The Quarterly Review of Biology, Vol. 73, No.1, March 1998

Why are you so obsessed with that word? When people in America say ethnic food, it's anything that isn't made by white people of euro decent. And sorry, but there's enough evidence of food in hot climates that suggests that not everyone in such circumstances favors flavor comming from almost nothing but heat.

Originally Posted by acidicboy

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I don't know, Field. AFAIK, and from our experience at home oil is used sparingly when you cook in a wok just enough to hasten the cooking process, since for the most part wok cooking is about cooking food at the quickest possible time to seal in the flavor. If you're eating eggplant swimming in oil and mapo tofu (which is also claimed by the Japanese as their dish) then more than likely the food is Szechuan.

And as you can see, I cited mainly Szechuan as the culprit.

I can see where you are coming from with your Mexican food comment, but I think some of the best restaurants I've eaten at were in Mexico City.

(I've lived in Mexico for a great deal of time, so I have "real" experience)

Then again I'll throw out that several of my favorite high-end mexican restaurants happen to have a french, italian, or south american theme in terms of what's offered.

On the more "mexican" side of the menu, I suppose if you enjoy fish there are quite a few places I could recommend. I'm actually one for hole-in-the-wall type restaurants that sell tacos (i know of some extremely excellent ones)


I think almost all cultures have something delicious to offer. I think it's slightly unfair to hold a culture's food in contempt based on a few experiences at a couple of restaurants. I'm sure someone out there can make something you enjoy in any style of cuisine.