Chinese, anyone?

[peterbirks]

I made myself a Vesta Chow Mein tonight. Before you faint in horror, I think that I should point out that I do this every so often not for mere gastronomic joy, but because Vesta Chow Meins and I have a history.

When I was 13 or 14, I often had to buy and cook my own supper, since there was, well, no-one else around when I got home from school. I used to go to the RACS on the corner of Handforth Road and purchase whatever versions of ready meals that they had in the 1960s -- which was, let's face it, not a lot. Anyway, one brand that did exist was Vesta, and I became addicted to Chow Mein in the same way that I had the same breakfast (Scrambled Eggs On Toast) every day for 10 years. Yes, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (of a kind) was with me even then.

I didn't go quite so far with Chow Mein, but I probably ate it once a week for a year or so. It was my first introduction to "non-English" food, and my first introduction to soy sauce, which I immediately fell in love with and have adored ever since. But the great joy of Vesta Chow Mein was its crispy noodles. Now, there was absolutely no equivalent to this in English food. Something which you put into hot fat and which blew up like bubbles within seconds. Wow! For the first time, cooking itself could be exciting.

I suspect that my conversion to seeing cooking as a potential joy rather than a chore was born with Vesta Chow Mein. And I still ike it, and I'm glad that it's still around. So there.

Comments

Try the paella

[(Anonymous)]

For my money, the Vestas paella is the best. Used to love it. Much easier to cook than the chow mein too.

DY

Re: Try the paella

[peterbirks.livejournal.com]

Hi David: Oh, I tried all the Vestas. Never liked the Chop Suey. Even then I got the feeling that carrots were unlikely to be an authentic Chinese ingredient. The Paella was nice. Yes, the Chow Mein was a bit fiddly to cook, but I think that the crispy noodles were what made the dish. Tried it a couple of times without, and it just wasn't the same. So, Vesta also introduced the concept of texture as well as taste to my gastronomic learning. My goodness, what wonders they were !

Vesta passed me by

[miserable-git.livejournal.com]

I remember the adverts, my father tried one once, much to the dismay of my mother, but I'm afraid it all passed me by. When I finally got to be a student, Vesta was past its prime.
The question is whether I've missed anything? I somehow doubt it, but I'll agree it was an early attempt at exotic cooking for the masses and the precursor to what is now a huge industry in pre-prepared meals.
Even though I do shop regularly, I never see them, probably skip the aisle, but I'll look out in future.

Geoff C - Vesta flashbacks

[(Anonymous)]

...and let's not forget the Chicken Supreme. I shared a house with 3 other students in Old Windsor and for some reason, one of them had a cash and carry card which led to the purchasing of Vestas by the 24-pack. So we had periods of eating nothing but. The paella remains my favourite (and let's face it - this isn't the easiest of dishes to knock up for one) whilst the Chicken Supreme was disgusting and was replaced after a while by that culinary masterpiece Chunky Chicken (an M&S version of which still exists to this day).

I do recall the awe in which I held my friend Steph, because she cooked me a Spag Bol, complete with chopping up her own onions and working with the 3 foot long bits of dried spaghetti that were the norm in the mid-70's. I don't think I'd actually eaten onion until then - simply because my Dad disliked it and so it rarely appeared in meals at home.

Curry

[(Anonymous)]

Bloody hell, Pete. I never tried the Chow Mein, but their curries were truly diabolical.

The Paper

Re: Curry

[peterbirks.livejournal.com]

I think that the curries were introduced subsequent to the Chinese and Italian attempts. I vaguely recall that they had sultanas in them or something equally amazing. Yes, I didn't try those curries more than once, mainly because, even then, I knew that this was not how curry should taste.

However, I only really got into curry from the time that I went to University.