You aren't supposed to eat it like that!

[SheenaGreena]

First off, I'm not trying to be mean...I'm just thinking of some things that are weird and kind of rub me the wrong way or just make me go "eh?"

korean bbq

why do some people eat the lettuce wrap like a burrito/taco? You are supposed to make a small wrap and then stuff the whole thing in your mouth all at once. This reminds me of an episode of emeril live where he made some korean bbq and then started eating the wrap like a weird taco.

are there any things that you can think of that people just don't eat correctly? Of course there are no real correct ways to eat things...but some people just get it ALL wrong

I hope I didn't offend anyone by this thread becaue it wasn't my intention

[Peter Green]

I dunno...there are so many ways for things to be done wrong (and I've managed to mess up at just about everything).

Crab may be the most difficult to get right. Do you use your fingers? Do you use a fork? Do you use chopsticks? Whichever choice, there'll be someone staring at you like a space alien. (I remember being in India, and they had excellent, large crabs. The whole restaurant came to a standstill as they beheld the savage crunching and rending act that can only be committed by dedicated Korean diners.)

Rice into soup. I get yelled at all the time for just spooning my rice into my Korean soups (rice and miyok guk is my favourite, and I don't care).

People using cutlery with sticky rice. It's meant to be taken in your fingers, balled up, and eaten just like that, but I still watch my guests spoon it out of the containers that are meant to keep it moist.

There, that's a start.

Let the games begin.

[SheenaGreena]

Crab may be the most difficult to get right. Do you use your fingers? Do you use a fork? Do you use chopsticks? Whichever choice, there'll be someone staring at you like a space alien. (I remember being in India, and they had excellent, large crabs. The whole restaurant came to a standstill as they beheld the savage crunching and rending act that can only be committed by dedicated Korean diners.)

Rice into soup. I get yelled at all the time for just spooning my rice into my Korean soups (rice and miyok guk is my favourite, and I don't care).

I chomp down on crabs like that, but only at korean restaurants. At home, I eat a litle differently...I'll put some crab in my mouth, chew and suck on the shell, and then spit it back out into a napkin. At the korean restaurant I will use a both chopsticks and fingers, but only my thumb and my pointer finger. I even eat maryland style blue crabs like a korean. I refuse to use one of those wooden mallets to crack the claws, I use my teeth instead.

rice into soup? I always put a bowl full of rice into my myok guk, but damned if you drop one grain of rice into the kimchi chigae or dwaengjang chigae

are koreans the only ones that are so anal about their food?

[danf]

My girlfriend is constantly mortified by my inability to correctly use chapati eat her mother's Indian food. By the end of the meal there are bits and pieces of food totally surrounding my place at the table and I never can get the hang of tearing off pieces of the bread with just one hand. I make up for it with the sheer quantity of the food I consume, so her mom has yet to get mad at the mess.

I'm sure there are tons of others that I do though.

....wait a taco isn't supposed to be eaten all at once?

[SheenaGreena]

I once saw a couple in their late 20's who looked to be well off financially, eating a hamburger with a freakin fork and a knife. I kid you not!!!! They didn't remove the burger from the bun and proceed to use a fork and knife, they left the burger and fixins within the bun and ate it like that. This happened at Eastern Standard, so if you go there and happen to see them, please somebody slap them

[coquus]

I am very much over this. How, you ask? My father, he will eat anything, in any combination, and wants to try them all. I can't believe some of them, he's really gotten extreme with his eating, I bet the Jackass people would have a tough time with some of it. I remember when it started years ago, he found out that his mother would sometimes add goat's cheese to her marinara, he thought this was the best thing in the world. Then one day, maybe my mother wouldn't add the goat's cheese all the time, whatever the reason, he made his own doctored up sauce, which also included grape jelly. Needless to say, nobody else ate with him. I haven't taken the time to document any since then, I probably will someday. I would love to see him at a chef's table some time, I'm sure he would draw a crowd.

