Kent Wang

Instead of congee, you could put them in a tofu "salad". Just mix a block of tofu (I think soft tofu works better) with the eggs, maybe toss in some dried shrimp. I usually do this with century eggs, but salted eggs work just as well.

What do these eggs look like? Because I just ate some kimchi (made in Houston) with a small cluster of egg-like things, about the size and shape of smelt roe (the kind you get with sushi). Should I be worried? Or is it like some kind of crustacean paste that is typical in kimchi?

What is an adjumma exactly? This page has a funny, but not entirely clear description. Does that mean that at many restaurants, a woman is in charge? That's quite different from the West.

Thanks. Here's the money quote: Had Pat Curtis, a poultry scientist at Auburn University, been at the tasting, she wouldn't have been at all surprised. "People's perception of egg flavor is mostly psychological," she told me in a phone interview. "If you ask them what tastes best, they'll choose whatever they grew up with, whatever they buy at the market. When you have them actually taste, there's not enough difference to tell." The egg industry has been conducting blind tastings for years. The only difference is that they don't use dish-towel blindfolds; they have special lights that mask the color of the yolks. "If people can see the difference in the eggs, they also find flavor differences," Curtis says. "But if they have no visual cues, they don't." Only one factor can markedly affect an egg's taste, and that is the presence of strong flavors in the feed. "Omega-3 eggs can sometimes have a fishy taste if the hens are fed marine oils," Curtis says. Garlic and citrus might also be detectable. Egg producers, though, don't give their chickens garlic or citrus. They give them mostly soy and corn. "Chicken feed has neutral flavors, so you don't taste a difference in the eggs," she says.

Thanks for posting that. I wonder how it compares to the infusion method. $8 for a gallon of pineapple juice is really good. I think Central Market wants to charge me something like $28 -- though I don't need a gallon if I'm just making syrup. Of course $1 a pineapple is also a whole lot cheaper than the $3 or so prices here, and that's on sale too.

If I have rum infused with pineapple, would it be crazy to make a daiquiri with that and pineapple syrup? Would that just be too one-note, or so pineapple-y that it's awesome? This question seems like a philosophical one. I take it back. It actually turned out pretty good. It doesn't taste that great on its own but with some added acidity and sweetness in a cocktail, it really brings out the cherry aspects. In the same way that strawberry infusion tastes pretty good straight but a whole lot better with some simple syrup -- and same with apples infused in Famous Grouse. I made a substantially modified Ritz Carlton based on the recipe in Vintage Spirits: 5 parts Romate brandy de Jerez infused with cherries 2 parts freeze reduced orange syrup 2 parts lemon juice It was surprisingly good. A lot of cherry flavor; the orange only comes through a little bit and is definitely second-fiddle to the cherry.

For Kent-ucky Derby day, we made mint juleps with each of the grapefruit, pineapple, and orange syrups and they were all awesome. I think I did 4 oz Bulleit to 1.5 oz syrup. Most of the juleps you couldn't actually easily identify what fruit the syrup was, perhaps because of all the mint and bourbon, but damn did they all taste much, much better than using plain simple syrup.

Over in the grenadine thread, I discuss using freeze reduction (aka the icewine method) to make a grenadine. Using that same method I've also made grapefruit and orange syrups. I get fresh squeezed, non-pasteurized juices from Central Market where they have a big juicer, freeze reduce twice or thrice to get the volume down to about half, then add an equal volume of sugar. So it ends up being as sweet as 1:1 simple syrup plus all the sugar of the reduced juice. It seems to keep just as well as simple syrup, lasting several weeks at least. It can possibly last even longer, but I use it all up before then. The grapefruit was interesting to sip on its own but pretty much loses all its character when mixed. The orange syrup, however, was quite a hit. It's an interesting substitute (or supplement) for drinks that have Cointreau or other triple secs. The margarita with orange syrup subbed for Cointreau was quite good: less alcoholic and a lot more fresh orange notes. When you use plain orange juice (say, in a Monkey Gland), it's always quite bland and watery but the orange syrup is so much more concentrated, and therefore more suited to mixing. It's interesting that the freeze reduction method or boil reduction method that you typically use with grenadine are reduction methods while the more common method for pineapple is an infusion: leave pineapple chunks in simple syrup for 24 hours, than strain out. It's an infused syrup, as opposed to an infused spirit, which is a whole other thread. My friends actually tried doing the pineapple syrup recipe described in Vintage Spirits with both the recommended 2:1 simple syrup and 1:1 simple syrup and the latter seemed to taste just as pineapple-y, if not more so. And being not as sweet, you can put twice as much in a drink than the 2:1 syrup. Perhaps it won't keep as long. So that leads me to wonder instead of making a pineapple-infused syrup, what if I did a freeze reduction of pineapple juice? Pineapple is very difficult to juice on your own, but I can get it from Central Market by special request. Or how about a grape syrup, essentially making your own icewine?

