Salad Alley

[heironymouspasparagus]

Boy you guy's are food snobs. 

Not me...I'll eat just about anything.  Except sushi.  And sweet bell peppers.

[Gaspar]

Not me...I'll eat just about anything.  Except sushi.  And sweet bell peppers.

I'd eat sushi every day if I could afford it!

[heironymouspasparagus]

I'd eat sushi every day if I could afford it!

Your picture just made the point for me.

[Townsend]

Your picture just made the point for me.

Balut

From:
The Philippines

What the hell is it?
Behold, for our journey of horror reaches its destination. Balut are duck eggs that have been incubated until the fetus is all feathery and beaky, and then boiled alive. The bones give the eggs a uniquely crunchy texture.


They are enjoyed in Cambodia, Philippines and the fifth and seventh levels of hell. They are typically sold by street vendors at night, out of buckets of warm sand. You can spot the vendors because of their glowing red eyes, and the faint, otherworldly sound of children screaming.

Wait, it gets worse ...
... Because you're never going to look at an egg the same way. Tell yourself that every time you crack open an egg from now on you won't be half expecting a leathery wad of bird to come flopping out into the skillet.

Yes, balut is upsetting on about a half-dozen levels. Sure, all meat eaters know on some level that the delicious chop on your plate used to belong to something cute and fluffy, which gambolled in the sun during the brief spring of its life. Most of the time, it' perfectly possible not to give a smile. But, when you're biting into something that hasn't even had a chance to see its mother' face ... well, it' different.

Danger of this turning up in America:
Actually, marketed properly, these eggs could be a damn good motivator. When you've looked death in the face at breakfast time, what the hell else can the day throw at you?

[DolfanBob]

OMG I could have went all day without seeing that.
Crazy a$$ third World Countries.

[Conan71]

You can buy chicken and duck balut at Super Cao Nguyen in OKC and I believe at Nam Hai in Tulsa as well. 

[Hoss]

Boy you guy's are food snobs. 

Hater...

[heironymouspasparagus]

Balut

Good friend spent time in the "VietNam War Games" event and was based in the Phillipines.  One of the guys on his boat came back to bunk with a basket full of those.  There apparently is a "pickled" version that is fermented kind of like KimChi.  Has a much stronger presence.  So the shipmates protested vigorously, ending up with the basket going overboard, and the guy almost a close second.

The sushi picture actually has some things that look very tasty.  Most of it, in fact.  And I certainly would enjoy the shrimp items.

[DolfanBob]

I have to admit. They do make the Sushi look very inviting. And I have never eaten it. My meat eater mentality just wont let me get past that word "RAW"

[heironymouspasparagus]

I have to admit. They do make the Sushi look very inviting. And I have never eaten it. My meat eater mentality just wont let me get past that word "RAW"

It's not all raw - those shrimp are cooked in some fashion.

Raw is good with red meat and sometimes oysters (but not lately).  Just not sure about the rest.  I'm sure it's good, but haven't gone there yet.

[custosnox]

I have to admit. They do make the Sushi look very inviting. And I have never eaten it. My meat eater mentality just wont let me get past that word "RAW"

It took me a while to get past that whole "raw" thing, but I am ever so glad I did.  One of my favorite things to do when traveling is find sushi and compare it to what is here. 

[Conan71]

I have to admit. They do make the Sushi look very inviting. And I have never eaten it. My meat eater mentality just wont let me get past that word "RAW"

That really is a major misconception, and one I shared too before I went for the first time about 5 or 6 years ago.  Many of the rolls use cooked fish: salmon, tuna, fried crab, they also use avocado, cream cheese and various veggies.  The seaweed wrap really has no adverse flavor to it.  You wouldn't even know what it was unless someone told you.  There are rolls without that if it's a mental issue.

Strangest raw thing I've tried so far is sea urchin.  A little spongy.

[Gaspar]

LOVE URCHIN (uni)!

I think I have probably eaten some rather bizarre raw foods.  I find that adverse flavors like gameness, or fishiness only develop when meat is actually cooked.

I have eaten just about every fish raw, including many fresh water varieties.  I'll cut and eat the cheek meat off of salmon, trout, and striper as I catch them and pull them in the boat.  I've had some fantastic chicken tartare with lemon juice.  I have also had duck, goose, and elk "au natural."  

People that typically do not like fish, are very surprised to find out that when served raw, it lacks the fishy or metallic flavors that they hate.  Elk, duck, and goose also tastes very mild when compared to the same cut cooked.  

A fresh tuna steak cooked very rare is hard to tell from a beef fillet if you keep your eyes closed!

[Conan71]

A fresh tuna steak cooked very rare is hard to tell from a beef fillet if you keep your eyes closed!

Glad to know I'm not the only one with that opinion.

The first time I stayed at Neptune's Treasure on Anegada, they brought me my tuna steak, I cut into it and summoned the server back over.  I told him I thought they had given me someone's tenderloin.  He took a closer look and said, no sir, that is definitely tuna.  I never realized until then that well-done tuna that squeaks on your teeth is way over-done.  Now when I grill it, a 1" cut gets 2 minutes per side, if that.  Dredged in pure Hatch chili powder prior to searing is amazing.  When I smoke a salmon in my Cameron stove-top unit, 20 minutes tops.

[Gaspar]

Glad to know I'm not the only one with that opinion.

The first time I stayed at Neptune's Treasure on Anegada, they brought me my tuna steak, I cut into it and summoned the server back over.  I told him I thought they had given me someone's tenderloin.  He took a closer look and said, no sir, that is definitely tuna.  I never realized until then that well-done tuna that squeaks on your teeth is way over-done.  Now when I grill it, a 1" cut gets 2 minutes per side, if that.  Dredged in pure Hatch chili powder prior to searing is amazing.  When I smoke a salmon in my Cameron stove-top unit, 20 minutes tops.

I roll mine in black sesame seeds and grill it for about 1 min per side over hickory.