Gastro888

Curious, for those of us who have spouses who are not Chinese, what do you do in your household when it comes to "following the rules"? Does it cause debates, discussions in the household? Do they think you're off your rocker? Just curious. I fully plan to "bow tong" regardless of ethnicity. Then again, refer to my previous comment on marriage. hee hee.

I like the book Good Luck Life because it gave me some more insight into our traditions, however, I felt it was more of a primer than a good reference book for those of us who grew up ABC/CBC/etcBC. I wish someone (ahem, Ben Sook!) would publish a book with stories, potions, myths and traditions for us to reference. I do have a Chinese Herbal Medicine cook book that I got at one of the two (forgot which one) paper stores on Mott Street. For those of you who are familar with the NYC CT area, it's the two stores next to each other, across from Big Wong that sells Chinese paper products like lysee. edit: It's a Nonya (Cantonese) cookbook. It has alot of the tongs I'm familar with plus some that I know are native to Malaysia. It's in English with Chinese characters next to the ingredient list in the back. I'll try and get the name for y'all.

Yeah and you wonder why my generation of Chinese girls are delaying marriage. Sheesh! As for the yin/yang theories, imho, I believe they are true and correct. I've often noticed that when I'm eating a straight diet of non-Chinese/Asian food, my body gets a little wacky. It could be just me and my beliefs affected my body, but do you want to take a chance? I feel there is a rhyme and reason for these old wives tales if only to continue our glorious tradition.

Oh the sour ham/pork roll thing. Wow. I wonder how it's made...

<waves gai mo sow> Ai ya! That's what I said...try it the original way first THEN go for some palm sugar/brown sugar/maple syrup/etc changes...if you want to.

I suppose to each their own. The palm sugar in the States definitely can't compare to the Malaysian palm sugar. (It's more fresh, it didn't have to travel across the globe to get to you, etc, etc) Thai palm sugar is more available in my area and in my experience, it's rather mild (ie, no smokey flavor). But everyone has different taste buds so my suggestion is just to try it hzrt8w's way first and then go ahead with your adaptations. That way you can accurately compare the differences.

You mean nam yu? Holy crap! HOMEMADE?!

From what I understand palm sugar is milder in flavor than maltose or regular brown sugar. I think it should be an acceptable substitution, however, you might not get as strong sweet flavor to contrast with the garlic. Chiles are always nice. =)

Tongues aren't as bad as you might think they are. Duck's tongues are small and manageable, unlike the huge honking monster of a beast that cow's tongues are. And they don't have that offal taste, either. C'mon, if you eat pate, you should definitely be able to eat duck tongue. Duck tongues are a great example of the Chinese fascination with texture and mouthfeel. We eat things because: 1. It brings us good luck 2. It is good for us 3. It tastes good 4. It's got great texture 5. We don't know what it tastes like and are extremely curious and want to find out if it's edible cause when you got over a billion people...(I semi-kid) When they're well prepared, they are little uncutous bits of gelatinous heaven coated (in my personal favorite) in a rich, dark black bean sauce. YUM!

I'm sorry I kinda ranted there. It's just a HUGE pet peeve of mine and the hairs on the back of my neck stand up every time it's done in a restaurant. There's no excuse for it! Well, I can only speak for my family's traditions and that being said for us, it's really rude to be slurping your noodles loudly. But I know it's OK in Japan.

Only allowed if you're under the age of 2 and have a Chinese granny next to you. She'll ensure good etiquette with the back of her knuckles on your head!

What's the etiquette on using chopsticks from home, but not from your own home? I just got a beautiful set of chopsticks (10 pairs) from a family member who vacationed in Asia. I would love to bring them to the dinner and share them with all, but obviously I want to take all of them home with me. I know that bringing your own chopsticks is acceptable, but what about bringing for a group? ← You can but honestly, no one really does this when they go out to eat. I've not heard of any Asian that brings chopsticks from home for a group dinner. It's not that it's bad etiquette or anything like that. We're either too lazy to do so or too worried that someone might leave them behind!

How to eat a duck tongue: 1. Pick up the tongue in your chopsticks. Nibble around the cartilage like a corndog on a stick and discard. 2. Stick the whole thing in your mouth, chew, and gently remove the cartilage using your chopsticks (a la removing a fish bone from your mouth at a fancy dinner party) 3. Do the same as #2 but just spit out the cartilage onto your plate ala mainland Chinese style. Chefs in the area have gotten really lazy - used to be they'd remove the cartilage and you'd just have a plate of tongues ( ) but now they just cook everything together. Bah!

