8 hours ago, Katie Meadow said:The comments are hilarious.
Thank you for this, it gave me my morning laugh. I am going to have to admit that when I lived in The States, my favorite appetizer in a Chinese restaurant was the Chinese BBQ pork (Char Siu), that neon red stuff that was always served with the Holy Trinity. It always came with red sauce, hot mustard and sesame seeds. Well, working in the restaurant business myself, if I wanted to know what something was or how it was made I always asked. The least they can do is tell you no. The answer really surprised me. The red stuff came right out of a ketchup bottle (no, I didn't know what ketchup tastes like, I never eat it), and the hot Chinese mustard was plain old Coleman's mustard powder mixed with water. The neon red comes from food coloring, lots of it. Now that I live in Costa Rica and can't get it here, I make my own and I know what it is supposed to taste like. It is delicious. I'm a little ashamed to admit it but I do still serve it with the Holy Trinity. I learned to like it that way.
I was surprised to learn that mustard powder is not sold in China because the best mustard powder that I can get here is the one that I find in the Chinese stores in our Chinatown. I did realize, though, that our best store here does not carry mustard powder.
It does show you how versatile the Chinese are. They dumb the food down to the taste of whatever country they are serving. Tico's cook their vegetables until they are absolute mush and it is hard to find a Chinese restaurant here that serves crisp vegetables. They also bring you a plate of white sandwich bread with your meal. I can't even begin to tell you what an abomination the fried rice is. It is just arroz con pollo (rice with chicken) with a Chinese slant.
