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PaperclipPerfector  1mo ago (text post)   2285 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for July 26, 2024

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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For me, the main appeal is texture. I've always been someone who prioritizes texture over flavor, though both are important, and sashimi is by far my favorite food. If it weren't cost-prohibitive I would eat it every day fro 2/3 meals, mercury poisoning be damned.

Sashimi has a huge quality range with a bottom-heavy distribution. If your bowl is mostly days old tuna and tilapia it's easy to walk away unimpressed. I'd recommend giving it another chance at a quality location. High quality tuna (maguro) is great, doubly so if its a fatty belly (otoro/chutoro) cut. Yellowtail (hamachi) or amberjack (kanpachi) are amazing as well. Salmon (sake) has a more narrow quality distribution but a high floor so it's pretty reliable wherever you go. In contrast, I've never been a fan of the squid (ika) or urchin (uni).

the main appeal is texture

This is the key. In some East Asian cuisine, while the flavor matters it's just one dimension. (Interesting substack. TW descriptions of disgusting food.)

Okay, I lost a whole lot of sympathy for the Chinese.

I thought they ate all the weird shit because of the longer period of high density population and famines.

Turns out, they were just depraved hedonists.

I always assumed it was because the Cultural Revolution erased whatever food culture they previously had.

It wasn't long enough for that.

I recall reading somewhere that like WW2 POW camps, Chinese cities didn't really have a rodent problem in the early modern era. Not sure if it's true. I'm probably misremembering. In any case, Chinese in 19th century were living on the edge of starvation. Someone fired from a job was liable to literally starve to death in a few months even in normal (non famine) times.

Here's an excellent westerner account of early 20th century China.

You weren't exaggerating about that being an interesting substack. Just spent a couple hours reading around it, thanks.

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