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 !