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[Muse_Of_Fire]

The thing I long for the most is steamed giraffe. I've tried making it at home and it's just not the same. If I'm just ordering from a takeout place though, I'll usually get black-pepper beef. And I could eat pot stickers until I died.

My obsession with Chinese food started when, because of some circumstances barely a year ago, I was forced to live in a horrible little town of <1k people. They didn't even have a grocery store. I imagine a Chinese restaurant would have scared the living daylights out of these people. The nearest Chinese place was in the next town over--population just over 1k--and it was so horrible that even when I was Jonesing the hardest for Chinese, I refused to go there. We went there exactly once.

The nearest real Chinese place was a 45-minute drive away, so to eat there usually required a bit of a production since I was working in that city and my husband was at law school in the other city 50 miles from the one-hoss town where we were living. I used to get cold sweats wanting Chinese, and knowing full well that by the time we got to the city, the place would be closed, so I'd just suck it up and let the desire kill me.

When we finally moved back to the city, the first night--our moving truck wasn't even unpacked--we ordered Chinese. I gorged myself.

The first two weeks back in the city, I at Chinese food at least 6 times. It was soooooooooooooo delicious.

More on topic: I also like ma-po tofu quite a bit; although since developing an allergy to soy, I haven't ordered it. I sure miss it though.

[theinevitable]

tonight, we watched Chinatown.
every time the mentioned "Chinamen", I lusted after some grelicious chinese dishes.

PS my mom makes potstickers that are pretty awesome.

[littlefallsmets]

Interesting "Clerks" fact - the line "that's why I manually masturbate caged animals for artifical insemination" was originally "that's why I shoot Chinamen for the railroad" in the first draft.

Interesting "Roger Rabbit" fact - the company Cloverleaf Industries was named after the proposed title for the third and final Chinatown film that was never made... "Cloverleaf"... that was to be about the conspiracy of the oil and tire and car companies that tore up the light rail that made LA the freeway hell that it is today.

[theinevitable]

my friend Sarah decided that from now on if someone is aggravating her, she will say "Goddamnit, you're screwing me like a chinaman!"

Also: i wish they had made Cloverleaf, that would have been awesome. Is the other movie (The two jakes?) supposed to be any good?

[littlefallsmets]

The Two Jakes is really pretty good. It isn't Chinatown good and so it gets a bad rap.

But in and of itself, quite entertaining.

[jaydub]

I liked it.  I'm not terribly discerning when it comes to movies however.

[V-Adore]

I didn't even know there was another film. Interesting; I'll have to see it.

[Doc]

The Chinatown reference in Hot Fuzz made me laugh so loud I embarassed my friends, and we were all laughing pretty loud.
And I've never even seen Chinatown.

[AugustWest]

The Two Jakes is certainly worth seeing.  Too bad they didn't make the third one, I had no idea it was even contemplated.

[chuanoplast]

Since I'm Chinese, is it considered cheating for me to reply to this topic?

[littlefallsmets]

I'm Italian, Slovenian and Belorus and I... know nothing of making pasta, slivovitz or borscht.

Despite having Ethnicities, I basically don't even know how to cook "American" let alone the delicacies of relatives of mine who have been dead for well over a hundred years.

If you know stuff about cooking Chinese food, it probably has a lot more to do with you having applicable talents and an attention span for learning, not where your family first remembers being.

So, Chewy, I'd say that you should go right ahead.

[chuanoplast]

The saddest thing: My favorite Chinese food is rice porridge. Yup. Rice and water boiled together overnight. Second favorite? Pickled radishes.

Though I won't say no to some delicious steamed giraffe, Shanghai eels, fresh shrimp, or lions head meatballs.

[slink]

lions head meatballs.

Ohyesyesyes! How could I forget! My dad always made really, really good lion's head meatballs. And cha sui bao!

[Carlos del Vaca]

General Tso's is the ol' reliable.  Yeah, it's not all that authentic, but damn it's tasty.  I also enjoy a good Kung Pao, and a nice lo mein is good now and then.  Nearly all Chinese restaurant appetizers are good, but I can't pass up an egg roll.

[side_show]

General Tso doesn't appear on any of the take out menu's around.  We have a fairly descent Chinese population round here, so maybe the non-authenticness is why it's excluded?  Or maybe it's called something else?

My favorite is squid in five spicy salt - there is usually something of this variation on any descent menu.  I think this is probably similar to the salt and pepper squid Doc mentions.  Damn fine. 

Also a nod to the simple is better.  There's a place, where if you order pea pods and beef, the beef is so tender, the pods just tender-crisp, that I'm all "What the hell?  Chinese Food isn't allowed to be this good!  You need a permit to make food this good!  This is way too good."

Since I'm Chinese, is it considered cheating for me to reply to this topic?

chuano, it is required that you reply to the topic.  It is now time for you to school us.   You must school us in what we need to know!  What do you order?  Just as importantly, what do you avoid?  I mean, I am a pretty damn fine chef, but every time I have Chinese food I'm confused.  It's too good.  There's a secret something that I am not doing when I cook Chinese.

I did have some really bad food-court style Chinese a while back.  It was a pasty glue with pineapple sauce and the odd bit of overcooked meat stuff.  The guy said it was shrimp as he scooped it on to my plate, and after I paid for it he said "Oh, actually it's chicken."  What?  It was so bad I could cry.