site banner
PaperclipPerfector  1mo ago (text post)   2121 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for November 3, 2024

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

1
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

Sounds a lot like Japanese nabe, which we have at home about twice a week in winter Last night's was kimchi nabe. It's one big pot here though that you spoon (or long chopstick) off into individual bowls.

Yeah, I've had a similar thing at Japanese restaurants under the name "shabu-shabu". When I was first introduced to hot pot maybe 20 years ago, there was always only one big pot at the table, possibly divided in half so you could have a spicy broth and a non-spicy broth, but the place we went to the other day offered a choice of the big pot or individual soup pots for everyone.

I'm still not entirely clear on the difference in shabu shabu and nabe except that shabu shabu meat is somewhat thinner, is removed from the pot almost immediately and eaten with a sort of ponzu sauce (and vegetables eaten with a sesame sauce) while the soup continues to simmer. In nabe it's all just in there and you spoon out portions and add more of whatever until everyone's full, sometimes adding either udon at the end or even leftover rice and an egg to stir in and create what's called zousui which is like a brothy rice soup. (This prevents leftover soup from just sitting there).

Then there's sukiyaki, which is beef (while shabu shabu and nabe are usually pork-based). Sukiyaki sauce is also considerably sweeter and some people (who are not me) dip their beef slices in a beaten but otherwise raw egg.

The division for a spicy and non-spicy is new to me, and I think that's a good system. Generally in my experience any broth-level spiciness I would assume to be Korean. The spiciest Japanese condiment is yuzugosho (as far as I know) but I've never seen it in broth. Wasabi is spicy but in a different way.

Certainly, there's a lot more love for chili peppers in China. I was once told a bit of Chinese wordplay about the provinces of Hunan, Hubei, and Sichuan that roughly translates to say the first two don't fear spice, while the third fears what is not spicy.

What is this place?

This website is a place for people who want to move past shady thinking and test their ideas in a court of people who don't all share the same biases. Our goal is to optimize for light, not heat; this is a group effort, and all commentators are asked to do their part.

The weekly Culture War threads host the most controversial topics and are the most visible aspect of The Motte. However, many other topics are appropriate here. We encourage people to post anything related to science, politics, or philosophy; if in doubt, post!

Check out The Vault for an archive of old quality posts. You are encouraged to crosspost these elsewhere.


Why are you called The Motte?

A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently, it's an element in a rhetorical move called a "Motte-and-Bailey", originally identified by philosopher Nicholas Shackel. It describes the tendency in discourse for people to move from a controversial but high value claim to a defensible but less exciting one upon any resistance to the former. He likens this to the medieval fortification, where a desirable land (the bailey) is abandoned when in danger for the more easily defended motte. In Shackel's words, "The Motte represents the defensible but undesired propositions to which one retreats when hard pressed."

On The Motte, always attempt to remain inside your defensible territory, even if you are not being pressed.


New post guidelines

If you're posting something that isn't related to the culture war, we encourage you to post a thread for it. A submission statement is highly appreciated, but isn't necessary for text posts or links to largely-text posts such as blogs or news articles; if we're unsure of the value of your post, we might remove it until you add a submission statement. A submission statement is required for non-text sources (videos, podcasts, images).

Culture war posts go in the culture war thread; all links must either include a submission statement or significant commentary. Bare links without those will be removed.

If in doubt, please post it!


Rules


Recommended Posts And Communities

Recommended Realtime Chats