Pig Kidney [Taiwan]

What's up with these countries and the shitholes of the body? Liver, intestine, kidney…the list goes on. The most common explanation I've heard (and I tend to agree) is that these cultures have only recently been able to not waste valuable protein sources like vital organs. Western cultures have an abundance of food not found in other countries, and given the "acquired taste" of some of these organs, they just lost their popularity as simpler meats grew more accessible.

Whatev. On to taste.

Taste:

Kidney, like liver, has a very, very distinct aroma and taste. It might be a tad bitter (maybe a figment of my imagination). It's funny how our expectations of certain things can alter how we experience them.

In any case, I won't try to describe the aroma. Like liver, it is best called "unique" and "pungent." And also like liver, it is also very much an acquired taste.

The texture of kidney is a very interesting thing. You'll notice that there is a crosshatched cut pattern on the meat. Apparently, kidney is so easy to overcook into inedible toughness that cooks score the meat so that it cooks easier. The result is a meat that has a small, soft "snap" to it when bitten--there is relatively little give in the meat as you bite into it before a piece breaks off. It's an interesting texture, and altogether not at all unpleasant.

Reflections:

Not terrible, but not my cup of tea. I've had kidney on several occasions, and have never really gone to take that second piece from the lazy susan. The meat was prepared well as far as I can tell, but it's just too much of an acquired taste. Rather, it's too much of a foreign taste for my American taste buds. Not a bad experience though...

Rice Ball Covered in Peanut Powder [Taiwan]

Doesn't get much more straightforward than this. Congealed rice covered in ground peanuts.

Taste:

Imagine it and you've pretty much got it. Chewy, tasteless rice and yummy, sweet peanut powder.

Reflections:

Great dessert. Nice chew.

Razor Clams [Taiwan]

I'm only writing this one down because I saw it on food network and food network is awesome. They really are shaped like that, though the mussel has popped off its shell so it no longer resembles what it is in the wild (unlike "normal" clams, who tend to stick in their shells).

Taste:

The taste is virtually identical to that of your normal clam. The difference is in texture: where clams have different textures depending on what area you're working on (ranging from tough to tender to mushy guts), razor clams are consistently tender throughout. Or rather, they are consistently meaty throughout, lacking that gutty taste that clams have.

Reflections:

Clams perfected. No other way to put it. None of the downfalls of your average clam. No weird guts; no awkward tastes. Consistent and pleasant throughout. Delicioussss..

Whole Squid [Taiwan]

Emphasis on the "whole." Everyone has had calamari before, but this is the first time I've ever had the whole squid—gooey guts, head, and all. What most people eat (calamari rings) comes from the area between the eyes and the tail fin. Here, the restaurant gave us the whole deal. Times six.

Taste:

Kinda like squid. I started eating from the back—the tail fin end. The first bite was nothing extravagant, and tasted exactly like the rings I've had back home. One exception: an extra long piece of cartilage that slipped out with that bite, spanning the entirety of its main body. Ah yes. Mollusks and their cartilage. So I extracted that messy bit from my teeth and proceeded to take a second bite. This time, I tasted more than calamari. Bitterness. A slight mushiness. Those would be guts. All those things that let a squid keep on swimming. I was able to finish off the rest of it—head and tentacles—in the third bite. More bitter mushiness. More guts. Slightly awkward chewing of tentacles. Stuff stuck in teeth. But wait! That's not all! Two hard objects: circular, black things most assuredly unchewable. Corneas? I spit them out. Meh.

Reflections:

So now I know why squid is prepared in rings. The guts just aren't worth it. There's no real squiddiness to them that can't be tasted through the meat—just bitterness. All in all, whole squid was a disappointment. There's no reason to have the whole squid if you're not a fan of squid guts, and I can't imagine anyone who is.

Pig Liver [Taiwan]

Liver! Yay! If they ever run out of reasons to justify evolution, they can always fall back on the taste of related organs. Common ancestry by taste! Okay that was a stretch; I apologize to the scientists out there. Seriously though, there are remarkable similarities between the Chicken Liver Yakitori I had in Japan and the liver I'm talking about here. If you haven't read that entry, you should. I'll be referencing it for taste…

Taste:

So I've used the ambiguous "sweet soy sauce" line way too many times in describing Asian cuisine, but as I am lacking in culinary expertise, I'm going to have to use it again. Sweet soy sauce is what you taste as the piece enters your mouth. My tongue thought it was tasting a thinly sliced and fried beef jig at first. But then I bit down, and the texture just didn't fit—first, the meat was crazy tender. Then it started melting in my mouth with that hard-boiled-egg feel reminiscent of Chicken Liver. In fact, the texture it was exactly like the chicken liver once my teeth got past the outside of the piece. The only difference in that comparison was the aroma—Chicken Liver Yakitori was much stronger than this Pig Liver dish. However, I'm not sure if that's a result of the cooking style or the nature of the animal.

Reflections:

Surprisingly good. I really like the texture of liver—it's the aroma that sets me off. This type of Pig Liver (preparation?) takes out that aroma, and leaves you with a delicious sauce and a nice texture. Cool stuff.

