Every Saturday in my parents' house was Spaghetti Night. I think it was my mother's way of reminding us that though we were living in Europe then, we were Americans. Tomato and meat sauce over boiled noodles, plus garlic bread, and grated cheese. The uplifting food of a hallowed tradition.
My eating habits now are not so predictable.
And neither is my spaghetti.
番茄肉醬意麵
Chopped fatty pork fried to render some grease, vegetables -- last night it was fuzzy melon (節瓜 'jit gwaa'), which slightly resembles zucchini, but it could have been anything -- added to the pan, plus chopped green chilies, and curry paste. Over Chinese wheat noodles.
With a grind of fresh pepper.
I prefer the flat noodles that look like fettuccine.
The Chinese types cook much faster.
What makes this queer concoction virtually and karmically the same as the all-American 'Spaghetti Bolognese' that my mother cooked?
Simple; it also contains tomato paste and a bay leaf.
The bay leaf makes all the difference.
That is the tradition.
Literally, this is "tomato meat sauce Italian noodle", 番茄肉醬意麵 'faan-ke yiuk-jeung yi min'. And it's quite safe for modern wussy White people, because despite the presence of meat, gluten, and flavour, it is mysteriously Asian, and contains ginger and turmeric, which they firmly believe cure everything besides nurturing your chakras.
You wouldn't criticize something that natives have eaten for thousands of years, would you? And chilies; a shout-out to the people who were here first, whom Donald wants to keep out! Solidarity!
You could use tofu. But what's the point?
A while back I heard a customer at the nearby taqueria asking if they could make his burrito with a gluten-free flour tortilla.
Yes of course he was White.
==========================================================================
NOTE: Readers may contact me directly:
LETTER BOX.
All correspondence will be kept in confidence.
==========================================================================
No comments:
Post a Comment