"Parts"

[Dejah]

Ben: Dejah, are you sure that the "octopus" you bought off the hook at the bbq racks was not cuttlefish?

You are probably correct, Ben. The sign said Baby Octopus. Do you know the recipe for this.. I think it is called "lo mai"?

Wongste:I think anyone who comes from a culture with a tradition of eating the "parts" should be duty-bound to uphold this tradition. Whether you like it or not!

I will gladly uphold this tradition, although I don't think my kids will;-)

I made tofu stick soup with sliced pig stomach, another of my favorite soups.

[Ben Hong]

Dejah, if the octopus you bought were tiny things, they are indeed octopus. However, there is always one or two orangey/yellowish coloured cuttlefish that's hanging with the ducks and soy sauce chicken. They are quite large, about a foot long and shaped like a deflated football.

As to pork stomach and bean curd stick soup, if you put gingko nuts in it, I'll be sure to stop by this fall.

[Dejah]

Dejah, if the octopus you bought were tiny things, they are indeed octopus. However, there is always one or two orangey/yellowish coloured cuttlefish that's hanging with the ducks and soy sauce chicken. They are quite large, about a foot long and shaped like a deflated football.

As to pork stomach and bean curd stick soup, if you put gingko nuts in it, I'll be sure to stop by this fall.

Ben, You are right...they ARE cuttlefish. I'd better inform the ladies that their labelling is incorrect ! Do you have a recipe? It doesn't have a strong flavour, but it is so good with a chili/soya dip.

I do put gingko nuts in the soup. Had a vacuum pack of fresh ones so in they went.

My kids say they taste like rubber tires. They eat the pork (not stomach) and the tofu, but not the rest.

[Pan]

I do put gingko nuts in the soup.[..]My kids say they taste like rubber tires.

[Ben Hong]

Dejah, I rarely buy the cuttlefish, as I don't think that they're worth the effort to chew or the money spent in the purchase. I think that your kids got it wrong, it's eating cuttlefish that feels like you're eating a rubber tire.

While we were in Toronto last week, we ate some fantastic meals and had some great snacks at the noodle shops and dim sum places. I grossed everyone out when I ordered pigs' intestines (chitlins)and stomach, but what the hell do they know. It's too bad my jook sing son wasn't with us, as he is his father's son when it comes to food.

[maukitten]

Hmm ... my fave parts :

- pig's liver cooked in black soya sauce - there's a very delicate fine line between getting it just right and getting it leathery, but my mum's a pro at this

- pig's kidneys cooked in ginger and sesame oil

- pig's lungs fried with pineapple

- and finally, what I thought was pig's intestines all this while, but I now understand are pig's fallopian tubes stir-fried in any way

- and chicken intestines with chicken rice (a bit of a rarity nowadays).

:-)

Maukitten

[Laksa]

Dejah, I rarely buy the cuttlefish, as I don't think that they're worth the effort to chew or the money spent in the purchase.

You don't like cuttlefish? You've obviously never had Joo Hoo Eng Chai (Cuttlefish Kangkong), a Malaysian specialty. I don't know how they do it, but the cuttlefish becomes so tender, almost like jellyfish, that even a toothless granny would have no problems. Okay, maybe I exaggerate re: granny but it's still tender.

[v. gautam]

Ben,

Would you please consider creating a new thread describing your favorite Chinese restaurants in Toronto? Your experience and knowledge would make this most valuable for those trying to choose among Toronto's many good Chinese places.

Thanks in advance

gautam

[trillium]

... they gave all the "best" parts to the coolies... the guts, the feet, the heads, the liver, tails etc..........

I know we all love the "parts"... but let's be honest - they are objectively speaking not the "best" parts of the animal. They often have an odour that needs to be treated with spices, and they are often tough, so requiring a long cooking time.

Kudos to our poor ancestors who invented, through necessity, ways of making meals from scraps and discards. I think anyone who comes from a culture with a tradition of eating the "parts" should be duty-bound to uphold this tradition. Whether you like it or not!

I don't think cooking time should be a consideration when it comes to defining "best" per se. You have to cook tongue a really long time, but I think it can taste just as good as a grilled t-bone. Some of the toughest cuts have what I'd call the "best" flavor! I do understand your point about odors and offal though.

regards,

trillium