Stuff that restuarants in China use to make their food tasty

[touchring]

http://www.soshiok.com/multimedia/photos/1061

Melamine
Melamine: Infamous in China for the notorious 2008 Chinese milk scandal, in which melamine was found illegally added to milk and infant formula products from almost all major milk suppliers, leading to kidney stones among young children. The milky additive in these foods is in fact fake milk derived from melamine, widely used in preparation of milk tea-ish beverages, and is what makes your drink silky and milky.

This is new to me. Substitute for cream and milk in dishes.

Additive AAA
Ingredient AAA: The chefs don’t even know what exactly it is or how it works. It is tasteless and odorless… and addictive!»

Marijuana based food addictive?

Cooking additives
The use of these additives is normal to chefs. “I don’t have time to go to other people’s restaurants to take more pictures. I’ve already decided to switch professions…it’s disheartening.” says the mysterious chef.

Don't ask me what this is, it is not MSG. On the package, it only says naturally grown "flavor enhancer". The recipe is a secret as with most food additives.

Red colouring
Red pigment and red yeast powder: These things are laced in red yeast rice and Chinese braised pork. Says one chef: "Everybody does it, if you don’t use chemical additives, then your business won’t be as good as everyone else’s, and so everyone tries to “out-do” each other. As you can see, I normally have to stash away the pigments.”

Get high on this hotpot additive
Hotpot chemical additive: If you smell it, you will be dazed and disoriented for around 10 seconds. It is odorless.

Hotpots are notorious, avoid them at all cost. I read about paraffin being used in hotspot but this is new.

Fake sesame oil
Even sesame oil can be artificially manufactured. China is unrivalled in the production of fake goods.

How about fake olive oil derived by petrochemicals?

Dirty used to cooking duck
A barrel of oil for cooking ducks and drumsticks.

Oil in the kitchen

Pigment costs less than wall paint
Red pigment: A bottle costs 15 yuan (S$3), much cheaper than paint for painting.

Cheap pigment used to dye food. The pigment is even cheaper than paint!

[lektrode]

Re: Stuff that restuarants in China use to make their food tasty

all the evidence eye need to demand: IMPORT CONTROLS ON "foodstuffs" FROM THERE, ***NOW***

as in mandated labeling of source/country of origin for ALL ingredients in _anything_ edible.

have already been scanning labels of anything ingestible for hints of it being sourced from there...
if i have any choice, I WILL NOT PURCHASE or consume the stuff.

[aaron]

Re: Stuff that restuarants in China use to make their food tasty

i certainly had my share of stomach problems on my trip to China last summer. I would have been much more careful had I seen this post before eating at the local joints
No wonder I glow in the dark now!

Interestingly, at the grocery store, I saw many Chinese shopping the foreign brands. They seemed to know what is best for them, and it was not the native food. My wife insisted on buying the Taiwanese brands of packaged food as well.

Also, stores would brag about passing inspection. In the U.S. restaurants usually have an inspection certificate hanging inconspicuously behind the register. In Beijing, I saw places that practically framed their certs with neon lights "WE PASS INSPECTION!" --> It is a badge of honor and a seemingly essential marketing ploy. It made me laugh --> "EAT HERE, WE WASH OUR HANDS!"

[brent217]

Re: Stuff that restuarants in China use to make their food tasty

This is a timely topic! I have just posted this to my facebook page for my friends:

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationwo...0,681885.story

Even the Chinese Leadership know that the food produced and sold in their country is absolute garbage.

Quote: "On their organic diet, the cows produce about half the volume of conventional dairy cows, meaning that the supply is never enough, especially since the 2008 scandal in which tainted milk left six Chinese babies dead and sickened 300,000 people." "We're not Switzerland. Our population is way too big for everybody to eat organic food," said Hou Xuejun, general manager of the Green Yard dairy.

Another great quote "China's sports teams have enacted strict bans on athletes eating pork because of the fear that clenbuterol, a common but illegal steroid fed to pigs, can cause false positives on drug tests." Of course, I would guess most of their athletes (and imho, most Olympic level athletes in general) are chemically enhanced, it just strikes me as funny that someone would get busted for steroids, not because of steroids they actually took, but because of food they eat.

