liuzhou

Search Google for ‘duck necks’ and 90% of the results are for people trying to sell them to pet owners. There is even one site selling what they describe as “100% Human Grade Organic Duck Neck Bones” – for dogs! Duck Necks Search Baidu, China’s foremost search engine, for the same and there isn’t a pet to be found. Instead you get dinner! You don’t get the duck’s neck inside your bag of giblets. You buy them separately. Markets and supermarkets all carry them and all over town there are small kiosks and shops selling braised necks to peckish passers-by. 绝味鸭脖 (jué wèi yā bó), operating out of Changsha, Hunan, is one of China's largest retail snack food companies with over 10,000 stores, mainly in China, but also SIngapore. The name means 'superb taste duck neck', which is what it mainly sells. Duck Neck There is a lot you can do with a few duck necks. I guess most people outside China use them to make stocks and that is fine, but I feel that feet and wing tips do that job better. Or , of course, the carcass of a (preferably) roasted or unroasted bird. And there better things to do with necks. Although duck necks do contain bones, they are soft bones and totally edible. Just skin the necks and you are ready to cook. Probably the most popular way here is to braise them. I prefer to cut the necks into 1½ to 2 inch sections, but they can be and often are braised intact. The necks should be blanched for three minutes and cleaned of any scum before proceeding. They are then braised with slices of ginger, bay leaves, dry red chilli, cassia bark, star anise, green onion and Sichuan peppercorns. Rice wine (preferably Shaoxing) and soy sauce are added to the braising liquid along with salt and, sometimes, sugar. Fresh chillies can also be added for a spicy kick. MSG optional. Soy Braised Duck Neck The necks can also be roasted alongside the bird or separately. There is a “recipe” on the internet which deep fries them, but it just consists of coating them in spices and deep frying them. Goose necks are better boned, but otherwise can be cooked in the same ways. In France, they are often boned then stuffed.

手工皮蛋瘦肉粥 (shǒu gōng pí dàn shòu ròu zhou) Homemade Century Egg and Pork Congee

I know what you mean, which is why I usually make my own wraps. However, when I first came out the hospital, I didn't feel up to it so I bought these three. They are Malaysian. The 'original wraps' were a bit boring, but the other two are actually quite good. When I've used them all, I'll switch back to homemade, though.

Yes. To pet food manufacturers.

Combining two of my interests – historical linguistics and stuffing my face with the bits of animals many people run away from – I have decided to attempt to clear up some confusion. Every website I look at has a different answer, few of them correct. What is the difference between viscera, offal and giblets? Viscera is from the Latin viscera, the plural of viscus, meaning “the soft contents of the principal cavities of the body; esp. the internal organs of the trunk; the entrails or bowels together with the heart, liver, lungs, etc.” internal being the operative word. Couldn’t be clearer, unless you aren’t sure what organs are! To my surprise the original meaning of organ is the musical one, although it meant any musical instrument as far back as 1000 AD. The anatomical and culinary meaning didn’t turn up until the early 15th century and was defined as “a part of an animal or plant body adapted by its structure for a particular vital function, as digestion, respiration, excretion, reproduction, perception, etc.” So one would be justified in saying that the penis is an organ by dint of its reproductive ability but not viscera for want of being internal. Testicles, too in many animals, but not in chickens and other poultry where the testicles are internal and therefore visceral organs. ‘Offal’ is derived from the English ‘off fall’. In our context, that means “the parts which are cut off in dressing the carcase of an animal killed for food; in earlier use applied mainly to the entrails; now, as a trade term, including the head and tail, as well as the kidneys, heart, tongue, liver, and other parts” so, anything except flesh in most modern western usage. In other words, the parts people have to be persuaded are food! Although which parts that entails varies from culture to culture rendering the term almost meaningless. Sometimes it entails tails. My local supermarket sells penises of various animals and they have been cut off the carcase so here they are offal. In much of the USA and Europe they are awful. Historically, the word is roughly concurrent with ‘viscera’ and there is a lot of overlap. I guess penises are viscera or offal depending on the softness! “Giblets” is slightly older and originally (c 1300 AD) only applied to geese entrails. The word is from the French and meant ‘an unessential appendage’. Whether that includes penises falls under sexual politics and we don’t discuss politics of any kind here! In modern usage it tends to mean the liver, gizzard and hearts of poultry, but also often includes the neck which almost no one knows what to do with. 63.27% of people have cooked the plastic bag they came in, unaware it was there. 99% of poultry necks go to dog food. Except in China, where they go to me. Usually, if you find a bag of giblets in a bird, unless you bought it direct from a poutry rearer, it won't be the parts from that particular bird. Indeed they may be from several different birds. But many suppliers have abandoned giblets altogether and only sell maybe the livers separately. China never included the giblets in a whole bird. They are too valuable and are always sold separately. Poultry penises are in short supply. So that clears that up! You are welcome.

