what funky stuff do they put ni chineese food!?

[Heijo-shin]

recentlly i went camping and we ordered some chineese food, as i was eating it some fell onto the boot of my car. I then started to notice a funny colour where the chineese had fell, iv'e tried everything to get it out but the stain gets worse and worse and im thinking if this is what it does to your car what the hell is it doing to my insides :confused:


Another time i ate chineese and the next day i woke to find my eyes were really wiered, really puffed up, if anyone has anyother wiered chineese food experiances please tell us!!:p

[Saz]

Could be mono sodium Glutamate, its an additive they put in Chinese food. Its used in a similar way to salt. Its reported to be very bad for you, and addictive in large amounts. Its been linked to bad eyesight among other things.

Its possible you're allergic to one of the other ingredients, like nuts, or Sechuzan sauce maybe.

[Tosh]

MSG ROCKS!!!!!!!!!

Hmmmmmmm no where's my Special Fried Rice........

.....mmmmm keep it near the fan to keep it warm!!!

[Saz]

I couldn't care less about MSG myself, I just had a chinese takeaway... Chicken Fried Rice, curry sauce and a pancake roll.. Yummy :)

[Andy Murray]

I'm a bit confused about the MSG thing.
I've been messing about with Wok cookery for years, and I've never seen it mentioned in a recipe.

Turmeric is a really bad staining ingredient, as are Saffron and Five Star Anise.

[Saz]

Me too Andy, though I think its why the Chinese food I've made is lacking something. Or that could just be bad cookery skills ;)

I think its something the takeaways and restaurants add to give their food an 'edge', rather than an ingredient in the food itself

[jokl]

This site makes for some interesting reading:

http://www.nomsg.com/

[Tosh]

Originally posted by Andy Murray
I'm a bit confused about the MSG thing.
I've been messing about with Wok cookery for years, and I've never seen it mentioned in a recipe.



That's because it's usually used in Take-Aways to enchance various meals that might not otherwise contain *ahem* pre sell by date food.

Used by most Chinese Takeaways kitchen hands I've known.

Allegedly "puffs" meat up so you can use less!!!

[Kinjiro Tsukasa]

Many Chinese restaurants in my area don't use MSG; I prefer to eat at those places. If you find MSG in a recipe you wish to prepare, just leave it out. It's totally unnecessary (I often make my own Chinese food, and never put MSG in it).

[KenpoDavid]

It is very similar to Sodium Chloride. It enhances flavors, stimulating some of the same receptors as animal fat and glutamates. Some people are allergic to it, and it can casue headache in large doses to people otehr wise not allergic. In small amounts it adds an impressive depth of flavor to vegeteble dishes, that's how I mostly use it... sprinkled over steamed veggies