In article >,
blake murphy > wrote:

> On Wed, 26 Nov 2008 12:49:23 -0500, Goomba wrote:
>
> > sf wrote:
> >> On Wed, 26 Nov 2008 05:12:07 -0600, Sqwertz >
> >> wrote:
> >>
> >>> Normal people aren't as lazy and peel their shrimp before they eat
> >>> them. Anything bigger than 40-48ct and the shells are way too tough
> >>> to eat - especially if they're boiled/steamed. I will eat the
> >>> shells of small shrimp if they're fried, but not a large boiled
> >>> shrimp.
> >>
> >> If I'm paying for a finished product, they're shelling it before it
> >> goes on my plate. If it's a party, either I pass or I eat it shell
> >> and all.
> >>
> >
> > It isn't uncommon at all at low country boils and shrimp fests to get
> > baskets of cooked seafood dumped onto paper covered tables and people
> > just dig in and peel, eat and lop it all up with their hands.
>
> any word on how to peel shrimp with chopsticks?

Funny you should ask. I had a chinese dinner a couple of years ago. My
dad and I were staying with my brother, who said that we would be having
dinner at Jenni's, who's a relative. So we get to dinner, and there are
ten people (all relatives) and ten dishes. My niece is setting the
table. There are ten little rice bowls and ten pairs of chopsticks.
Nothing else. No plates, forks, spoons or knives. Did I say NO PLATES?
I mentioned to my niece (she was eight years old) that my dad and I
would need forks. She giggled, and produced two forks. The food was
brought out, several large bowls at first, and then one at a time after
that, as they were cooked. There were no serving utensils. My father
and I must have appeared confused, because large serving spoons
magically appeared in each bowl. There was a bowl of whole shrimp.
They had everything, shell, head and legs. I watched my niece grab one
with her chop sticks, lay it down on her rice and she jabbed at it with
the chop sticks until she got the meat out. She complained that it was
good, but a lot of work for one bite. Her uncle Mike was sitting next
to me. He wasn't in to the "lot of work" concept. He grabbed a shrimp
and popped it in his mouth. CRUNCH! Then a little work with the
tongue, and he reached in and pulled out the shell. Did I mention that
there were no plates? The shells went on the table. There were clams.
People would pick out a clam with their chopsticks, put it on the rice
and work out the meat with the chopsticks. The shells went on the
table. Uncle Mike grabbed a chunk of pork with his chopsticks. It was
pretty big, if you asked me. There was a large, circular bone, with
meat all around it. It had been cut about one inch thick. It was at
least two inches in diameter, and that's how he grabbed it. The bone
went on the table. The only plate on the whole table had a whole fish
on it. My niece loves fish. She just grabbed pieces from it with her
chopsticks.

It was a strange dinner, although I certainly got plenty of food. Jenni
never did show up, although we were there quite a while before and
after. Jenni's daughters never showed up. Jenni's mother and the cook
did all the cooking. We didn't have any conversation, since the cook
and Jenni's parents speak no English, and I speak no Chinese. The other
people besides myself, my brother and my father, were all bilingual.

--
Dan Abel
Petaluma, California USA