A simple chicken and mushroom with green chilli, garlic, Shaoxing, soy sauce. Rice.

Caterina de’ Medici (1519 – 1589) was Queen of France from 1547 to 1559 by marriage to King Henry II and was mother to the next three French kings (although she really ruled in their name). Apart from her reputation as a cruel, murderous tyrant which earned her the sobriquet ‘the black queen', she also has a reputation for being something of a gourmet and having introduced several foodstuffs, cooking techniques and even the fork from her native Italy to the French court and from there to the masses. The problem with that is that it is mostly nonsense. France had been absorbing influences and foods from Italy since long before she was born. Her own father-in-law ran among the Italian elite and sampled the best Italy and France had to offer. The Romans probably introduced the fork into what was then Gaul, which became modern France. But still the myths persist. Among which is one, reported by Guliano Bugialli in 'The Fine Art of Italian Cooking (eG-friendly Amazon.com link)’, which says she so enjoyed one dish that she nearly ate herself to death on it. Cibreo is a rich Italian sauce, but so much more. Very different from the familiar Italian sauces, it is a riot of poultry offal. Bugialli gives a recipe which includes chicken’s crests, combs, wattles, livers, testicles, and unlaid eggs. from The Fine Art of Italian Cooking What, you may ask, are unlaid eggs. Well, almost every time I go to the market or buy a whole or half chicken, I find unlaid eggs. Before laying her eggs, the hen has to make the things. At first only the yolk is formed and only later the shell and white form. If the bird is slaughtered during this process the yolks can still be inside. In most western farms, they will be removed before the chicken is put on sale in order not to upset anyone’s sensibilities. However, in certain parts of the world they are valued. I know they are here, but apparently they were, too in Renaissance France and Italy. The yolks are thicker and richer than in a full-term egg. They are excellent for thickening sauces which is how they are employed here, but can also be added to soups, stews or hotpots Supermarket Chicken with Unlaid Eggs I’m sure Bugialli’s recipe is a fine one, but this is one of those dishes that every cook makes slightly differently. In fact, maybe no one makes it exactly the same every time. It’s a use whatever bits of the chicken you have dish! Most recipes today, leave out the unlaid egg or, at best, substitute a laid egg yolk. Here is another very different recipe. The sauce can be served with pasta or with bread, toasted or not.

A bit odd, I know, but it's what I wanted to try and I don't regret it. Boiled duck eggs in a spinach flavour wrap. Boiled egg burrito, if you like.

One highly visible external part of poultry, you’ve probably never even thought of eating. Both the hens and the cocks have them but the cocks’ are much larger and more prominent. I’m referring to the combs, that usually bright red crown they wear on their heads and which are believed to have evolved to aid in the choice of mates. They are often referred to as cockscombs as, due to their size, it only usually those of the male which are harvested and eaten in some cultures, including the one I find myself in. Cock with Comb - Image by Muhammad Mahdi Karim licensed under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 When I first came to China, I made a decision to start learning the language by studying menu Chinese, so that I could get myself a decent meal. One of the first words I learned was 鸡 (jī), meaning chicken. A few days later, I was in a restaurant and spotted the relevant character on a menu and thought I’d have some chicken for dinner. In no time at all, I was served a steaming hot plate of stir fried combs! I realised I still had a long way to go in my language learning endeavour. But I had learned another new word. 冠 (guān) meaning ‘comb’ in the anatomical sense. Stick the two together and you get 鸡冠 (jī guān) which was what I had failed to read correctly and was about to eat. They were somewhat gelatinous, but richly flavoured and slightly gamey. The French used to use them a lot as garnishes for dishes and their neighbours, the Spanish and other Latin countries often added them to their salpicóns. Italy uses combs in their cibreo served with tagliatelle (of which more in another post to come). However, their use seems to have dramatically declined. In 2017, chef Antoine Westermann added them to his menu at New York’s Le Coq Rico. It perhaps failed to delight the locals as the place seems to have disappeared and their website is down. Anyone know if it is still alive? One place you can find them is on the shelf of my local supermarket. Cock's combs in Liuzhou Supermarket They are often served as dim sum and the place I first ate them is still there 25 years later with the same dish still on the menu. Outside of China, nearly all combs end up in landfill or are used in pet foods. Pity.