[metalman]

Re: Stuff that restuarants in China use to make their food tasty

This is a timely topic! I have just posted this to my facebook page for my friends:

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationwo...0,681885.story

Even the Chinese Leadership know that the food produced and sold in their country is absolute garbage.

Quote: "On their organic diet, the cows produce about half the volume of conventional dairy cows, meaning that the supply is never enough, especially since the 2008 scandal in which tainted milk left six Chinese babies dead and sickened 300,000 people." "We're not Switzerland. Our population is way too big for everybody to eat organic food," said Hou Xuejun, general manager of the Green Yard dairy.

Another great quote "China's sports teams have enacted strict bans on athletes eating pork because of the fear that clenbuterol, a common but illegal steroid fed to pigs, can cause false positives on drug tests." Of course, I would guess most of their athletes (and imho, most Olympic level athletes in general) are chemically enhanced, it just strikes me as funny that someone would get busted for steroids, not because of steroids they actually took, but because of food they eat.

that hpw they 'solve' problems in china.

problem... farmers lightening themselves on fire in front of the town official building because the corrupt local pols took the farm away?

solution... install fire extinguishers at town official buildings.

[touchring]

Re: Stuff that restuarants in China use to make their food tasty

That fake sesame oil is scary. Almost all Chinese foods will use sesame oil.

I would suspect that the Chinese government actually tacitly allow adulterated food because the poorer Chinese would not be able to afford "real food" and enforcing food quality will give rise to more inflation.

i certainly had my share of stomach problems on my trip to China last summer. I would have been much more careful had I seen this post before eating at the local joints
No wonder I glow in the dark now!

Interestingly, at the grocery store, I saw many Chinese shopping the foreign brands. They seemed to know what is best for them, and it was not the native food. My wife insisted on buying the Taiwanese brands of packaged food as well.

Also, stores would brag about passing inspection. In the U.S. restaurants usually have an inspection certificate hanging inconspicuously behind the register. In Beijing, I saw places that practically framed their certs with neon lights "WE PASS INSPECTION!" --> It is a badge of honor and a seemingly essential marketing ploy. It made me laugh --> "EAT HERE, WE WASH OUR HANDS!"

[lakedaemonian]

Re: Stuff that restuarants in China use to make their food tasty

My wife absolutely refuses to allow our children to eat anything originating from Mainland China.

We love Asian cuisine.....and we are fortunate to have a couple great Asian Food warehouses in our area that are still operating after the quakes.

Our Asian foodstuffs originate from NZ, OZ, and Thailand mostly...

We have good labeling requirements in NZ thankfully.

I've seen up close and personal the horror show of Chinese industry corner cutting and counterfeiting...I'm dealing with a rather significant "3rd shift counterfeit" and "factory down the road counterfeit" for a major US brand at the moment.

I will not let my children eat anything originating in, or processed by, Mainland China.

May be a bit alarmist, but I'm not taking the chance.

[touchring]

Re: Stuff that restuarants in China use to make their food tasty

My wife absolutely refuses to allow our children to eat anything originating from Mainland China.

We love Asian cuisine.....and we are fortunate to have a couple great Asian Food warehouses in our area that are still operating after the quakes.

Our Asian foodstuffs originate from NZ, OZ, and Thailand mostly...

We have good labeling requirements in NZ thankfully.

Ya, it's great to live in NZ.

But it be almost possible to avoid food from China unless you do not eat processed food.

http://www.alibaba.com/Food-Beverage_p2

Take for example, peanut butter, how do we know that the peanuts are not imported from China? Ever wondered why food inflation is low despite the money printing? Cheap food ingredients from China.

In my opinion, Occupy Wall street is basically a waste of time. People should be clamoring for food companies to list out the source of the ingredients of their products!

http://www.alibaba.com/products/peanuts/--10410.html




PEANUT ,BIGGEST PEANUT & PUMPKIN SEEDS FACTORY

Peanut kernels:
1)ur own plant factory
2):competitive price
3):superior quality
4):prompt shipment...
Type: Peanut
Min. Order: 10 Tons
FOB Price: US $1000-1200 / Ton


Supplier: Rizhao Golden Nut Group Company [ Manufacturer ]

China (Mainland)
Gold Supplier [Verified Member]

I'm Away

[touchring]

Re: Stuff that restuarants in China use to make their food tasty

This is a timely topic! I have just posted this to my facebook page for my friends:

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationwo...0,681885.story

Even the Chinese Leadership know that the food produced and sold in their country is absolute garbage.

