Moo Goo Guy

There was a time when the last thing in the world I wanted to be was predictable.

Now, as I get older, I consider it a virtue.

My family, though, still teases me when we eat Chinese. If I somehow lost my voice, or was in the restroom when the waiter came by, they could still order for me without asking.

Moo Goo Gai Pan.

I cannot remember the last time I ordered anything but good old Moo Goo off the menu. Add hot and sour soup and egg roll, and I’m a happy man.

Not long ago, Jake rolled his eyes and said: “Dad, you get the same thing every time.’’

At least I know what I’m getting. I’ve tried just about everything offered on a Chinese menu. I’ve tasted just every won ton, chow mein and kung pao there is.

And I keep coming back to Moo Goo Gai Pan like a boomerang.

Call me deadly dull. But I happen to like three of the main ingredients in Moo Goo – chicken, broccoli and mushrooms. In fact, its translation is "fresh mushrooms with sliced chicken."

Only recently did I bother to look up what else is in it: bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil, cornstarch, chicken stock, oyster sauce and sugar.

Delinda saved the “B.C.” cartoon above and it’s now on our refrigerator at home. She said it was “me.”

I’m just a Moo Goo Guy.