<bows> Gung Hay Fat Choy everyone! Oh yeah...oops, that's right. Oops! Well, how's this - if I ever get married in this lifetime, I'll post the picture of me in a cheongsam! How's that?!

And one more thing: Please, please, please for the dear love of all things holy do NOT play with your chopsticks at the table. Especially at this dinner. Oh God, please just DON'T! I can't tell you how annoying it is to have someone play with their chopsticks when they're at dinner. You don't see me drumming out "Hot Blooded" with my steak knife at a restaurant, do you? Sorry, just had to mention it....

Thanks! Oh goodness. That thing's still around. Ai ya! I also met Karen as well, she and her husband were so nice and friendly! I definitely need to visit Philly again. Love that gelato. As for the lai see, it's just nice to have the good luck wishes. The amount of money in the lai see is inversely proportional to your age. HA! Did you really think I was being serious that lai sees are the reason I'm not getting married anytime soon? YOU BETCHA! (Wait, but you do get to wear the pretty cheongsam like Karen did...ah, phooey, gimme the dress and the cake, forget the rest!)

You must! must! must! have neen goh - Chinese New Year cake. Buy some from one of the markets and have them fry it up for you. And NO bittermelon.

Eat noodles and dumplings! For the love of all things holy, don't eat bittermelon on Chinese New Year! ACK! Eat stir-fried clams, eat sea cucumber, eat braised mushrooms, eat a WHOLE FISH and/or a WHOLE CHICKEN (head and tail MUST! MUST! MUST! be intact). As for the tofu thing, I'm unsure. I think b/c it's so white (which is the color of mourning for us) it's not allowed.

And well.....??? lean over and tell your old Uncle Ben. ← <bows> And nothing! What, y'all were expecting something? Pffft. He was incredibly gracious and kind to host me and my friends. We got a great tour of Philly's Chinatown with him and also went to this wonderful gelato shop for some awesome desserts after a rather interesting (re: service and food were subpar) dinner at a local BYOB. Nice kid!

Sorry, all of you, since I seem to be interrupting. I have only skimmed the thread and will need to go back and look more thoroughly. Yes, I did notice you were discussing your own families and their traditions. I'll let you catch up with Gastro888, her move, et al. Once you're through, though, please tell me whether it's okay for 12 eGullet members to eat together at 3 joined tables that seat 4 each. What if we all wear red? ← Nah, not an interruption, it's all good. Actually, I'm still in DC, so PM me if you want more details. Eat lots of dumplings for good luck!

"Taiwanese"" are Chinese, so the usual rules apply. ← Thank you for responding. An old friend is, in fact, a sinologist who has lived in Taiwan for a number of years. However, here in the U.S., a very limited number of people know that you're supposed to eat black-eyed peas on New Year's and others gulp oysters. I thought there might be something idiosyncratic, local...a regional specialty.... ← Regional specialities? I would think it's more family specialities. Each family has their own customs. Just make sure no one wears black, curses or does things in 4's and you'll be fine.

<bows> Apologies for being away for so long! I have been trying to sort things out prior to my big move. Oh, did I mention that herbacidal and I did finally meet up last year? Nice kid - knows alot about the Philly food scene. And hey, a girl's gotta collect her lai see. It's a good incentive not to get married, ya know?

I'm using it to clean my house! Sorry I've been away, I've been preparing myself for my move to NYC where I'll be attending culinary school. Yay! I'll be lurking around and posting when I can. I want to wish everyone a Sun Neen Fai Lok and Gung Hay Fat Choy!

You're lucky I went there this weekend and just so happened to use the grocery bag to hold my lunch en route to work today! 2 Boston locations: 109 Lincoln St. 617-426-8888 692 Washington St. 617-338-1717

Banh Mi is Vietnamese bread. Which is fantastic but not exactly what I'm looking for when I'm in a Chinese grocery store. I was thinking a nice bakery section like Kam Man with baked buns, steamed buns and cakes would be great. I love Korean grocery stores with their mini food courts. I think it's a great idea and you always find something inexpensive and yummy in those places.