[coquus]

I chomp down on crabs like that, but only at korean restaurants.  At home, I eat a litle differently...I'll put some crab in my mouth, chew and suck on the shell, and then spit it back out into a napkin.  At the korean restaurant I will use a both chopsticks and fingers, but only my thumb and my pointer finger.  I even eat maryland style blue crabs like a korean.  I refuse to use one of those wooden mallets to crack the claws, I use my teeth instead.

rice into soup?  I always put a bowl full of rice into my myok guk, but damned if you drop one grain of rice into the kimchi chigae or dwaengjang chigae

are koreans the only ones that are so anal about their food?

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You must be Korean if you eat MD style blue crabs that way!

[srhcb]

I once saw a couple in their late 20's who looked to be well off financially, eating a hamburger with a freakin fork and a knife.  I kid you not!!!!  They didn't remove the burger from the bun and proceed to use a fork and knife, they left the burger and fixins within the bun and ate it like that. This happened at Eastern Standard, so if you go there and happen to see them, please somebody slap them

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I once read about somebody who ate a Snickers bar with a knife and fork.

Does anybody remember who it was?

SB

[SheenaGreena]

I once saw a couple in their late 20's who looked to be well off financially, eating a hamburger with a freakin fork and a knife.  I kid you not!!!!  They didn't remove the burger from the bun and proceed to use a fork and knife, they left the burger and fixins within the bun and ate it like that. This happened at Eastern Standard, so if you go there and happen to see them, please somebody slap them

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I once read about somebody who ate a Snickers bar with a knife and fork.

Does anybody remember who it was?

SB

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there was a seinfield episode about that

[SheenaGreena]

I chomp down on crabs like that, but only at korean restaurants.  At home, I eat a litle differently...I'll put some crab in my mouth, chew and suck on the shell, and then spit it back out into a napkin.  At the korean restaurant I will use a both chopsticks and fingers, but only my thumb and my pointer finger.  I even eat maryland style blue crabs like a korean.  I refuse to use one of those wooden mallets to crack the claws, I use my teeth instead.

rice into soup?  I always put a bowl full of rice into my myok guk, but damned if you drop one grain of rice into the kimchi chigae or dwaengjang chigae

are koreans the only ones that are so anal about their food?

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You must be Korean if you eat MD style blue crabs that way!

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close, half korean

doddie how do you eat your crabs? assuming that they aren't korean style (: or do you like spicy crab soup?

[Peter Green]

I think we need to open another thread on Korean style crabs! There's a good few pages in that.

[Hest88]

What *really* drives me crazy is seeing people eating fried rice on plates with chopsticks. No wonder they think chopsticks are inefficient! It never occurs to them to look around the room and see how Chinese people are either sweeping fried rice into their mouths from rice bowls, or using spoons or forks?

[SheenaGreena]

What *really* drives me crazy is seeing people eating fried rice on plates with chopsticks. No wonder they think chopsticks are inefficient! It never occurs to them to look around the room and see how Chinese people are either sweeping fried rice into their mouths from rice bowls, or using spoons or forks?

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its hard to eat chinese rice with chopsticks ): it's not sticky enough! Maybe that is why they hold their bowls up to their faces when they eat.

That is something that I do that is really bad, even though I'm half korean, I hold my rice bowl up to my face when I eat sometimes. You are supposed to keep it on the table and eat the rice with a spoon, but I still prefer to use chopsticks.

[Gruzia]

What *really* drives me crazy is seeing people eating fried rice on plates with chopsticks. No wonder they think chopsticks are inefficient! It never occurs to them to look around the room and see how Chinese people are either sweeping fried rice into their mouths from rice bowls, or using spoons or forks?

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But a lot of times there are no forks and the fried rice is served on a big plate to be put on your individual big plate. What's a girl to do?

[MomOfLittleFoodies]

What *really* drives me crazy is seeing people eating fried rice on plates with chopsticks. No wonder they think chopsticks are inefficient! It never occurs to them to look around the room and see how Chinese people are either sweeping fried rice into their mouths from rice bowls, or using spoons or forks?

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But a lot of times there are no forks and the fried rice is served on a big plate to be put on your individual big plate. What's a girl to do?

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I really hate eating most types of rice off of plates... I hate having to chase it around on a plate with a fork or spoon just to get a decent mouthful.

I can be a total barbarian eating crab... lots of hand, fork and chopstick use. I don't need no stinkin' cracker doohickies.

