Foods you just don't like

[Darienne]

19 minutes ago, Alex said:

 

Absolutely. Ms. Alex has the name reaction. I'm not a huge fan, but I'll eat it depending on how it's cooked and what's accompanying it. And how fatty it is.

And I would ask...how do you like it cooked?  I must ask my friend...tactfully...how hers is cooked.  (On the other hand, she didn't like my Hot and Sour Soup...which we love...so I've really no worries on that count.)

 

Thanks.  

[liuzhou]

I'm not too keen on pork belly either, which is a bit inconvenient here as it is considered the prime cut here. Too much fat for me. It always amuses me in the supermarket when I see the grannies fight over the bits of pork that most westerners would shun. It is called 五花肉 (wǔ huā ròu) which means 'five flower meat' as the best is said to have five layers- meat, fat, meat, fat, skin.

 

 

 

東坡肉 (dōng pō ròu), Dongpo Pork is a very popular dish from Zhejiang Province near Shanghai. It is basically cubes of pork belly braised in Shaoxing wine. The pork is about 90% fat. I don't go there.

 

Dongpo Pork

 

Edited July 29, 2023 by liuzhou (log)

[Tropicalsenior]

@Darienne if you don't like the fat there probably isn't anyway that you can prepare it that you would like it. It would just be like putting lipstick on a pig. However, I will send you my address in a PM and you can send it on down.

Edited July 29, 2023 by Tropicalsenior (log)

[Darienne]

1 hour ago, liuzhou said:

I'm not too keen on pork belly either, which is a bit inconvenient here as it is considered the prime cut here. Too much fat for me. It always amuses me in the supermarket when I see the grannies fight over the bits of pork that most westerners would shun. It is called 五花肉 (wǔ huā ròu) which means 'five flower meat' as the best is said to have five layers- meat, fat, meat, fat, skin.

 

 

 

東坡肉 (dōng pō ròu), Dongpo Pork is a very popular dish from Zhejiang Province near Shanghai. It is basically cubes of pork belly braised in Shaoxing wine. The pork is about 90% fat. I don't go there Dongpo Pork

 

Probably a good thing that no one can see the look on my face. 

[Tropicalsenior]

2 minutes ago, Darienne said:

Probably a good thing that no one can see the look on my face. 

Nor mine, because I think I just drooled on my telephone.

[Darienne]

Reminds me of the times I walked through the huge eating tents on the fairgrounds in Shiprock NM to buy us some delicious Navajo Fry Bread, past the customers eating Mutton Stew with more visible fat than I could easily countenance.  Fortunately I had better control over my face at that time.  

 

Then we got to Gallup, NM, and I ordered the lamb stew at a local restaurant which catered to the tourists.  I asked the waitress whether or not the stew had a lot of fat on it and she assured me that it didn't.  I love lamb and Ed won't eat it at all.  The stew arrived...and I cut off the enormous chunks of fat from every piece of lamb.  I could only wonder what it might have been like with lots of fat on it.  

Edited July 29, 2023 by Darienne (log)

[Tropicalsenior]

I think the reason that I enjoy the fat is that I grew up on a farm eating only lean pasture fed beef. So when I finally got a taste of marbled beef, it was a real treat for me and I liked the fat on meat ever since. My husband was one that would trim every tiny piece of marbling or fat from his prime rib and it would just kill me because I always thought it would be gauche to grab it off his plate before it went to the trash. Then I got smart. I would leave a little bit of mine and ask to have everything put in a doggy bag for my Pooch at home. And, oh yes, you might as well throw in all that nasty stuff that he left. I'd always have another little feast when we got home.

Edited July 29, 2023 by Tropicalsenior (log)

[liuzhou]

It's not fat per se that I dislike. I don't mind it at all if it is cooked to crispiness. However, here, it is often still gelatinous and the texture is, to me, unpleasant.

 

I regularly eat grilled mutton skewers from Xinjiang where the cubes of flesh alternate with cubes of fat from the animal's tail. The fat is nicely crisp and an interesting contrast to the flesh.

 

 

[Darienne]

57 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

It's not fat per se that I dislike. I don't mind it at all if it is cooked to crispiness. However, here, it is often still gelatinous and the texture is, to me, unpleasant.

 

I regularly eat grilled mutton skewers from Xinjiang where the cubes of flesh alternate with cubes of fat from the animal's tail. The fat is nicely crisp and an interesting contrast to the flesh.

 

 

Now this I can identify with.  I also like chicharrones, a crispy fat you can buy in Mexico or the Southwest of the US.

[Tropicalsenior]

1 hour ago, liuzhou said:

The fat is nicely crisp and an interesting contrast to the flesh.

 

25 minutes ago, Darienne said:

chicharrones, a crispy fat you can buy in Mexico or the Southwest of the US.

Exactly, it's got to be cooked correctly.

[liuzhou]

14 minutes ago, Tropicalsenior said:

 

Exactly, it's got to be cooked correctly.

 

But what constitutes 'correctly' is a matter of opinion.  I wouldn't dare tell the Chinese they are cooking their Dongpo pork incorrectly. They've been doing it their way for over 1000 years.

 

[Tropicalsenior]

4 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

They've been doing it their way for over 1000 years.

When you mentioned that recipe I went to Google and looked it up. It seems to me that the lengthy cooking of it would render out a lot of the fat and that most of the fat would then be in the sauce. Much like the fat is rendered out of chicharones. As soon as I get my package from Darienne I'll give it a try and let you know.

