DIRTY TRICK #5--
I have been asked by several people what the main difference between rices are and this is part of the definition according to Wikipedia: There are many varieties of rice; for many purposes the main distinction is between long- and short-grain rice. The grains of long-grain rice tend to remain intact after cooking; short-grain rice becomes more sticky. Short-grain rice is used for sweet dishes, and for risotto and many Spanish dishes. The seeds of the rice plant are first milled using a rice huller to remove the chaff (the outer husks of the grain). At this point in the process, the product is called brown rice. The milling may be continued, removing the 'bran' (i.e. the rest of the husk and the germ), thereby creating white rice. White rice, which keeps longer and is preferred by most, lacks some important nutrients; in a limited diet which does not supplement the rice, brown rice helps to prevent the deficiency disease beriberi. If you really want to know more about rice, just type in 'rice' on your search engine and there are literally hundreds of sources to choose from.
Last week we left off on the rice dirty tricks and the only thing I really mentioned was the flowering of the ends of the grain to determine age of the product. The smell of the rice is key--if it smells sour, it's bad! Don't buy into the line, "it's the cheese you smell." Nonsense, I knew a guy once that ate some rice at a Vietnamese place out in San Diego and instantly had to get it out of his mouth. That's a vision I really didn't want to re-visit, but for the sake of the article it was imperative. The manager told him that he just didn't understand the dish and the statement the chef was making. After reading 'boiled meatloaf' on the menu; I was almost inclined to agree with the manager. Just for spite, and because the manager said he could'nt take the dish with him, he smuggled a portion of the rice out in a napkin and took his sample to a lab at San Diego State University. There was a list of bacteria about eight inches long that he posted on a bulletin board on campus. The restaurant lost a lot of business because of that and they are probably closed by now. Unfortunately, the only way of being absolutely sure that the rice is bad is by smell or taste. Sight doesn't help as there are some rice dishes, rice pudding, batters or breads that call for an older, used rice. Touch doesn't help as many of the rices are 'sticky', such as Basmatti. Unless you are eating Rice Krispies, hearing doesn't help. So here we are left to the tender mercies of smell and taste. After much exhausting research; that is the only solution I have come upon. Sorry, wish I could be more informative.
HAO ONE VS. LING EXPRESS
In keeping with the Olympic theme of the week; I set up a comparison between two local Chinese restaurants. One of them being Hao One which is set on Hwy. 60 at Gornto Lake Rd. (in the same strip mall as Outback Steakhouse). Isn't it funny how quite a few local businesses are given credibility just for being in the same mall as Outback. There are a couple of the shops in that mall that are, quite frankly, a joke. We can address those issues at a later date but for now I'm trying to maintain focus on a restaurant theme column. The other restaurant I checked out was the Ling Express in the Bloomingdale Shopping Center at Bell Shoals and Bloomingdale. Not known for it's seating; I'm told there are two tables, the Ling Express is better known as a delivery service restaurant. I got my food from Ling Express delivered during the weekend and just to keep it fair; I was going to get the same exact order "to go" from Hao One. Upon arriving at Hao One just about a half hour ago; I found it to be closed down. So, instead of me telling you of my experience at Hao One; I find myself in front of my computer singing my rendition of Queen's, "Another One Bites The Dust." It just goes to show you, it doesn't matter who your neighbors are, if you're not doing the job better than the other guy; you are going to close down. Of course, it could be that five out of the six Chinese employees were under age.....pause for the Olympic joke to sink in....that's better, I'm back. I can't wait for the feedback from that joke. Speaking of feedback; last week I asked if anyone knew of a good deli in Brandon. In response to this request; a friend of mine happened to be going to New York this past week and he sent me a couple of pastrami sandwiches from the Carnegie Deli. The Carnegie Deli is the world famous place around the corner from The Letterman Show. What a pair of colossal sandwiches! He paid a small fortune to ship them overnight but I fed on them for a few days. They were actually too large for me to bite into so I actually made three sandwiches out of the two. Unless you have the ability to unhinge your lower jaw like a snake; I can only think of one person in my life that I have ever met with a mouth big enough to perform this task. I want to thank Mark for sending them down, they were delicious. But, I still want to know if there is a good deli in Brandon so my friends don't have to ship down food from New York. Oh, and by the way, Ling Express wins this competition by default since they are the last one standing. MY EXPERIENCE--I got my food from the delivery guy fairly quick, especially for a weekend, but that will all change during football season. Reasonably priced and very accommodating over the phone but that quickly changed. I ordered my Shrimp Fried Rice with Jumbo Shrimp and NO BEANSPROUTS. Before anyone starts; I realize that bean sprouts are super healthy for you but I just don't like the way they feel in my mouth. EW!! So, naturally, I called to speak with a manager. I'm really not sure what I was expecting but I surely wasn't expecting to get yelled at for calling and interrupting her busy night. This seemingly nice lady took the phone from the employee and asked me what was wrong. I never mentioned any type of problem with the employee; I simply asked to speak to a manager. She didn't ask me if there was anything she could help me with or not even a 'how may I direct your call?'. Instead, the first words out of her mouth was, "what's wrong?". Then she began to tell me that there were no beansprouts in the food because she checks out all the food before it goes out. For those of you who know me, picture me sitting at my desk doing a horrible Oriental accent and motioning with my hands here and there as I write this column. A Kodak moment, for sure. Back to the story, at the time I was a little bit miffed, but now that I think of it; how ingenious is that? She got to vent her frustration and I got what I had coming to me. I was left sitting there feeling alone and helpless and she got to go back to work with a smile on her face knowing she just told off a fool who expected something to be done because he found a bean sprout in his food. Nutcase on the phone handled---she got to check that one off on her 'to do' list for the day. Back to the food, except for the sprouts; the rice was perfect. The shrimp were huge and many and the onions crisp and tiny; as they should be cooked when you saute' in a wok. The Crab Rangoon and Potstickers (steamed dumplings) were perfect, also. They even sent me the homemade hot mustard as I requested instead of that packaged nonsense they normally give away. My fortune cookie said I was going to meet the girl of my dreams and my lucky numbers didn't pan out. It's just as well because my wife wouldn't buy that girl of my dreams crap, anyway, even if the cookie told me so. Any suggestions for next week? Good Appetite, Brandon.
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