On Thu, 04 Dec 2003 20:01:15 GMT, "amalia"
wrote:

I'm late to this discussion, I thought this was actually a technical
discussion on BTUs and I waited to read it till I had time to take some
notes for a (someday) kitchen remodel!

Did you find the original thread on Google? I started it by asking why
I kept hearing/reading that 'real' Chinese food couldn't be made at
home, or at least a home without a supercharged industrial-strength
stove. My understanding was that much of Chinese cooking evolved with
a great deal of concentration on efficient use of fuel. I just
couldn't (can't) believe that every Chinese home and restaurant is
furnished with an 18,000 BTU gas stove of some sort. [As a sidebar, if
I can set 2 Tblsp. of oil in an untended wok on fire in 90 seconds,
isn't that hot enough?]

I wish BubbaBob would chime in on what he meant about Vietnamese cooking
here in the US, because I think FrogLeg would understand better what he
means, given his clear appreciation for "ethnic" -- if not exotic :-) --
food.

I am by *no means* the expert on Asian cooking that DC, Steve Wertz, Ian,
kalanamak and other afa'ers are. However, I am an enthusiast who has been
fortunate enough to travel in SE Asia. BubbaBob's comment resonated with me
because I'd eaten lots of Vietnamese food in the US before going there and
was struck by the fact that in my area, we can get food that tastes
strikingly like what I enjoyed in South Vietnam. Certainly we don't get all
the variety, but the balance of flavors is more true than I've found for
Thai, Cambodian or Burmese food here in the San Francisco Bay Area.

I assumed that what BubbaBob meant was that most restaurants haven't
succumbed to Vietnamese versions of General's Chicken or other dishes
prepared to appeal to a... what? mainstream? unadventurous? uneducated?
(meant in a non-subjective way, as in "I am uneducated about the food of
Ghana") audience.

I think Thai food in the US has changed since I started eating it 1.5
decades ago. Perhaps just my tastes have. I'm not old enough to comment on
changes in Chinese food since the '50s, although IMO it's getting better
with the rise of regionally-focused Chinese food. And I think there's a
place for Americanized Chinese food here in America. Lots of people like it,
and even the most aesthetic eaters often crave those familiar dishes. But I
would be very sad if it became harder to find what I think of as "authentic"
Vietnamese food here, and I was left with deep fried beef balls in my pho or
some insane batter-fried summer roll with cheese ;-)

Thank you, Amelia. I have tried, with very little success, to suggest
that a blanket condemnation of all "foreign" food available in the US
as the equivalent of opening a can of Chef Boyardee or Chung King is
mistaken. And also that it is possible to have genuine experiences of
the food of other cultures/countries without going to Hungary for
palacsinta and Hong Kong for crab in milk. There are surely many
dishes and ingredients available *only* in their native habitat. I
*know* that Taco Bell doesn't serve the same food as a Mexico City
street vendor, nor do I expect I'm getting a real tast of China at #1
Kitchen. I figure the tiny Thai grocery & 8 table restaurant where the
cooking is done by the (formerly) Thai wife and her relatives *did*
introduce me to many examples of non-banquet, genuine Thai food. If
many Americans are averse to 'spicy/hot' and choose Pad Thai instead
of Yum Nua, perhaps many Thais do, too.

Rather than view US offerings of 'foreign' food as watered down, why
not think of those influences that ginger up(!) US food tastes as
positive? No one wants a homgenous world culture, but the sky won't
fall if Malasians turn out to like McDonald's fries and Americans use
more salsa than catsup.