Considering the trouble I had with the last food item, I decided to go with something a little more mundane for today. I actually may have tried this before but I don't remember what it tastes like, so I'm counting this one.
Jicama is a tuber that can be eaten cooked or raw and looks like an oversized, flattened potato. In fact, once peeled and cut up, you could easily mistake it for a potato by sight alone. It is, however, a bit slimy to the touch when first cut and it doesn't turn brown if it sits out.
In its raw, unadorned state, it has a texture kind of like a ripe apple. A little bit crunchy, but soft. The flavor and to some extent the mouthfeel is almost identical to a raw sugar snap pea. Basically, a pleasantly vegetal, slightly sweet flavor, with a hint of dirt and raw potato. Definitely something you could get sick of real fast by itself, but I can tell jicama plays well with others.
I will definitely be experimenting with this vegetable in the future.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Century Egg
The first thing that I decided to eat is something that I've been meaning to try for a while now: preserved duck eggs, also known as century eggs, thousand year eggs, or pidan. These are eggs that are soaked in a lye and salt (and sometimes tea) brine for several days and then covered in anything airtight from mud to plastic for several weeks to several years. This results in eggs with a coffee-colored albumen (I would say egg white, but then... it's not really white at this point, is it?) with the consistency of really thick Jello and a green yolk, ideally with increasingly dark strata.
Okay, so the description sounds horrifying. But so does the description of cheese. (Take milk. Allow to sit in a cool, dark place until chunky. Drain. Optional: Allow to get moldy before serving. Enjoy.)
The eggs that I got were preserved with lye and salt only and were hermetically sealed in individual plastic wrappers. They were also the only ones at the store that were labeled lead-free and weren't from China. I'm told that these are in fact two things you want to look out for.
Oh, before I start my review, if I may make a suggestion to all two people who will ever read this: don't try century eggs for the first time on an empty stomach. It's not the flavors, it's the colors. You may find yourself with a churny stomach, unable to finish one.
So, the outside of the egg looks pretty. The eggs are a little more oblong shaped than a chicken egg as well as a little larger, and they're blue with brown specks. Then you may notice that the eggs have the distinct aroma of fish sauce or anchovies. When you peel off the shell, you may notice a snowflake pattern on the eggs. Some have more, some have less, some have none.
The albumen, as I stated before, has the consistency of extra-thick Jello or over-cooked hard boiled eggs. The flavor is extremely mild, basically no different from hard boiled egg whites. None of the fishy flavor that I was expecting based on the smell.
The yolks in my eggs were not fully set in the center. I'm not sure if this is normal, but I haven't contracted food poisoning yet, so I'm going to assume it's normal enough. Anyway, the egg yolks were also pretty mild in flavor, with the consistency of medium-boiled eggs and just a hint of fishiness, but with a fairly unpleasant aftertaste. Even with some food in me, my stomach was doing some rolling about.
These eggs can definitely stand up to some strong flavors and honestly, if I eat these again instead of throwing the last two out, it will be with a heavy dose of garlic or ginger. Or possibly both.
Ooh, definitely both.
Okay, so the description sounds horrifying. But so does the description of cheese. (Take milk. Allow to sit in a cool, dark place until chunky. Drain. Optional: Allow to get moldy before serving. Enjoy.)
The eggs that I got were preserved with lye and salt only and were hermetically sealed in individual plastic wrappers. They were also the only ones at the store that were labeled lead-free and weren't from China. I'm told that these are in fact two things you want to look out for.
Oh, before I start my review, if I may make a suggestion to all two people who will ever read this: don't try century eggs for the first time on an empty stomach. It's not the flavors, it's the colors. You may find yourself with a churny stomach, unable to finish one.
So, the outside of the egg looks pretty. The eggs are a little more oblong shaped than a chicken egg as well as a little larger, and they're blue with brown specks. Then you may notice that the eggs have the distinct aroma of fish sauce or anchovies. When you peel off the shell, you may notice a snowflake pattern on the eggs. Some have more, some have less, some have none.
The albumen, as I stated before, has the consistency of extra-thick Jello or over-cooked hard boiled eggs. The flavor is extremely mild, basically no different from hard boiled egg whites. None of the fishy flavor that I was expecting based on the smell.
The yolks in my eggs were not fully set in the center. I'm not sure if this is normal, but I haven't contracted food poisoning yet, so I'm going to assume it's normal enough. Anyway, the egg yolks were also pretty mild in flavor, with the consistency of medium-boiled eggs and just a hint of fishiness, but with a fairly unpleasant aftertaste. Even with some food in me, my stomach was doing some rolling about.
These eggs can definitely stand up to some strong flavors and honestly, if I eat these again instead of throwing the last two out, it will be with a heavy dose of garlic or ginger. Or possibly both.
Ooh, definitely both.
A Single Step
I feel like I'm in a culinary rut. I really haven't tried any new foods in a while. Even the cashier at the Indian place I go to all the time is asking me if I want to try something new this time. So, I'm going to do just that- try new foods and every time I do something new, I'll blog about it.
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