There is a nice, short history of mince pies as mentioned in the first post of this topic, here.

There is something decidedly strange about that website. First of all they claim it's 100% Authentic Filipino (Filipino Portuguese Sardines?), but then you look at the delivery information and find everything is shipped from the USA. The sardines (without delivery) cost more than double per can what I have been paying with delivery to my door. I don't really feel like paying to ship sardines from Portugal (to the Philippines?) to the USA to China on top of that outrageous price. But sincerely, thanks for trying.

Thanks but I'm not in the Philippines.

Some Highlights of Poultry Blood around the World 3. THE REST OF THE WORLD Away from Europe and Asia, blood in any form as a food becomes rarer and rarer, especially that of poultry. In fact, I have only found one in all the Americas, other than versions of European and Asian dishes I’ve already mentioned. If anyone knows of any in North or South America, please let us know. Giblet pie, anyone? Peru has come to the rescue with sengrecita which is fried chicken's blood with Welsh onion, usually served with rice, corn, yucca, or potatoes. It is believed that the ancient Peruvians used llama blood out of necessity. It was simple, nutritious and inexpensive survival food in hard times and high in protein and iron, combatting anaemia in a place where it is not so easy to find these nutrients. Sangrecita with Yucca - Image by MiguelAlanCS licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license

Have spoken to my friend. She confirms the filling was sweet, but has no idea how it's made, either.

Great article here on the joys or not of herpetophagy and the history of consumption of reptiles and amphibians. All Shakespeare's fault, as usual. Reptile Amphibians

This isn't my breakfast. A friend sent me the pictureand I thought it was interesting enough to share. 白粥 (bái zhōu), plain rice porridge/congee; 酸菜 (suān cài), pickled mustard greens, 牛乳包 (niú rǔ bāo). Apart from the last item, this is a fairly typical Chinese breakfast. Ignore the lemons; they weren't part of breakfast. The 牛乳包 (niú rǔ bāo) are some sort of steamed bun containing a filling made from milk. I've never seen them so I've never eaten them so I can't say much more about that at this stage. I suspect however, they are sweet. I'll ask later. My friend is a teacher and in class now. I often eat congee and baozi buns for breakfast, but I stick to 肉包 (ròu bāo), pork buns.