This is justification for a total ban on all foods made in China. Even the CCP cadres do not eat their own food, why should the rest of the world?

[lakedaemonian]

Re: Stuff that restuarants in China use to make their food tasty

Ya, it's great to live in NZ.

But it be almost possible to avoid food from China unless you do not eat processed food.

http://www.alibaba.com/Food-Beverage_p2

Take for example, peanut butter, how do we know that the peanuts are not imported from China? Ever wondered why food inflation is low despite the money printing? Cheap food ingredients from China.

In my opinion, Occupy Wall street is basically a waste of time. People should be clamoring for food companies to list out the source of the ingredients of their products!

http://www.alibaba.com/products/peanuts/--10410.html




PEANUT ,BIGGEST PEANUT & PUMPKIN SEEDS FACTORY

Peanut kernels:
1)ur own plant factory
2):competitive price
3):superior quality
4):prompt shipment...
Type: Peanut
Min. Order: 10 Tons
FOB Price: US $1000-1200 / Ton


Supplier: Rizhao Golden Nut Group Company [ Manufacturer ]

China (Mainland)
Gold Supplier [Verified Member]

I'm Away

Funny you should mention peanut butter!

It's my understanding that food sold in NZ must disclose the origination/location(s) of product ingredients/processing.

Ever since we have specifically avoided product that originates from or is processed by China.

And we rarely touch processed food.

I'm lucky to have a wife who takes our health/diet very seriously...and she's a great cook/baker...so most of our meals are prepared from scratch...and she tends our garden/chickens which provide a small but growing amount of our food.

We have been eating out this past week(we usually rarely do, unless business/travel related) or so with overseas visitors keen to see NZ.....eating out becomes a bigger concern if they are not as finicky about their food sourcing.

[lakedaemonian]

Re: Stuff that restuarants in China use to make their food tasty

It looks like we HAVE bee caught out with Chinese food......garlic specifically....because our own home grown garlic isn't far enough along...next visit to fruit and veg stand we will be asking for NZ grown garlic or not buying at all(and I luvs my garlic)

[touchring]

Re: Stuff that restuarants in China use to make their food tasty

It looks like we HAVE bee caught out with Chinese food......garlic specifically....because our own home grown garlic isn't far enough along...next visit to fruit and veg stand we will be asking for NZ grown garlic or not buying at all(and I luvs my garlic)

Thanks for reminding me this! I eat a lot of garlic. lol

[thunderdownunder]

Re: Stuff that restuarants in China use to make their food tasty

Garlic - Its not hard to grow and it keeps well crushed.
http://www.greenharvest.com.au/Plants/garlic_info.html.
My partner is Thai/Chinese
She warned me along time ago. We live simply but exceedingly well

[wayiwalk]

Re: Stuff that restuarants in China use to make their food tasty

Sometime after 2000, my wife was complaining about how the apple juice sold in this country by the big firms included juice from concentrate from China.

I don't know, that just seemed crazy to me - could it really be cheaper to get apple juice from CHINA? This is america, home of APPLE pie, for pete's sake. This was before the prior food and toxic substances in other products scares.

I work in the environmental remediation, and on hearing stories of how we were sending out used batteries and other materials to China for disposal, I kind of figured that here we had a situation that was ripe for limited regulation leading to getting who knows what in our imported food products.

Anyway, back to apples. I sent an email (since lost) to a public relations person for the American apple industry, voicing such concerns about the limited amount of regulation within China and the potential for inappropriate substances ending up in food products imported from there.

The response was a lovely beaurocratic statement that all of the suppliers are carefully vetted and that I should have no such concerns (the tone even implied that perhaps I might be a tin foil hat wearer).

So, honestly, all of you voicing such concerns about other food products, you really don’t have anything to worry about. I’m sure your fears can be similarly calmed with an email from an industry mouthpiece!

[shiny!]

Re: Stuff that restuarants in China use to make their food tasty

I've stopped drinking tea from mainland china.