Edited July 29, 2023 by Tropicalsenior (log)

[liuzhou]

13 minutes ago, Tropicalsenior said:

It seems to me that the lengthy cooking of it would render out a lot of the fat and that most of the fat would then be in the sauce.

 

I have eaten (a little of) it. Not all the fat is rendered and the sauce isn't particularly greasy. In fact, I quite liked it.

 

If you really want to replicate the dish, get the fattiest belly you can find. Chinese pigs are raised to be fatter than those in the west.

 

Edited July 29, 2023 by liuzhou (log)

[Tropicalsenior]

4 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

Chinese pigs are raised to be fatter than those in the west.

So far they haven't put ours on a diet yet. Pork is one of the best Meats in the country. And the chickens are allowed to get old enough to put some meat on their bones.

[Alex]

5 hours ago, Darienne said:

And I would ask...how do you like it cooked?

 

Crispy, with an simple rub and complementary sauce (plated underneath the pork). Here's one technique.

[Maison Rustique]

21 hours ago, Darienne said:

A brand new one for me.  A friend gave me two large pieces of pork belly and I just couldn't eat the stuff.  So much fat.  It can't be avoided.   Is this a normal reaction?

 

And I don't think I should give it to the dog who is living with advanced cancer for fear it could precipitate pancreatitis.  We've already lived through one bout of pancreatitis with a dog about 25 years ago.  

Yep. Not a pork belly fan at all. Not a fan of big globs of fat on any food. Well, unless it is butter. 😉

[Tropicalsenior]

I'm wondering how many pork belly heaters love bacon.

[heidih]

2 hours ago, Tropicalsenior said:

I'm wondering how many pork belly heaters love bacon.

I like crispy bacon. I even enjoyed the skin on stuff my dad brought home - but again crisp. I am a chicharon fan. However pork belly has never appealed when people talk iabout the unctuous fat. I have never had it offered to me and no interest in trying. 

[Tropicalsenior]

While I do like pork belly, in order to stay with the theme of the topic there are parts of the pig that I just cannot abide. Head cheese makes me want to gag. There are probably good versions out there but my first experience was some horrible stuff that my mother-in-law made. Since then the very thought of it makes me nauseous.

I'm with Heidi in that when you have something that is cooked to your liking, it makes all the difference in the world. When I get a hold of a particularly lean cut of pork belly I like to cut it in strips and prepare just as I would oven-style ribs with barbecue sauce. It's just like barbecue ribs without the bones.

Edited July 30, 2023 by Tropicalsenior (log)

[Darienne]

I love, love, love bacon.  Sunday lunch is bacon and eggs and toast.  Eggs fried in the way my French-Canadian Mother-in-law fried them.  But the best part for me is the bacon...not crispy please!...put into the buttered toast with slices of tomato.  If I ever get to Scotland, I'm going for a Bacon Butty for sure.  

 

As head cheese, another French Canadian speciality...gah...I'd starve first I think.

 

I once covered myself with shame when a friend serving a group lunch for ladies brought out the pièce de résistance, a jellied pork terrine, and I, obviously shocked and without any thought in my head, blurted out something untoward...can't even remember what I said, except that it was inexcusable and no doubt I turned beet red.   Oh, did I mention that jellied meats are not my favorites?   

[heidih]

2 minutes ago, Darienne said:

I love, love, love bacon.  Sunday lunch is bacon and eggs and toast.  Eggs fried in the way my French-Canadian Mother-in-law fried them.  But the best part for me is the bacon...not crispy please!...put into the buttered toast with slices of tomato.  If I ever get to Scotland, I'm going for a Bacon Butty for sure.  

 

As head cheese, another French Canadian speciality...gah...I'd starve first I think.

 

I once covered myself with shame when a friend serving a group lunch for ladies brought out the pièce de résistance, a jellied pork terrine, and I, obviously shocked and without any thought in my head, blurted out something untoward...can't even remember what I said, except that it was inexcusable and no doubt I turned beet red.   Oh, did I mention that jellied meats are not my favorites?   

i do not care for jellied meats like Sultz. That I have declined when stepmother makes it. I do enjoy warm collagen rich things - like my first husband's grandmothers cows foot soup. I like that lip smack.

[MaryIsobel]

I don't like lamb. There, I've said it. We raised sheep when I was a kid and to me lamb tastes like sheep smell. I've tried it over and over because everyone I know loves it, but it just doesn't work for me.

 

[Darienne]

6 minutes ago, heidih said:

i do not care for jellied meats like Sultz. That I have declined when stepmother makes it.

Sorry I looked it up...

[Margaret Pilgrim]

1 hour ago, heidih said:

i do not care for jellied meats like Sultz. That I have declined when stepmother makes it. I do enjoy warm collagen rich things - like my first husband's grandmothers cows foot soup. I like that lip smack.

Thanks for this!    I adore German and French headcheese as well as Mexican cabeza, and would be up for making my own but sourcing and dealing with a head is over mine.    Hocks I might be able to handle.  

[Margaret Pilgrim]

1 hour ago, MaryIsobel said:

I don't like lamb. There, I've said it. We raised sheep when I was a kid and to me lamb tastes like sheep smell. I've tried it over and over because everyone I know loves it, but it just doesn't work for me.

 

I can understand this.    I don't like American/California lamb because we bring to market too late.    The French harvest when the size of a respectable cat! as do New Zealanders, both of which I enjoy a lot.