Some Highlights of Poultry Blood around the World 2. SOUTH-EAST ASIA Much of SE Asia has been influenced by Chinese cuisine and poultry blood appears there, too. It is often used in noodle dishes in Thailand, home to China’s largest and oldest emigrant population. In Bangkok’s famous Don Wai floating market you wind past pots of congealed duck blood and, should you stop for a bite, among the dishes on offer are noodles with spicy duck blood or plates of stewed blood to have with rice. The spices used are very reminiscent of those in 5-spice powder, showing the Chinese influence. In 2015, chicken’s blood was briefly banned by the Thai government after around 100 people suffered food poisoning in Changmai after eating the popular dish ข้าวมันไก่ (khao man gai, a Thai version of Hainanese Chicken) infected with the bacterium Vibrio parahaemolyticus. After investigating, the authorities announced that the outbreak had been caused by the dish having been cooked then left sitting around for hours waiting for someone to order it. I have few rules about my restaurant eating, but I never eat dishes that are pre-cooked and laid out buffet style in Asia. Khao Man Gai - Image by Calliopejen, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International, 3.0 Unported, 2.5 Generic, 2.0 Generic and 1.0 Generic license. The authorities stressed that the dish, which often contains chicken blood tofu (see above) must only be served when freshly made and hot. A Dr. Sopon Mekthon of the Department of Disease Control confirmed Vibrio parahaemolyticus had been found only in the chicken blood tofu. People could still eat chicken but should avoid blood tofu, which is not sterilised. He also recommended that cooks use separate knives and chopping blocks for chicken blood tofu from other equipment to prevent food poisoning. Neighbouring Laos sensibly prefers its ducks. ລາບ (laab, larb, larp, laap, larp or lahb all are alternative spellings), meaning 'salad', is the national dish in Laos and laab baeng pet or colloquially ‘paeng pet’ is a kind of duck salad with blood. It comes in two versions, cooked or raw. The people of Laos have a love of raw meats and prepare the salad with raw duck meat, not somewhere I advise you to follow. The cooked version of the salad also contains raw duck blood but give it a go. It is an amazingly delicious dish and you’ll soon stop worrying about what you are eating. The dish also contains minced / ground duck meat and copious amounts of fresh herbs. Finished with peanuts, green onions, chopped chillies, and crispy fried shallots, this is a dish to remember. True heroes will cover their dish of laab with freshly squeezed lime juice – the limes are there on your table waiting, then take a raw chilli (also waiting) and dip it into the shrimp paste provided to consume as a chaser. Lab Baeng Pet - licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. In Malaysia, curry mee often contains duck blood, although in some places, especially Penang, they use pig blood instead. Check, if that is an issue for you. The dish is made with rice noodles in a spicy broth with coconut milk and seafood along with cubes of coagulated duck blood. Last but far from least, Vietnam also uses blood extensively. It features in noodles from Hue, the ancient capital, and they have their own version of blood sausage, similar to the French boudin they encountered in colonial times. Blood congee is sometimes eaten for breakfast. But their most famous poultry blood dish has to be tiết canh vịt or duck soup made by mincing duck neck (including the bone) and boiling that with the bird’s liver, gizzards and anything else they find inside except the muscle flesh. It is finished with the duck’s blood which has been kept liquid by the addition of lemon juice and nam pla, fish sauce. The bright neon-red soup also contains grilled onion, saw-leaf herb, basil, lemon leaves, and chilli and is topped with the boiled liver and peanuts. As ever in Vietnam, it will be served with a side of green herbs and lemon. Tiết Canh Vịt - Image by Petr and Bara Ruzicka, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. I miss Vietnamese food so much! ...to be continued

Some Highlights of Poultry Blood around the World 1. EUROPE I guess the most well-known dish to use chicken blood is the French classic, coq au vin, which is traditionally thickened with the cockerel’s blood, although most modern recipes omit it – their loss. In Portugal, they favour cabidela, a dish of chicken and rice, traditionally cooked with the chicken’s blood. It can be the consistency of a pilau or thinner and more like a risotto depending on the cook. For this you want the best quality chicken you can find and afford. And, of course, you also want the blood, which may not be so easy. Get close to your local poultry farmer! Cabidela - Image by Jpatokal, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Sweden has a very old, traditional dish, svartsoppa, literally ‘black soup’ (not to be confused with ärtsoppa, a yellow pea soup.) Svartsoppa is made using goose blood and usually served at a festival on St Martin’s Eve, especially in Skåne in Southern Sweden. It is normally served at the beginning of a full goose dinner with the roasted bird to follow. Svartsoppa - Image by Andreas Nilsson, licensed by Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) In Andalusia in Southern Spain, especially in Seville, you will find la sangre encebollada, ‘blood with onions’, also known as la sangre frita, ‘fried blood’. Traditionally, the ingredients are chicken blood, onions, garlic, white wine, olive oil, black pepper and bay leaf. The congealed blood is cut into small cubes and the onions and garlic poached in the oil until brown, then the blood and bay leaf is added. The pot is stirred and the wine added along with salt and pepper. The wine should cover the ingredients, so if there is not enough, it can be topped up with water. The dish is then simmered until the liquids all but gone. Non-traditionally, pig’s blood is sometimes used as it is easier to source. La Sangre Encebollada - Image by Xemenendura, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license. Staying in Spain, but this time in Valencia, we find sang amb ceba served in tapas bars or as a sharing plate in restaurants. This too is chicken blood with onions, but this time the garlic and onions are fried until half done, then the cubed blood is added along with finely cubed red bell pepper and thyme. It is further cooked until the onion is transparent and then served. Sang Amb Seba - Image by Joanbanjo, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. On the other side of Europe, in Belarus, they partake in chornaja poliwka, a soup made of duck or goose blood and clear broth, while Poland has its czarzina or czerzina as discussed in the last post. Juka is another soup from the Dzūkija region of southern Lithuania. It can be made using goose, duck, or chicken blood. ...to be continued

