What sort of rice do you order?

[imron]

7 hours ago, anonymoose said:

and just eat the dishes without any 主食.

Sacrilege! 

[somethingfunny]

I knew you'd say that Alex.

 

And I agree with anonymoose.  Usually I just replace my 主食 with more meat.  Actually, it is interesting to notice what people serve when you go to their homes to eat (or go out for dinner with them).  I find that the more affluent a person is, the less likely they are to have 主食, or plain rice in particular.

[Lu]

4 minutes ago, somethingfunny said:

I find that the more affluent a person is, the less likely they are to have 主食, or plain rice in particular.

This apparently is also why you get the rice at the end of the meal/buffet table: in case you're not filled up.

 

But personally I like my rice during the meal, for a bite in between dishes, or to soak up the flavour of the dishes. In Chinese Chinese restaurants I usually order 白飯, in foreign Chinese restaurants I go with whatever the other people at the table prefer (which is often fried rice).

[somethingfunny]

Yeah, I'm not a fan of the 'rice at the end of the meal' approach.  I had hotpot at a friend's house last weekend and there was a huge table of vegetables all sliced and ready to go, but we couldn't touch them till we had finished all the meat.  And there was not a grain of rice in sight!

[imron]

26 minutes ago, somethingfunny said:

but we couldn't touch them till we had finished all the meat

That's the way I learnt to eat hotpot.  Meat first then veggies.

[DrWatson]

In Japan white rice usually comes with most foods as one part of a meal. I don't think I've ever seen fried rice served as a side. For fried rice you would usually go to a Chinese restaurant. The difference is that it is probably your entire meal, maybe with soup on the side, but you get a big plate of fried rice.

 

Kim-chee fried rice is amazing, by the way. 

[ZC]

14 hours ago, imron said:

That's the way I learnt to eat hotpot.  Meat first then veggies

You’re gonna have some spicy veggies! if I leave veggies in the concentrated boiled down broth they taste like fire and capsaicin has a baby and stuffed it in my mouth

[abcdefg]

6 hours ago, DrWatson said:

Kim-chee fried rice is amazing, by the way. 

 

Yum! Agree! 

 

I make it frequently here in Kunming. Have just returned from my annual US visit. Maybe I can whip up a batch and post the recipe tomorrow. 

[realmayo]

On 16/03/2018 at 9:45 AM, imron said:

That's the way I learnt to eat hotpot.  Meat first then veggies

Perfect, that way, the veg are cooked in meat broth.

[abcdefg]

48 minutes ago, realmayo said:

Perfect, that way, the veg are cooked in meat broth.

 

And then at the end, as the last course, after cooking and eating the meat and the vegetables, spoon some of the flavorful broth into your bowl with some rice and have a hearty soup. Follow that with a few bites of fruit. 

[Zeppa]

   On 14/03/2018 at 10:42 PM,  Shelley said: 

A good point, really good egg fried rice is best made with leftover cold rice.

 

You've entered dangerous territory with this claim! Check here for a detailed examination into which rice is really the best rice for fried rice!

 

I failed to quote properly here. I am not sure if Shelley meant day-old rice. I am sure the article is right when it says the rice need not be from yesterday.

 

The picture at the top of the article looks as if it shows Italian arborio rice, which would be a bad idea, I think. 

 

I don't know whether 'white rice' is US and 'plain/boiled rice' British. I say white rice because I sometimes buy brown rice. No reason not to use brown rice here, of course. The kind of rice I mostly use for Chinese dishes is a kind of sushi rice that the Chinese supermarkets in London sell. It comes closest to what you get in a Chinese restaurant, that is, it holds together a bit. I haven't used sticky rice for a while. That rice in the illustration doesn't look as if it did. But food photography is another planet

[Shelley]

1 hour ago, Zeppa said:

Shelley meant day-old rice

Not necessarily, as long as it has cooled down and is cold it makes better fried rice IMO, but I don't use it if it is more than 2-3 days in the fridge. We talked about it in one of @abcdefg recipe topics, I'm sorry I can't remember which one.

 

I think it is because its not so wet and doesn't pop and whiz so much in the wok when you fry it.

 

I use long grain easy cook American rice for all rice dishes. I don't like other sorts, some are too creamy and soggy, others are like little bullets even when thoroughly cooked.

