immigrant & ethnic food cultures, white ppl & appropriation, foodies

first time i went to grand central it was a really interesting wide array of ethnic foods. now it's slightly less of that, plus eggslut and pourover coffee and a juice bar etc.

i haven't actually read this thread in ages but i was reading about spanish double agent juan pujol garcia and two clicks later i was at a page about haggis pakora. is this cultural appropriation? more importantly, has anybody had this and is it as fucking awesome as it sounds?

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/27/opinion/sunday/why-is-asian-salad-still-on-the-menu.html

gotta admit i've never ordered or seen an asian salad before

http://i.imgur.com/CQQ2ob9.jpg

looks fun!

i seem to remember seeing it on menus in the midwest as a kid

i mean...there are actual asian salads too

tho the good ones prob do not go by "asian salad"

thai salads aren't bad

but i prefer japanese salads

tho the good ones prob do not go by "asian salad"

― k3vin k., Thursday, April 27, 2017 3:13 PM (one minute ago)

you don't say!

i say prob because you never know!!

this salad is offensive...........but not to my mouth!!!

"asian" whatever is kind of horrible, but it is something east asians living in usa/canada themselves use

kind of like saying "latino" or "hispanic" but worse

http://www.topsecretrecipes.com/Applebees-Oriental-Chicken-Salad-Copycat-Recipe.html

i was thinking of this thread the other day. the best chinese takeout place around here is called timmy's, but it is actually owned by a chinese couple! a reverse fake-out!

This is still a staple of my midwestern family gatherings; my stepmother-in-law makes one that has broken up chunks of uncooked ramen noodles in it.

In my experience asian salad always involves mandarin orange slices from a del monte can.

otm

Zillion xpost to sarahell: yeah, I agree (and assume) the general sentiment that there's a long history of 'claiming' food that is just, well people's traditional eats. I mean, you can go back to Lonely Planet/The Rough Guide in the '80s/90's and that same questionable sense of 'discovery' is there. Now it's in every American city. That said: I'm sure some restaurant owners have a complicated relationship to their elevation into 'cool.'

I really hated that article. It was incoherent (btw I mentioned parking as a discriminatory land-use mechanism) and I'm not sure that insisting after the fact that food writing (the author being a food blogger) should be repatriated along the lines of ethnic heritage/dish synchronicity is a useful tack. I tend to empathize with arguments that point out systemic bias (hence being interested in the NYT stuff), vs those that grab ahold of a legitimate point and veer hard towards personal boosterism/anecdotal rambling. tbh, I'm sure exactly what the author wants.

I honestly believe that tendentious arguments deserve thoughtful exposition, not being pissed that Turducken hasn't been given the 10th century, imperial Chinese credit it deserves. That's probably on Vice.

And finally, I am a white guy knocking an article bitching about white guys getting rich off of cuisine that they stole and monetized. It's really easy to tell me to fuck off, popular even. Hope you felt satisfied, Dayo when you told me to crawl back in my hole.

*not* sure what the author wants, rather

Asian salads (for those of us from the Twin Cities) came from the Leeann Chin carry-out, and deep-fried rice noodles were added for crunch (as I'm sure gbx will confirm).

xp

can confirm

haggis pakora. is this cultural appropriation? more importantly, has anybody had this and is it as fucking awesome as it sounds?

dunno, yes, hell yes

WANT ONE SEVERAL

i think I've had black pudding pakora as well ヽ(ﾟДﾟ)ﾉ

What's that Asian for?

Some fantastic salads you may be missing out on:

lahpet thoke:
https://www.google.com/search?q=lahpet+thoke&tbm=isch

gỏi gà bắp cải:
https://www.google.com/search?q=gỏi+gà+bắp+cải&tbm=isch

larb moo:
https://www.google.com/search?q=ลาบไก่ห่อผักสลัด&tbm=isch

I feel like even baechu ssam or the wraps you may at KBBQ or bò 7 món are kinda salad-y too.

as long as we got some of those lil baby corn on there I'm good, love that stuff

laphet is legit my favorite food, i have it at least weekly

^^ It's easy to make at home too!

i feel like i've talked about this on ilx before but recently i've been making it with 2 part tea leaves, one part nuts, plus chopped spinach, ginger, garlic, and chilies

and peanut oil!!

I do a non-ginger version. I had one (from a restaurant) that used baby kale (pretty good!), though I normally go for romaine or cabbage, and lime is key

xps Seems to me the sore spot, as usual, comes down to people with wealth and power using their wealth and power to secure their wealth and power at the expense of those with far less wealth and power. Again, the food qua food seems like just a marker in the struggle for social position and dominance.

sarahell the ginger is so crucial. i am gonna try the lime next time

I think we are talking about slightly different salads. Also key is cilantro. In the spirit of cultural exchange, I'll try peanut oil, as opposed to the sesame oil I usually use.

on a semirelated tip: has anybody ever figured out a good at home-version of the classic japanese restaurant carrot-miso dressing? mine all taste ~ off ~ in subtly different ways, and i've fruitlessly scoured the innernet for suggestions.

best I've done is buying it at whole foods.

i eat a lot of fermented foods but i have never heard of laphet! very cool and it sounds absolutely delicious

brb gonna start an artisanal laphet cafe

ok please review it now on yelp

Needs to be called Laphet Up!

(exclamation mark included obv)

yaphet kotto's laphet grotto

women laphet alone with salad

After reading about laphet here I went and got Burmese food for dinner last night night (for the first time), was pretty great

laphet tastes so distinctive, i remember eating it for the first time when i lived on the thai/burmese border and being genuinely surprised by how it tasted. tho i guess i don't eat a lot of fermented foods normally

you can buy it in a box at many asian markets and it is very easy to make

Thinking about trying to make some (vegan) kimchi. I love pickles of all varieties, and kimchi is well up there. Has anyone had any experience making it?

I've made it a bunch of times, it is not difficult and is a fairly quick ferment, it's come out pretty good but not as good as from a real Korean place

ah literally the last tab I was browsing was a takeaway menu including kimchi and vegan Korean food (but not vegan kimchi itself)