Yes, double infusion is the way to go with strawberry. I do about 2 weeks each time. I don't really keep track of it on a calendar though. Wow, I've never thought to try W&NOP. I'll have to give it a shot. I've just been doing Flor de Cana white.

I tried a blackberry infusion for over three weeks. A lot of color was transferred but hardly any flavor -- would not try again. I'm also trying a peach in rum right now. Am I crazy or have I heard of peach in bourbon from somewhere before? Strawberry in rum is still the best one I've done, with pineapple being second. I posted in another thread asking why people did strawberry in tequila (for tequila por mi amante) instead of rum, which is cheaper. Someone replied that the bite of tequila goes well with the strawberry. Now having tried both rum and tequila strawberry infusions side by side, I must disagree. In fact, I find the mellower tones of rum much better suited to the strawberry.

I don't really categorize by anything other than base liquor. Your categories sound good, but being able to have multiple categories (using tags) is key. Perhaps a "citrusy" category is useful, or is that covered by Sours. Is everything that has citrus a sour?

hzrt8w has posted some pictorial recipes with oysters, including a hot pot, as I recall. Do Chinese eat raw oysters? Where do oysters in China come from? Do they grow all over the northern coasts? I wonder if they are a bit less safe than Western ones as I'm wary of the weaker environmental and food protection laws there.

I've been enjoying Korean restaurants here in the US lately and have a few questions about their practices. Do most or all good Korean restaurants make their own kimchi and banchan? Is refilling banchan common? I've been offered refills on my banchan at only a small handful of places. Some restaurants give you so much banchan it's enough of a meal for one person. Would it be acceptable to go to a restaurant like this by yourself and just offer to pay for only banchan? Many restaurants seem to only have really big dishes that need to be split with four or more people. Is it more common in Korea to go with larger groups? Are metal chopsticks common? Being Chinese, I find the disposable wooden ones much easier to use because they're not flat. Are metal bowls common? I hate the sound of metal spoons and chopsticks scraping against them.

I've never been able to tell the difference between a sunny side up egg from the farmers market and grade AA large from the supermarket. I'm talking taste only. Some of the farmers eggs are more orange, but I don't think they taste any differently. Has anybody actually done a side-by-side blind comparison?

I've had sesame oil ice cream, which was quite rich and delicious. And black pepper ice cream, but I think the base was still sweet.

That looks great. I want to try that. Those carrot bits look really small. Did you chop them that small to begin with or did you toss them into a blender afterwards? Did you chill and defat the broth?

Where do you buy gherkins (baby cucumbers)? That's the primary obstacle to me making my own cornichons. Every restaurant in town buys them, and the ones available at the store are pretty good.

You should send these comments to the writer. My friend brought back a bottle of the Death's Door Whiskey from Wisconsin, and it's pretty weird. I'm not sure what to make of it.

Do most customers at Tender sit at the bar, so there's no lag waiting for a waitress to bring you your drink?

Seems quite affordable. I'm excited. The trailer on the Next Restaurant website is quite remarkable.

I don't know what the menus are for NASA missions but I can't imagine it being nearly as good as this. I wonder if all of that (especially the hairy crab and eel) were deboned. Must be a mess to eat that stuff in microgravity.

Wall Street Journal has an article by Mark Schatzker, "Having a Cow About Steak Quality" that actually focuses on the flavor of the meat, and he claims that flavor is not entirely from fat, but actually from the meat, and that a well-raised grass-fed cut is the best. He has a book coming out "Steak: One Man's Search for the World's Tastiest Piece of Beef" so one would assume that this is more researched than your typical WSJ staff written article.

Just like potatoes? Lots of people don't peel those. I don't peel ginger because I'm too lazy and I don't think it makes any difference.

Curious. But does the import market play a role at all? Are there obscure products (I'm thinking Haus Alpenz stuff) that aren't imported to Japan? That the Japanese have access to bourbon that isn't available in America is quite mind-boggling to me, though certainly believable.

I find that a fried egg is good for taking a sandwich into obscene territory. The messiness of the runny yolk also adds to the obscenity, somehow.