Almost everyone, including me, have our own meat sauce, lasagne, and carbonara recipe and our own idea of what Chinese cuisine tastes like. Since ethnic food has become such a natural part of our lives we accquire new customs and/or we modify and adapt to fit our own habits, tastebuds and availability.

Here are some statements based on things I ‘ve picked up over the years and it was a lot of fun trying to figure out what’s what.

- Pouring soy sauce on clean white rice is considered a big no no (yes and plainly unsophisticated).
- Italians never use grated cheese on top of fish or seafood dishes. (see 3*)
- Generally in Chinese and Japanese cuisine a basic meal consists of a minimum of 5-6 smaller dishes (in general yes but refers to traditional set meals, both at restaurants and at home).
- Bolognese is rarely called that in Italy (rather ragu or ragu Bolognese and is not tomato sauce based) *
- There’s no such thing as dish called Indian curry (curry is a mix of spices and there are hundreds of variations) *1
- Ceasar salad has nothing to do with Julius Ceasar and is an American/Mexican invention. 2*
- Sushi is a healthy lunch option. (not really, but sashimi however…)
- Eating spaghetti with a spoon is an American manner. 3*
- French don’t eat crackers with their cheese (unsure but traditionally it’s bread or nothing, source missing)

I have my own doubts: Should or should you not rub your wooden disposable chopsticks against each other to smoothen them before using? And in Thailand, do they mostly eat with fork and spoon?

This post made me hungry. And it also made me realize that I’m much more protective with the food from my own origin than others. I guess Swedes would find it weird to have strawberry jam with their meatballs instead of lingonberries. We protect our own food but don’t mind mending with others. Good, if not we’d never have all the delicious varieties of food around!

And do let me know if I’m wrong - I’ll always admit to my mistakes and misunderstandings! :)

Bonus:  How to make real carbonara. Prego! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iERZIRQEIJk

* http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/mario-batali/ragu-bolognese-recipe2/index.html
1* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curry
2* http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/SaladHistory.htm
3* http://www.nytimes.com/1982/05/19/garden/the-spoon-question-or-how-to-eat-pasta-like-an-expert.html?sec=health

This entry was posted on Friday, February 12th, 2010 at 6:44 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.