/sεn/ /hi/ /mi/ /fən/ (Eel and Rice Noodle) [Taiwan]

Move aside vacuum packed imported eel. The real shit is here. So if you've had eel, you've probably had the Japanese version—somewhat doused in teriyaki, sealed up in some plastic jig, and unsealed upon serving on top of rice (sushi or a don-type meal). The Taiwanese version is slightly different—steamed instead of panned (not quite sure on this, but the textures suggest so). Anyway, the tastes are much more subtle in this version, for better or for worse.

Taste:

Very simple. /mi/ /fən/ is a thin rice-based noodle that is virtually tasteless (they make Italian spaghetti noodles a party in the mouth in comparison). Eel, in comparison to fish, is also quite tasteless. Aroma-less and taste-less, this dish would be horrendously bland if not for the sweet soy-based sauce that they douse everything in. It's a weaker form of the vacuum packed, sushi version if you're looking for a reference.

Texture is the key that separates the eel from the rest of its water-dwelling friends. Somewhere between fish and chicken in toughness, the eel also has a unique, meaty crunch given by its thin, edible endoskeleton. Actually, this texture matches the /mi/ /fən/ quite well.

Reflections:

Another yum dish. I think I've been eating too much of the Japanese version though—this sauce lacked potency. Being so used to the Japanese unagi made this eel bland in comparison. Ah well.

Mos Burger [Taiwan]

Three words: rice hamburger buns. This is a Japanese chain that I happened upon in Taiwan. I guess the best way to describe it is to call it the lovechild between American backyard barbecues and traditional Asian flavors. Unfortunately, I did not get to try their flagship burger—the octopus patty—but I did try several others (pictures below). Oh and their mascot is a big octopus. Pretty damn cute.


Taste:

An Asian burger. The burger I had was a combination of pork, seaweed, and strange Asian vegetables. Strange, unnamable, innumerable Asian vegetables. Bun aside, the burger tasted mostly of pork, and the aroma of seaweed. Those Asian vegetables had a light taste—just a bit of salt to add to the pork, and gave the burger a crunch with each bite.

So about that rice bun…remarkably straightforward taste—rice, but chewier. You can still feel each granule as the bun falls to pieces in your mouth, but the texture is definitely a bit firmer than the rice you eat out of the bowl. I think it’s a great balance between great rice and rice that can maintain the shape of a bun.

My sister tells me that the seafood patty tastes pretty much as advertised—like seafood and shrimp. I only had a bite, so my judgment is a bit lacking.

Reflections:

The burger I had was a little disappointing. The flavors just didn’t match to me. I preferred my sisters—hers was much simpler actually: just seafood, no strange vegetables to mix things up. Mos Burger is a thing to try again I think. Definitely that octopus burger…

Here are some of their other burgers:

/әa/ /tzεn/ (Oysters Fried) [Taiwan]

That’s Taiwanese in the phonetics up there. This here is supposed to be one of the classic Taiwanese dishes. Several ingredients here: eggs, starch, oysters (hidden in the egg), and a mysterious sweet orange sauce, probably of some relation to ketchup. Everything is fried together in one of those giant woks, sauce added after it’s all cooked to perfection. Think of it as an omelet. But with oysters. And gooey starch.

Taste:

Quite good. This Taiwanese original has a one-of-a-kind kind of taste, and when you think about it, the combination of flavors is absolutely insane. My first bite was filled with a sweet, savory taste with a texture similar to scrambled eggs—similar but not identical. The sheer amount of starch sets the texture off from complete similarity. As one would expect, the aroma is that of oysters. Of course, if you happen to bite into an oyster, the taste will be of oysters as well.

Reflections:

It’s kind of messy to be honest. Not something you want to eat standing up—definitely a plate and spoon affair. Still, it’s a delicious experience. Cheap one too, for less than 3 dollars a plate.

Pig's Blood Tofu [Taiwan]

Ah pig’s blood. We meet again. I remember fondly the last time I experienced you…around ten years ago, when a family friend thought I would enjoy a Pig’s Blood Cake (gelatinized pig’s blood). I did not enjoy it. I did not enjoy it at all. In fact I almost puked.

So I face you again, friend pig’s blood, though you are less potent this time around. My grandparents tell me that this dish is made using pig’s blood mixed into tofu mix. The result is what you see here.

Taste:

Nowhere near as unpleasant as I thought it was going to be. The best way to describe this dish? Awkward tasting tofu. Tofu with a strange aftertaste. I think it might be described as a very slight metallic aftertaste. Ultimately, it tastes overwhelmingly of tofu, and had I not known the name of the dish, I probably wouldn’t have noticed that hint of whatever.

Reflections:

Just goes to say: some things are worth another try. While this wasn’t unpleasant, it wasn’t anything special either. That hint of whatever that makes the difference between Pig’s Blood Tofu and just Tofu just isn’t that noticeable. I think I’ll just have to try Pig’s Blood again in some other, more pungent form.

Mango Ice [Taiwan]

Perfection on a platter. Three beautiful ingredients: mango, sweet condensed milk, and shaved ice. Pure genius.

Taste:

Good.

Reflections:

MORE.

