Friday, August 14, 2009

Selective Eating

I love food. Plain and simple. Growing up, food was solely a necessity. There wasn't that passion to explore the various cuisines in the world. Basically, if I wanted to still be alive the following week, it was a good idea to chow down on my mom's goulash. Although, has anyone ever had goulash? I'd be lying if I said it was my favorite and the name kind of throws me as well. Goulash just doesn't seem to have that "mmmm" ring to it. Overall, my mom's culinary skills are more than adequate; I just happened to remember one of my least favorite meals she made once a month. When it comes to cooking, mothers do have it rough. They not only try to please their own taste buds, but those of their husbands, their sons and their daughters. Just imagine fulfilling the needs of six people. Ah?! So a wee toast to mothers!

As I think back to my childhood, I recall being quite selective of most foods. At local restaurants, for example, I always ordered the greasy chicken fingers and salty French fries. You know the type, right? For the most part, my mom stuck to the basics: no peas, onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, bizarre fish concoctions, split-pea soup and surely I am forgetting others.

Oddly enough, after puberty, I was no longer a vexatious eater. In fact, aside from the repulsing fungi known as mushrooms, I will eat or at least try everything. If any of you are curious about my utter disgust for mushrooms, I provide you with a wee example: my mom would
sauté
mushrooms in a separate pan so they wouldn't mix with the spaghetti sauce. Do keep in mind that all of my family members thoroughly enjoy mushrooms. Pretty terrific mom, eh?

Pssh, this blogger is full of it! She won't try everything.


Isn't that what all of you are thinking?

Well, such a statement might not have been true two years ago when I was in France. My friend, Brandon Moblo, will back me up on this one for it was his host parents who invited me over for dinner one evening. What was on the menu? Cow tongue my friends, cow tongue. Both Brandon and I remember my slight burst of laughter along with a respectful decline. To be fair, there were several other foreign cuisines I did try while in France. It just so happened live prawns (with heads and all) and cow tongue didn't make the cut. Tant pis (too bad).

In China, however, everything made the cut: cow tongue, sashimi, whole fish (that is an entire fish plopped on a plate), fish eggs, shrimp (with the heads and all), weird ice cream, lamb, sweet milk tea with jelly, fried beef with mayo (interesting), pumpkin pancakes, the spiciest beef in Beijing, Tsing Dao (beer), Bai Jiu (white alcohol, delicacy), fried noodles, fried bananas, egg tart, banana pancake, slightly raw beef and chicken, octopus, Beijing duck, etc. Hungry? Everything I listed was delicious, with maybe one or two exceptions. In my opinion, there is no harm in trying something once. In some cultures, it is considered rude to refuse any food from a host, friends, you name it.
With that in mind, it seems simpler to just try it, enjoy it or suffer through it, and then just laugh about it with friends and family later. At the same time, if food poisoning does arise from adventurous tastings, permission is granted to those who wish to seek justice. Um...that traditional Mexican flan dessert you had me try the other night...yeah, I was bloated the rest of the night. Do I get some sort of compensation for the pain you subjected me to? At the same time, this kind of method is merely a one-timer. You might loose friends and loved ones if this becomes a repeated episode of justice seeking.


In short, I hope this post has encouraged selective eaters worldwide to try something new. It doesn't have to be cow tongue or octopus, but something that was once feared and left on the back-burner. Oh, and just to be clear...I will NEVER enjoy mushrooms.
Many have tried to make me get over my distaste for such a fungi and all have failed. Admittedly, there are certain vegetables, fruits, grains and dairies people can just live without. Although at least I've tried mushrooms. Have you tried something you dislike? Think about it.

The image above is fried dumplings - a shanghainese delicacy. The trick with these is to take a small bite and sip the soup out from the inside of the dumpling and then dip the dumpling in a spicy sauce or eat it plain. Delicious, inexpensive and filling - excellent combination.

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The Great Wall

The Great Wall
Beijing, China