Edited May 18, 2007 by MomOfLittleFoodies (log)

[GordonCooks]

I love eating the cone part of a nutty buddy first and then saving the ice cream in my pocket for later.

[miladyinsanity]

What *really* drives me crazy is seeing people eating fried rice on plates with chopsticks. No wonder they think chopsticks are inefficient! It never occurs to them to look around the room and see how Chinese people are either sweeping fried rice into their mouths from rice bowls, or using spoons or forks?

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But a lot of times there are no forks and the fried rice is served on a big plate to be put on your individual big plate. What's a girl to do?

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I really hate eating most types of rice off of plates... I hate having to chase it around on a plate with a fork or spoon just to get a decent mouthful.

I can be a total barbarian eating crab... lots of hand, fork and chopstick use. I don't need no stinkin' cracker doohickies.

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I use hands to eat crabs.

You're supposed to use both fork and spoon at the same time. Sort of like using a fork to hold down the steak and slicing it with the knife, just that you are scooping it up with a spoon.

Too funny about chopsticks and fried rice.

[laurelm]

This is just a complete cultural difference, but in Japan when eating soup/noodles etc, they slurp it up with lots of noise.

It sends chills down my spine.

But my sister who lives there (she is american), now does it, she said it actually cools the soup before it goes in your mouth, but I just cannot stand the noise!

[philadining]

I was just thinking about this kind of technique thing the other day in a Thai restaurant when I was presented with a very full bowl of very soupy curry, and a very full bowl of rice. Wasn't sure how to elegantly eat this. I ended up alternately dipping, dumping, eating each separately, eventually tossing everything together. Hey, it tasted great.

I was also slightly flummoxed once by a Dosa the size of a Boy Scout pup tent, until the waiter, sensing my confusion, told me to just use my hands.

I'm less concerned with looking cool and in-the-know as I am with knowing the local custom for the sake of maximizing the enjoyment of the dish! Although I do also appreciate the tips on courtesy, for the sake of avoiding offending any tradition-bound types. So, OK, no picking up the individual Korean rice bowls. But always picking up the individual Chineses rice bowls. Got it.

I think this thread could be really handy repository for tips about all sorts of cuisines: yes, it's OK to eat sushi with your fingers, just do it one bite, and tip it over to dip the fish in soy, if desired, don't sit the rice in the soy, etc...

[SheenaGreena]

good point with the sushi, philadining....eat sushi always in one bite!!!

also, I hate it when people hold their chopsticks all weird like down towards the bottom or middle of the chopsticks (when using wooden or metal chopsticks). I always hold mine towards the top, even if I am using those super long wooden ones for cooking

if I can find a pic demonstrating this, I will post it

[GTO]

Pizza with a knife and fork. What's that all about?

[Kouign Aman]

What's with all the freaks in this country who put ketchuup on their chips? Bloody uncivilized, I call it.

[rooftop1000]

Sheena

Ok I got the leave the rice bowl on the table for Korean food thing down....but are you supposed to tear a piece off the lettuce leaf and make tiny packages of BBQ or ...? the lettuce leaves they give are taco sized

tracey

[slkinsey]

For me it's always been: using a spoon when twirling long strand pasta. We have a family story from when my mother was living in Rome after the war: she was starting on a place of pasta in a trattoria, using a spoon in what was then the normal practice in America. An elderly gentleman jumped up from the next table exclaiming, "no, signorina!" in mock horror and proceeded to explain/demonstrate that one simply twirls the fork on the plate.

[Endy']

But a lot of times there are no forks and the fried rice is served on a big plate to be put on your individual big plate.  What's a girl to do?

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scoop the rice off the big plate into your bowl, not your plate.

also, I hate it when people hold their chopsticks all weird like down towards the bottom or middle of the chopsticks (when using wooden or metal chopsticks).  I always hold mine towards the top, even if I am using those super long wooden ones for cooking

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newbies tend to do it this way because it's easier to control (observe really young kids growing up in households that eat with chopsticks). As you pick up the finer motor control, you move up the chopsticks for more dexterity/strength/comfort.

about samgyupsal or other meats served with the lettuce, are you supposed to rip the lettuce first and then wrap using smaller pieces?