# Do Americans eat cold Chinese food? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 8, 2006, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-eat-cold-chinese-food/343614 "2006-02-08T23:06:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bubastis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d07c76/32.png) [@bubastis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bubastis)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-eat-cold-chinese-food/343614/1 "2006-02-08T23:06:53Z")
Always on tv and in movies, Americans eat chinese takeaway out of those white cartons. they dont seem to be insulated in any way. How does the food stay hot? here, chinese takeaway comes in foil cartons, so the food stays piping hot. Not only that, but I’ve seen characters on tv take chinese food containers out of the fridge and happily tuck in. I ssen that on Seinfeld tonight. Also, remember that episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm where Larry’s food got mixed up with another guy? back and forth he went to the restaurant until he got the right food, then went home and preceded to tuck into what at this stage had to be cold food. Man, if my salt 'n pepper crispy chicken and noodles isnt sizzling off the plate with heat, then it just doesnt get eaten! ---
**Author:** ![JohnBckWLD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JohnBckWLD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnBckWLD)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-eat-cold-chinese-food/343614/2 "2006-02-08T23:18:32Z")
> [@bubastis](#): > > How does the food stay hot? The food doesn’t have a chance to cool off. There are so many Chinese take-out places in the USA - approximately 237 establishments per square mile - you usually get the food home within 82 seconds. ---
**Author:** ![Menocchio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@Menocchio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Menocchio)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-eat-cold-chinese-food/343614/3 "2006-02-08T23:21:56Z")
Some people (myself included) do often eat leftovers cold. ---
**Author:** ![davenportavenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@davenportavenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davenportavenger)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-eat-cold-chinese-food/343614/4 "2006-02-08T23:26:09Z")
I eat cold leftovers quite often. I think chicken (either Chinese-style or American-style) tastes better cold than hot, so I never reheat my sweet and sour chicken after it’s been in the fridge awhile. ---
**Author:** ![Gorgon\_Heap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f475e1/32.png) [@Gorgon\_Heap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorgon_Heap)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-eat-cold-chinese-food/343614/5 "2006-02-08T23:28:50Z")
I think eating cold leftovers is just sadistic. This goes doubly for Chinese food - cold, hard, crunchy rice? ACK! That’s like eating tic-tacking corn. Not Chinese food (or simply “food” for the Chinamen among us). Most people seem to have no problem with cold pizza (sometimes even _frozen_ … I just don’t get that) but I have never, ever seen anyone I know not reheat Chinese food. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-eat-cold-chinese-food/343614/6 "2006-02-08T23:34:26Z")
I don’t always reheat – reheating makes the meat tough, IMHO – but I usually let it get to room temperature. Noodle dishes – those are even better cold. ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-eat-cold-chinese-food/343614/7 "2006-02-08T23:36:06Z")
I’ll eat cold Chinese food. It all depends on what it is. Some stuff tastes better that way, but I’d say that most Chinese food that I get does taste better reheated. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-eat-cold-chinese-food/343614/8 "2006-02-08T23:36:27Z")
> [@Gorgon Heap](#): > > cold, hard, crunchy rice? ACK! You misspelled “Mmmmm…” 😉 I _love_ the hard crunchy rice (though I usually do reheat it). You should send me your hard crunchy rice. And some people don’t like their food sizzling hot. I don’t. I like it warm, but not hot enough to burn my mouth. You’d probably have been more likely to see Americans eating cold Chinese food (and cold pizza) in the days before microwaves became common. A lot of those paper boxes are microwave-safe these days. ---
**Author:** ![bubastis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d07c76/32.png) [@bubastis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bubastis)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-eat-cold-chinese-food/343614/9 "2006-02-08T23:38:01Z")
> [@Gorgon Heap](#): > > I think eating cold leftovers is just sadistic. This goes doubly for Chinese food - cold, hard, crunchy rice? ACK! That’s like eating tic-tacking corn. > > Not Chinese food (or simply “food” for the Chinamen among us). Most people seem to have no problem with cold pizza (sometimes even _frozen_ … I just don’t get that) but I have never, ever seen anyone I know not reheat Chinese food. Dude, chinaman is not the prefered nomenclature… asian american, please. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-eat-cold-chinese-food/343614/10 "2006-02-08T23:48:30Z")
I like room temperature food. But I’ll eat leftovers without warming if I’m in the mood. My husband, on the other hand, heats everything. He’s the weird one. ---
