all that good food and we still have fast food every third door in residential areas, it’s incredible. you can die a slow death 25 hours a day
Actually… I had Thai for lunch today at a place that is really good for NYC not that I know Thai food well. Anyways, everything seemed to have bell pepper in it but less than most places. I can’t imagine that they don’t use more of some other pepper in Thailand considering how complex in flavor the food is.
3 Likes
Also food deserts. Just infuriating. Capitalism, zoning, and racism. (Sorry, I don’t want to send this thread into a tailspin, but it’s a real shame.)
1 Like
I haven’t been to Thailand but I have been to Cambodia. You won’t see the larger, round-almost-cubical bell peppers, but you will see somewhat smaller, triangular ones which are close relatives. Have you been to the Thai places in Elmhurst? They of course cook with what they can get but there were times when everyone else in the place (servers and clients) was speaking Thai.
1 Like
Not Bell Peppersssssss!!!
Our house recipe for eminently snackable Buffalo brussels sprouts:
- Toss with olive oil and salt and pepper.
- Roast at 400 (200 C) until well crispy and browned
- Hit 'em with Frank’s Red Hot sauce
- Serve with blue cheese or ranch dip
A lot of vegetables are great roasted at moderately high heat. Like you can roast Jerusalem artichokes/sunchokes and eat them with ketchup like tater tots.
When I did most of my shopping at the farmer’s market, I got really, really sick of kale. But! You can ‘massage’ it with a little glug of olive oil and some salt until it’s more tender and make a good salad. This will keep for a few days in the fridge so you can grab a handful and add dressing. Great with Caesar-type garlicky dressings.
Jicamas are good as veggie dippers or with Tajin. Tajin rules.
Most everyone digs potatoes, but twice-baked samosa-style potatoes (look up samosa spices, add that to your scooped-out potatoes, add some peas, serve with tamarind sauce) are pretty cool.
I even like bitter melon, though, so I probably don’t belong in this thread. 
Eggplant can fuck off. People are like “do you dislike the flavour or texture” and I’m like “yes.” Then they’re like “you haven’t had it prepared right” and I’m like “oh yes I have.” Lovely purple, though.
I actually like portobello mushrooms* just fine portobello burgers can fuck off. Creminis are even better though.
*technically a fungus, I know. Fungus are tasty. Huitlacoche!
1 Like
Actually, the place I went to today was on Woodside Blvd., not sure if it’s officially in Elmhurst. A lot of the food in Queens seems more authentic than the rest of the city.
Cambodia must of been any interesting trip. I’ve only been to Vietnam and that reminds me I really dislike jalapeno peppers. They’re like mildly hot bell peppers with nauseating thick skin and this putrid underripe fruitiness.
1 Like
This chain here has a breaded deep fried portabella mushroom injected with Munster. It’s actually really good.
1 Like
Woodside between 76th St and 78th St is pretty much Thai central and is what I was referring to. Which place did you go to?
I am not a fan of jalapenos. Primarily hot and not enough flavour. I know they are used a lot in Vietnamese restaurants in North America (I have to pick them out of my banh mi) but are they used in Vietnam itself?
vietnamese ghost peppers
So it’s my understanding (I could be wrong) that ghost peppers are from NE India, and the hot peppers used in Vietnam and Thailand are not quite as fierce (but still very hot) and smaller, more cylindrical. Cambodia does not have a tradition of very spicy food, oddly enough.
I am probably wrong, I knew a vietnamese guy and he called them ghost peppers so maybe he was also mistaken. I mean that genuinely, he could have just been calling them that. I saw a guy eat one on a $10 bet though and his face turned crimson then he vomited before the money changed hands.
1 Like
I grew up eating spicy food and can handle a lot but I don’t understand chasing six-digit Scoville scale stuff. It gets all tangled up with toxic masculinity at the upper end. A typical hot sauce selection in a deli or specialty store doesn’t interest me. It tends to be one-dimensional; I want more complexity (also with music!). (I want also to be able to taste the rest of the flavours in the food I’m eating!)
3 Likes
Its the same with the super high IBU in IPAs, at some point you just have to admit that it doesn’t taste good. I cooked professionally for about a decade, South American for years and then Thai before I got out of the industry, but to me give me a good serrano or a Thai chile any day over a ghost pepper etc etc etc. I want to taste the other components of the dish, not sweat and burp my way through a meal with friends.
Obviously to each their own, I definitely had my moment trying ghost pepper/Carolina Reaper when they were first coming into vogue.
4 Likes
I don’t understand why anyone likes raw carrot. Cooked though I like them all.
(I guess I am OK with shredded raw carrot even. But I’ve never found eating a whole raw carrot enjoyable.)
1 Like
can’t stand mushrooms, i’m trying to eat them from time to time but usually the smell of them will make me lose my appetite.
maybe zucchini as well, don’t really hate it but would prefer not eating it.
I have like a personal rule to try every now and then things I don’t like, I used to dislike variety of vegetables but nowadays just mushrooms. yuck
1 Like
I used to hate sprouts until I had some cooked properly (not boiled to death so they’re mushy and taste foul). Now converted. I like peppers but it’s the plastic like skin that I have a problem with. I’ve yet to find an easy way to peel them.
I had celeriac for the first time at Christmas and was very impressed. It makes an awesome soup.
Can’t get onboard with the pea dislike! I love garden peas and marrowfat peas and mushy peas…they’re gorgeous! What else would you have on your chippy tea (Apart from gravy or curry)? The best ones are like a bright green slurry…Mmm.
I suppose I grew up on a wartime diet so tinned peas, carrots, new potatoes etc were the norm. Pickled beetroot is still a staple in my house!
I can’t think of any veg (that I’ve tried) that I don’t like? Not a fan of kale or rocket but that’s more a texture thing, nothing against the flavour tho.
2 Likes
Courgettes can go to hell for all I care.
1 Like