- Joined
- May 11, 2010
- Messages
- 20,703
- Location
- Charlotte, NC
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Snorting his way across the USA
I was thumbing through the forum trying to find 6PC's Chinese knockoff of the 'Please Delete' thread, and then I couldn't find it, and I considered going to the real thread, then I figured, wait, this probably deserves a thread of its own.
In a country that is normally 95 degrees and 100% humidity during the day, why the HELL would someone sit in front of a boiling pot of water, throw garden clippings and fish parts in there and eat it? That's a cold weather activity!
But it's addictive. Like some of the other things in this place but we won't discuss that. Some things aren't addictive. Like the haircut and shave I got last night. The little hotel has (conveniently) a barber shop next door. I walked next door. Huyhn (probably not his real name but it could have been) led me up three flights of stairs and to an open barber chair, and I whipped out an Iphone picture of a high and tight haircut. Those that know me know I get high and tight haircuts. He stared at it intently. He wondered why I needed to get one as I'm clearly not here by benefit of the military nor am I obviously headed to the penitentiary. But he got it done. It wasn't pretty, and the huge straight razor grazing the side of my scalp was a bit disconcerting. Then, Linh (probably not her real name but it could have been) went to work with the smaller, sharper straight razor. Her job was to shave my face. It was the closest shave I ever had. It was too close, if you know what I mean.
But I digress. This is about food. Yes, hot pot. Lau. A boiling pot of spicy soup stock, and you continuously put greenery, edible flowers, mushrooms, squid, fish, clams, whatever, boil it a bit and then eat it. Normally it's a group activity but at the food court here one can get individual hot pots. It was either that or get a hamburger made with subgrade Australian beef at the ex-pat pub. Plus it's like no calories, meaning I can drink more beer.
There is a bit of a secret. It's challenging. The stringy greens (rau muong) take the longest to cook, yet, if you just put them in there with the rest of the stuff, you can't fish it out easily. Not an issue with the fish and squid, but the clams are the challenging part. They are easily overcooked. Undercook them and they won't open. Overcook them and the clam boils to nothing. So, PUT THE CLAM THINGS IN FIRST. About three minutes is right. Then it's a race against time to get all the other stuff in and cooked, and eaten before the solid fuel tablet burns out.
Plus it seems like you are eating more than you are, because you are doing something. You aren't playing with your food, rather, you're commanding it. You are making it work for YOU. The below is seafood hot pot. Lau Hai San. They made it fresh. Just for me. Well, okay, but they did still make it fresh.
In a country that is normally 95 degrees and 100% humidity during the day, why the HELL would someone sit in front of a boiling pot of water, throw garden clippings and fish parts in there and eat it? That's a cold weather activity!
But it's addictive. Like some of the other things in this place but we won't discuss that. Some things aren't addictive. Like the haircut and shave I got last night. The little hotel has (conveniently) a barber shop next door. I walked next door. Huyhn (probably not his real name but it could have been) led me up three flights of stairs and to an open barber chair, and I whipped out an Iphone picture of a high and tight haircut. Those that know me know I get high and tight haircuts. He stared at it intently. He wondered why I needed to get one as I'm clearly not here by benefit of the military nor am I obviously headed to the penitentiary. But he got it done. It wasn't pretty, and the huge straight razor grazing the side of my scalp was a bit disconcerting. Then, Linh (probably not her real name but it could have been) went to work with the smaller, sharper straight razor. Her job was to shave my face. It was the closest shave I ever had. It was too close, if you know what I mean.
But I digress. This is about food. Yes, hot pot. Lau. A boiling pot of spicy soup stock, and you continuously put greenery, edible flowers, mushrooms, squid, fish, clams, whatever, boil it a bit and then eat it. Normally it's a group activity but at the food court here one can get individual hot pots. It was either that or get a hamburger made with subgrade Australian beef at the ex-pat pub. Plus it's like no calories, meaning I can drink more beer.
There is a bit of a secret. It's challenging. The stringy greens (rau muong) take the longest to cook, yet, if you just put them in there with the rest of the stuff, you can't fish it out easily. Not an issue with the fish and squid, but the clams are the challenging part. They are easily overcooked. Undercook them and they won't open. Overcook them and the clam boils to nothing. So, PUT THE CLAM THINGS IN FIRST. About three minutes is right. Then it's a race against time to get all the other stuff in and cooked, and eaten before the solid fuel tablet burns out.
Plus it seems like you are eating more than you are, because you are doing something. You aren't playing with your food, rather, you're commanding it. You are making it work for YOU. The below is seafood hot pot. Lau Hai San. They made it fresh. Just for me. Well, okay, but they did still make it fresh.