 

P.S. That article is excellent, clear and easy to read with good quality pictures and the right sort of content ( with all the testing and results) I didn't read it until after my post before this post script, I would have just said I agree

[LiMo]

I'm from the UK but seldom go to Chinese restaurants here. It's not a snobbish thing really but I just prefer China Chinese food or Japanese if I can find it.

 

However, as a rule I dislike rice as it is done in most places; Indian, Thai, Chinese, you name it. Fried rice is perfectly acceptable but unless it's the kind of plain Japanese rice I get in the bento at Eat Tokyo (someone give me a hint what this might be, please) then I will usually pass and follow Something Funny by replacing the 主食 with more meat or veg. Anything is better than the tasteless, often slightly dry, excuse for food that is plain rice. [shudders]

 

Indirectly related to this is the recent report about Chinese takeaway food being "the worst" offender in terms of salt (1) and the interesting (if slightly touchy response) by this Guardian journalist (2). Long story short, Chinese food probably gets a bad rap because of our own extravagant tastes e.g. ordering egg fried rice all the time even when we intend to order other rich dishes besides. 

1) https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/03/13/chinese-takeaways-contain-five-times-salt-big-mac-worst-dish/

 

2) https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/mar/13/chinese-food-ready-meals-salt

[abcdefg]

10 hours ago, Shelley said:

We talked about it in one of @abcdefg recipe topics, I'm sorry I can't remember which one.

 

Probably here: https://www.chinese-forums.com/forums/topic/54191-stir-fry-chinese-greens-with-ham-苦菜火腿炒饭/?tab=comments#comment-415700 

 

This is a recipe I modify to make other kinds of fried rice. It can serve as a general guide to homemade Chinese fried rice. 

[abcdefg]

19 hours ago, LiMo said:

Indirectly related to this is the recent report about Chinese takeaway food being "the worst" offender in terms of salt (1) and the interesting (if slightly touchy response) by this Guardian journalist (2). Long story short, Chinese food probably gets a bad rap because of our own extravagant tastes e.g. ordering egg fried rice all the time even when we intend to order other rich dishes besides. 

 

I never go to Chinese buffet restaurants when back in the US. Most of what is on offer is atrocious food. Too oily, too salty, and too sweet. Your quote from Fucsia Dunlop hits the nail on the head:

 

Quote

What’s most striking about the way Chinese people really eat, from a British point of view, is how healthy it is. Most meals consist of plain rice (or bread or noodles – see above) with some meat or fish, plenty of vegetables and a refreshing soup. Even in Sichuan, famous for its spicy food, the dramatically flavoured delicacies are always balanced with the plain. Street stalls serving construction workers and motorway truck-stops in China often offer healthier food than that on which many middle-class British people feed their children, with a dazzling variety of vegetables. 

 

I returned to Kunming just a few days ago from a visit to the US. Was struck again at how much easier it is to find delicious healthy meal options here. Most group meals here feature several vegetable dishes, plain rice and soup, with a liangban or salad. Meat takes a minor back seat role. And families typically don't make the heavy sauces which are popular in restaurant food. 

 

I was invited last weekend to have supper with the night watchman 看门人 and his family at an outdoor table set up near the car park entrance. They fix the dishes very simply on two hot plates supplemented by a pressure cooker for pig knuckle soup and a rice cooker for 白饭。The old man (70 plus) is the main cook, with his wife and a daughter-in-law washing vegetables and otherwise helping with the prep.

 

They always turn out a prime feed, rich in vegetables, tofu and even fish. Admittedly, lots of the times are fried. But the baijiu served in paper cups helps dissolve and remove all fat molecules, as if by magic. The rice and soup came out later, along with two different green leafy vegetables that had just been boiled in broth. 

 

Friends, relatives, and neighbors come and go throughout the long jolly meal. I feel privileged to be part of the "inner circle" by now. 

[歐博思]

I think we can all agree that as long as it's not Minute Rice....

[Alex_Hart]

On 3/18/2018 at 9:04 AM, abcdefg said:

I never go to Chinese buffet restaurants when back in the US. Most of what is on offer is atrocious food. Too oily, too salty, and too sweet. Your quote from Fucsia Dunlop hits the nail on the head:

 

Please don't remind me! The Chinese buffet in my college town was "the place" for club or department dinners. I swear they poured a pound of sugar into every dish, then doused the whole dish in some cheap oil. Blaaaah.