The Usual Place Gourmet Food for the Discerning Gastronaut STARTERS Soup du Jour – Last few days’ leftovers in hot water. Slow Cured Heritage Beef Carpaccio – Some unidentified meat bought by the proprietor's grandmother before she passed away in 1974. (You don’t think we’re going to waste gas cooking that shit, do you?) Poached eggs on toast – Hand poached from the farmer next door by Dave the sous-commis chef. Dave is toast. Prawn Cocktail – Ha haha hahaha! There’s always one, isn’t there? Fresh oysters – Chucked to order by the head chef Antoine Le Gogeron or, as his friends call him, Tony Smith, winner of 29th prize in the school’s gradualation speling kwiz. Severed with minion et sauce. MAINS Catch of the Day – Whatever our Masie, bless her, found in the depths of the freezer but believe us, she ain’t no catch. Prime Steak – It’s the only frigging steak so it must be the prime one, right? Our delightful wait staff will take careful note of your preference re doneness; the chef won’t. Coronation Chicken – Out of respect, we prefer not to say whose coronation, Victoria! Traditional Fish and Chips – fried to order at the Chinese take-away up the street. Chinese Style Fried Noodles – actually leftover spaghetti from the lunch menu with whatever vegetables are cheapest at Tesco’s and pork. At least they told us it was pork. Tripe and onions – No one has ordered this since World War II, except that Mrs McWhatsit from the next street but Tony keeps it on the menu for a bet. The wait staff are instructed that if she orders it to say it is off and suggest a hamburger then give her directions to McDonalds. Works every time! DESSERT Fruit Pie of the Day – same old apple pie every day. Served with lumpy custard. Extra lumps free on request. French Crèpes – Tesco’s frozen thin crust pizza bases with sugar Ice cream with Fresh Fruit – if Tony can find the can opener for the fresh fruit. Ice cream is artisan made by the local supermarket’s supplier. Cheese platter – Kraft slice served on a cracker with one pineapple lump from Tony’s vintage can. Extra slice of cheese - ₤1 NOTE: A voluntary service charge of 20% will be applied to all bills. Any customer choosing not to pay should apply in person to Big Bill the Bruiser, the door man /bouncer. All mains are served with choice of Welsh organic rice, fries (not sure what they were in their last incarnation -probably not potatoes), or Keenwhah, Queenwaaagh, shit I don’t know, some shit from the jungle in South America). All allergies catered for. You got an allergy we are sure to serve it. Vegetarians are advised to seek assistance next door at Dr. Viande’s Clinic for the Disturbed. We do serve vegans, as a special, every Tuesday lunchtime – with or without barbecue sauce. No children’s menu. Cooking children is illegal.

I'm not sure what saltines even are. I've never knowingly eaten one. Some American invention? Should I try one? Or will that just be another entry for the Disappointing Discoveries topic?

I'd forgotten this topic. For some reason (pandemic?), all my sources of my favourite Portuguese canned sardines in olive oil have dried up. I normally buy them in batches of 30 and when I'm down to the last ten start to panic and re-order. Now I'm down to seven and can't find any more, so I have stopped eating them, because if I do, I'll run out! I'm saving those seven until I don't need them any more.

Isn't that a contradiction in itself?

You can probably buy acceptable-for-a-month, maybe not ideal knives, wherever you go, somethng you haven't mentioned. I'm more imterested in what you may cut than how and then what you do it with. Are you going to fret away your trip worrying about how you cut and not what you cut? i've spent a month and more cutting with a well-travelled Swiss army knife. Dinner was great!