i hate chinese food right now

[ThaNouShef]

Man, I live with some nice folks. They're not my relatives but they're...nice. Nice enough to let me live in their house, use their car sometimes, use their kitchen, eat their food...yea we'll get to that in a minute. The thing is, they're chinese. And yea, I'm chinese too (well, technically 1/2 chinese 1/2 korean) but they are REALLY chinese. They buy anything that's not chinese (including medicine, clothes, etc), they dont watch anything that's not chinese (including chinese tv, radio, music, etc), and they don't eat anything except chinese food...and I mean ONLY chinese food (which is usually really oily). Now, I'm an italian food enthusiast...ok scratch that, I'm an enthusiast of any kind of food (except liver, kidneys and intestines) as long as it tastes good. Now, I have no problem with chinese food, but i feel insulted when i make some food that's not chinese and these people eat it and say it's "ok" or "maybe you should add some soy sauce". And I know I shouldn't feel this way but I do and it's very hard to let it not get to me. So, recently i've become distant to their chinese food or any chinese food for that matter. I basically have alienated myself from chinese food and the thought of it makes me uneasy. whew..i just had to let that out. respond if you want or share your experiences.

[chubyalaskagriz]

than cooking for finicky people. Folks who dig food have this illusion that chefs must be loved and treated like Gods by their cricle of family & friends- and sometimes with a few of them, this is somewhat true... but if anyone is like me, I have more family members who are picky & finicky who don't appreciate anything that's not a "nugget" or a "finger" and they take every opportunity to show me. There are actually certain family members that I simply do not cook for anymore- many, in fact. Most cooks/chefs have "giving" in their blood. We are a generous bunch. So having our generosity met with exhuberant appreciation and willingness to taste and try is a wonderful thing, when it happens...

[Cat Man]

Would you be offended if a Canadian asked for gravy with his fries?
An Englishman who wanted vinegar on his fried fish?
A Mexican who wanted hot sauce for his tacos?
All of them, every day.

Get over it

[LessTalkMoreRoc]

Time to move out!!!!!

No, but a simple solution is to find a friend to cook for and make dinner out once or twice a week. That way you don't subject your house mates to something they're not really interested in and you'll have more friends asking you over than you can shake a stick at.

[Mapiva]

I empathize entirely. I cook mostly greek mediterranean food from the region I was raised (Krete), as well as dabbling in french and italian cuisine. I have recently married into a family from the Cephallonian region and to say our cuisine is different is an understatement. Going to their house for dinner is like having a record on a loop. Here's the menu that never changes.

Appetizer - greek cheese, phyllo wrapped mini cheese pies
Main Course - roasted lamb, or roasted beef
Side - roasted potato
Side - pastitsio
Salad - Iceberg lettuce tossed with olive oil and vinegar (JUST lettuce)

It's been 4 years since I've been having this dinner. Every Easter, every Christmas, every birthday, every other Sunday. For me I wish there was a vegetable or something to break it up haha and I can't possibly ingest another cheese pie or another piece of pastitsio. And personally I like to look at a table and see colors - green produce, red vibrant hues, glowing yellows, etc. This menu is brown, beige, and a very light green.

When they come to my house my father in law will simply not put anything in his mouth that strays from above menu. I always have to cook something separately just for him, at least the others will try my food. I even have to make a separate salad for him, just iceberg lettuce!

I don't even think I would mind having this menu if it varied in the slightest and they tried to make it good, but when they cook their goal is to make it "the same as always" never better, never with a new technique, just the same. I always say if you're not striving to make your cooking better it just deteriorates, even when you try to maintain sameness.

[Dirk Skene]

Chinese home cookin' all the time? Sounds cool, but I'm sure it could get old. I was in Greece for 2 weeks as a guest of an old friend. The wife insisted on cooking my dinner each night. Eventually I got tired of Greek cooking. I'm over that though .

I can see where you're comming from my friend.

[ThaNouShef]

I just want to say thanks. Hearing your stories of loved ones and friends alike in complete disarray with foods I imagine taste extraordinary can be frustrating at the very least. I guess a stranger on the street is more likely to appreciate a good meal rather than people we know. Additionally I've also had my share of filipino cuisine as well and to say the least (no offense) I can whole-heartedly say that I only enjoy a select few dishes of the culture. At the moment I'm also leaning towards anything but chinese food right now as well. In the end, I think we can all agree that anything deep fried and breaded is always a winner in anyones book.


Thanks again for all of you who shared miserable experiences with closed minded people for whom we both love and hate.

[China]

I'm 120% chinese. I was borned in Hong Kong, came to US 18 years ago. My grandparents owned a restaurant in Hong Kong before I was borned. (20+ years) and my dad cooked there. Now that I'm in culinary school. I would make a dish and have my family try them. I get the same response. "It's okay. Is that what white people like?" With my dad, he would make comments like "It's just heavy cream and stock. You should of made... *some chinese dish that has nothing to do with what I made*" It pisses me off so bad sometimes, that I would say back "Why? It's just oyster sauce, stock, sugar, salt, soy sauce *maybe*, then finish off with a slurry."

After awhile, I stopped feeding them. I started to feed friends instead or I would post them on myspace. That's before I found this site. Show to the people who will enjoy them. Better yet, cook/show to the people who will help you improve your dish.

The thing I learned is that everyone has different taste buds. Cook for the people who will enjoy them.

Good Luck

[OahuAmateurChef]

Originally Posted by China

...With my dad, he would make comments like "It's just heavy cream and stock. You should of made... *some chinese dish that has nothing to do with what I made*" It pis

That's hilarious!

This thread has some very funny examples.