And for your viewing pleasure, here it is in two more vantage points:

Yoshinoya Beef Bowl [Japan]

There are very few chains in Japan. I think it’s a thing of Japanese culture—perfection takes precedence over ambition. Yoshinoya though, is a bit of an exception.

For a cheap price (about three US dollars) you get a bowl of rice, sauced with something simple, covered in a meat of your choice. Shown above is Beef-Don. This sort of thing is probably the closest one can get to Japanese fast food. And as with most Japanese versions of American products, they do it better.

Taste:

So simple. Three ingredients: rice, teriyaki-ish sauce, and slices of beef. The Japanese have long since perfected the art of rice making, and the difference can be tasted once you step off the plane and into any restaurant. It’s a beautiful thing that even their cheap, fast food gigs hold themselves up to that perfect standard.

The sauce is something that most Asians would consider familiar tasting. It’s a thing of soy, beef, and savory sweetness. I suspect that they throw the rice into the same wok that they cook and spice the meat in, since that beefy taste is found throughout the rice.

The beef is sliced thin, usually something done to hide the cut of the meat. A tough flank is inconsequential when the meat is too thin to chew more than once. They probably do choose the cheapest cut of the cow—there’s no reason not to when their slices are so thin. Not that I mind though: there’s plenty of protein in their beef bowl, slicing makes the beef tender enough, and I’m not expecting filet mignon when I pay $3.25.

Reflections:

Brilliant. Such a simple thing for such a low price. I would pay for it again. In fact I probably will, since the chain exists outside of Japan...

Fried Chicken Cartilage [Japan]

I never knew there was an aversion toward eating cartilage and tendons until my friend’s girlfriend shirked in disgust when I pointed out tendons in the Chinese meatballs that we were eating. So this dish isn’t that big of a deal to me.

I will say though, that I’ve never seen cartilage actually isolated and cooked separately before. Tendons yes, but cartilage no. In fact, isolated, the cartilage really looks like chicken popcorn or whatnot. My Japanese hosts who brought us to this restaurant described the dish as “between two bones.” Between two bones indeed.

Taste:

Fried chicken. Because it is fried chicken. Texture’s the game here. Think soft and crunchy at the same time. Or even better: the tip of the last drumstick you had, that last bite at the edge of the bone. That’s cartilage.

Reflections:

So damn straightforward it’s hardly worth an entry, hence why this isn't getting that "exotic" tag. It was a pleasant eat though. Crispy outside with a nice crunch interior. Like popcorn but better. And tastier. Yum.

Chicken Liver Yakitori [Japan]

One would think that the understandings in modern biology would put people off to organs like the liver, kidney, and intestines. Shit holes of the body. Then again, it also makes sense that all three organs (in my experience) are also the most aromatic. That’s the draw I suppose.

The Yakitori (Japanese shish-kabob) shown here may not have its skewer, but rest assured, it is still very much Yakitori. Unskewered before I could snap my photo.

Taste:

Think of this as everything in a chicken concentrated in the yolk of a hard boiled egg, disguised as a nasty looking piece of meat. It tastes like Yakitori—barbecued somesuch sauced with a light teriyaki jig. The texture really does resemble the yolk of a hard boiled egg, but the similarity is only a slight resemblance: there’s no question that you’re eating liver.

Aroma is what sets this apart. Pungency only begins to describe it. Liver has a very distinct aroma, and it tends to smash into the senses like no other. It’s the reason why the French adore their foie gras I suppose. Anyway, it’s an aroma that can only be described as “liver,” and I don’t really have the words to describe it.

Reflections:

Liver is an acquired taste. I imagine much of its allure comes from people seeking for the ultimate aromatic experience—there is really nothing like it. Yakitori doesn’t necessarily bring out the aromas. Rather, it just adds that barbecue crunch to the whole deal. Needless to say, I’m not a fan, at least not yet. The odor is a bit too much for me.

Chicken Gizzard Yakitori [Japan]

What is a gizzard you ask? Bird stomach! Trust me, it sounds nastier than it actually is.

The fancy change in nomenclature actually makes some sense anatomically. As seed eaters, a conventional stomach just won’t suffice for your average feathered friend. Instead, birds ingest grit (rocks) along with their normal fare to aid in the breakdown of hard shells, and have evolved specially designed stomachs to facilitate the process. The result is a particularly hardy alimentary system—especially around the gizzard itself. The result is a particularly unique texture.

Yakitori if you were wondering, is Japanese charcoal barbecue. Japanese shish-kabob if you will: the most primitive of cooking techniques rehashed for modern enjoyment.

Taste:

Like chicken. Mostly because it is chicken. This here is a thing of texture, and I for one, can’t figure out what’s the ho-hum about gizzards. People have told me how wonderful they’re supposed to taste; how unique their textures are. I suppose their textures are unique.

Crunchy meat. Awkwardly crunchy meat. That’s the best I can do. Gizzards are relatively tough, and make no attempt at being tender. They do have a grittiness that is probably the result of…well, grit. A strange experience overall.

Reflections:

Well it wasn’t bad. It wasn’t good either. I’d take normal chicken over gizzards any day.