**Author:** ![Kiminy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Kiminy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiminy)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2006, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-eat-cold-chinese-food/343614/11 "2006-02-09T00:02:22Z")
When we get Chinese take-out, we usually pick it up within minutes of final preparation, take it home, and eat it immediately. It’s still quite hot at the time. We also have a device called a Microwave Oven. In the event that the Chinese food is cold (either because there is some kind of delay in getting the food from the restaurant to the house, or because we have chosen not to consume the entire portion in one sitting, and leftovers are put into the “refrigerator” to wait for later consumption), we use the Microwave Oven to turn Cold Food into Hot Food (temperature-wise, at least) in a matter of seconds. Of course, you do have to remove the metal handle from the Chinese take-out food containers, before using them in the Microwave Oven. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2006, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-eat-cold-chinese-food/343614/12 "2006-02-09T00:20:09Z")
> [@Kiminy](#): > > Of course, you do have to remove the metal handle from the Chinese take-out food containers, before using them in the Microwave Oven. No way! That’s the best part! (Around here, a few restaurants are experimenting with containers with flexible plastic handles. I don’t like them. ☹ ) ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2006, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-eat-cold-chinese-food/343614/13 "2006-02-09T00:29:48Z")
I’ve rarely eaten chinese food from little paper carton like in the movies. Only one place I’ve gotten food has done that. Mainly, those nifty little boxes are inconvenient. Noodles fall over the side, and they’re generally too full to eat from directly. I pour onto a plate or into the bowl from which I recently downed my delicious egg drop soup. ---
**Author:** ![bubastis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d07c76/32.png) [@bubastis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bubastis)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2006, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-eat-cold-chinese-food/343614/14 "2006-02-09T00:42:55Z")
> [@FilmGeek](#): > > I’ve rarely eaten chinese food from little paper carton like in the movies. Only one place I’ve gotten food has done that. > > Mainly, those nifty little boxes are inconvenient. Noodles fall over the side, and they’re generally too full to eat from directly. I pour onto a plate or into the bowl from which I recently downed my delicious egg drop soup. Yeah, how watertight are those paper cartons? if I were to get a beef curry (as I might) would it all slop out at the seams of the carton? Man, I really got to visit America, it would answer a lot of these annoying little questions about things I’ve seen in movies and on TV. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2006, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-eat-cold-chinese-food/343614/15 "2006-02-09T00:51:18Z")
> [@bubastis](#): > > Yeah, how watertight are those paper cartons? if I were to get a beef curry (as I might) would it all slop out at the seams of the carton? The boxes are more folded than seamed (I believe there might be a seam at the bottom, but not the sides) and they’re coated, so they probably don’t leak much. I say “probably” because I don’t buy anything liquid-y. And I’ve never eaten cold Chinese food, either…everything I like is meat-based, and I don’t eat meat without heating it. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2006, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-eat-cold-chinese-food/343614/16 "2006-02-09T00:55:15Z")
> [@bubastis](#): > > Yeah, how watertight are those paper cartons? Why I was a child, I bought aquarium fish in very similair paper cartons. Perhaps they are waxed or something. My favorite Chinese restaurant uses styrofoam boxes for take out. My second favorite uses the traditional paper cartons for take out, but styrofoam for leftovers. Go figure. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2006, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-eat-cold-chinese-food/343614/17 "2006-02-09T00:57:12Z")
The boxes seldom leak, in my experience. Also, I never see metal handles on carry-out boxes here anymore- it’s been years. That’s so they can go straight into the microwave! ---
**Author:** ![Who\_me\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/958977/32.png) [@Who\_me\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Who_me_1)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2006, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-eat-cold-chinese-food/343614/18 "2006-02-09T00:57:54Z")
I usually eat all leftovers cold including Chinese, pizza, spaghetti, macaroni and cheese, meat of all kinds, and Thanksgiving leftovers. About the only thing that I sometimes warm up are vegetables. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2006, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-eat-cold-chinese-food/343614/19 "2006-02-09T00:59:35Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > Around here, a few restaurants are experimenting with containers with flexible plastic handles. You’re more likely to see cartons without handles here. You get them in a bag. > [@bubastis](#): > > Yeah, how watertight are those paper cartons? if I were to get a beef curry (as I might) would it all slop out at the seams of the carton? It might. Some of those cartons are better made than others, and some Chinese restaurants serve dishes with more viscous sauces than others. If the sauce were runny, and the container poorly made, it might slop out (this has happened to me). ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2006, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-eat-cold-chinese-food/343614/20 "2006-02-09T01:01:00Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Why I was a child Because. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-americans-eat-cold-chinese-food/343614.md?page=2)