I work in a Chinese takeaway

[mniser]

I've worked there 7 years and I'm currently very bored AMA

So you’re not really eating Chinese are you

@threatmatrix surprisingly our meat isn't cut that thin the char Sui is thinly sliced but the chicken is more cubes

we do not that's a bit far out for us sorry

So I'm guessing that New York is out of the question then.

Do you do a build your own munchies box for £21? And can you get a mini box instead?

OP do you have any tips for making salt and pepper chips at home?

Well the one I worked in they smoked in the kitchen and cut their toenails if that helps with your answer

At the few I have worked at the chinese staff cooked their own food for dinner and was nothing on the menu apart from the boiled rice then we had fish, chickens feet, big chunks of pork on the bone or even ordered pizza from the shop next door

@Fairylea es the meat all precooked, the chilli beef for example is all battered up ready then gets chucked in the wok and then sauce and veg added

@Titsywoo it's cooked in an electric rice cooker. They get through loads of course so all fresh that evening

@TroysMammy yes it is possible as they portion from electric rice cooker

@chicken2015 yes above the cook station they have 3 pots one with salt one with sugar one with msg. And they take some out of each pot as they cook. You could ask for no sugar like some people ask for no msg?

@AgeLikeWine can take home anything on the menu. They have dinner though at the one I worked as well and we all had a bowl of boiled rice then they would put a big plate of meat or a whole cooked fish that you all dipped into or sometimes swapsies with the kebab and pizza shop next door

@furrytoebean no we don't currently do Anouilh your own box but I will put that through to the chef as a suggestion.

@vadam we start with oil in the wok then add fresh garlic chilli onions and green peppers fry for about a min then add the chips sprinkle with the seasoning which is garlic powder salt chilli powder Chinese five spice and then finish with a small drop of white wine cook for a few more mins then done.

@JulieSmittyCat I'm sorry but the place you worked really doesn't sound the best! Smoking in the kitchen just for starts and pre cooking the meat probably isn't great as people may go home and re heat again it just sounds like food poising waiting to happen.

@furrytoebean sorry that's meant to say a build your own mixed box you can tell I'm up doing late night feeds 😂

@mniser would you mind telling me about crispy chilli beef please? How on Earth do they get it so crispy? And what is in the sauce? I’ve been trying to cook it for ages but I just end up with a sloppy mess!

@ohfourfoxache I would say that this is the closest recipe to dumplingsisters.com/recipes/crispy-chilli-beef

You’re awesome, thank you!

@mniser not all the meat but the beef was pre battered

@ohfourfoxache the crispy beef is battered, then deep fried then straight into the wok that's what makes it crispy

@mniser I have worked in 3 different Chinese and only one of them the smoking and toenail cutting went on.

@JulieSmittyCat that's still pretty vile 🤢🤢I couldn't work somewhere like that it's feel too guilty on the customers.

@mniser yes vile indeed but I was younger then and needed the money and it was the manager who was doing it. They did get shut down for 24 hours for a deep clean at one point as well. The other 2 Chinese takeaways were a lot better

This thread is great. Thanks OP! Really want a Chinese takeaway now!

Is it annoying to you and chefs when people order like...

Beef curry with no veg
Chilli and salt chicken without the chilli
Sweet and sour pork without the peppers

Ect?

Also is there such a thing as chow mein without the bean sprouts? so just beef and noodles?

My go to order? That's a tough one... I really love chicken fried rice with curry sauce - and I'm partial to barbecue spare ribs - and a pancake roll. I enjoy pancake rolls best when I split them open, eat the beanspouts first (my favourite) and then roll it up again.

I agree with PP about the tenderness of beef from a good Chinese, it's always delicious and I really love the beef curry from ours. Also, the Char Sui pork used in pork curry.

One dish that my husband adores but I can't warm to is 'crispy beef'. It's like small 'twiglets' of beef in an extremely sweet sauce. Each to their own. He seems to love sweet food as a main course.

... I'm a statistician by trade and I'm idly pondering what the upswing is in the ordering of Chinese takeaway across the nation, since the writing of your thread, mniser? Statistically significant quite possible!

Fantastic thread and not an argument anywhere in it. You should have a award.