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Emily Koh's Profile

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Location: New York, NY

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Favorite foods: Tonkatsu, bananas, Fage yogurt, char siu bao, octopus, Korean food

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The Ten Most Recent Posts By Emily Koh

From Required Eating

Sampler Platter: From the Serious Eats Team

Items you may have missed from the Serious Eats universe ...

  • Cocktail connoisseur Paul Clarke has put up entries for the Mixology Monday logo contest — voting ends Friday, May 9, at midnight Pacific time. [The Cocktail Chronicles]
  • Sandwich man Zach Brooks thinks the best breakfast sandwich (er, burger?) is at Goodburger. [Midtown Lunch]
  • Chicago correspondent Michael Nagrant looks at the kinks in the tipping system at restaurants. [Hungry Mag]
  • Cooking with Kids contributor Matthew Amster-Burton would rather have to not make a decision when dining out and hand himself over to the chef's whims. [Roots and Grubs]
  • Dinner Tonight contributor Blake Royer celebrated Cinco de Mayo with huevos rancheros for brunch. [The Paupered Chef]
  • Snapshots from Vietnam contributor Cathy Danh makes use out of such great-looking squid to make some mi xao muc (pan-fried noodles with squid). [Gastronomy]

From Required Eating

In the News: Next Gen Farmers' Markets; n00b Wine Novices; U.S.-Russo Sandwich Wars

Wither Green Acres? Will the next generation of farmers' market growers continue the green revolution or will the markets gradually disappear? [LA Times]

Under the Influence: Some wine aficionados are looking like "dupes and twits" who are easily swayed by marketing. [New York Times]

Cold Cut War: U.S. and Russian navy sailors went head-to-head in a sandwich-making competition. [BBC]

Clown Suits: The new U.K. McDonald's uniforms—do they make Mickey D's "swankier"? [Times Online]

Under Siege: Australia's wine industry is facing price hikes, poor quality, and plummeting sales. [Times Online]

From Required Eating

Look Who's Talkin': Recent Comments We Have Known And Loved

The useful, thoughtful, and funny discussions in Talk keep us clicking, reading, and grinning. Looking back at the week past, here's just a handful of our favorite threads and comments.

Look Who's Talkin'Tuna. In a Can. Love it or Hate it?
"Every year I mix up a wonderful tuna salad that everyone I make it for loves, and every year I eat about 2 bites before I swear I will never do this again! So in answer, NO CANNED TUNA!!! thank you" – huney_bumper

Favorite Food Network Show and Chef
"I used to have a crush on Tyler [Florence] until he got puffy in the face." — charm city cupcake

Emotional attachments to kitchen appliances
"Tonight I parted company with my electric range... The family who got it will certainly love it as much as I did, and it will be cared for. And I'm doing it no fever by hanging onto it without using it. It needs to be used. But that still doesn't help the fact that I'll miss it." — beth1

Frog Legs?
"Are you insinuating that the senior citizen frogs, like their human counterparts, are fattier and crabbier - hence more fishy tasting, and thus undesirable? Where's Gomer Pyle when I need him?" — PerkyMac

Is there a such thing as too much fried potato?
"I'm not so much a fan of french fries, but if it's normal fried potato, I believe there is no such thing as too much. Kind of like friends, the more, the merrier." — Schnauzer_Mama

From Required Eating

There's a Cobbler Joke in Here Somewhere

Are you a cook... or a shoemaker?

In Michael Ruhlman's The Elements of Cooking, a shoemaker is defined as kitchen slang for an untalented cook. Chef David Cruz of the Napa restaurant Ad Hoc would like to add this distinction: "Shoemaker indicated someone who didn't care, who, in the heat of service, simply slapped food on a plate, wanting only to get the night over with, to get the food out the door and go home." I wonder what bad shoemakers are called... (If you want to know how this term even came about, a commenter explains its origins.)

From Ed Levine Eats

Hungry? $1 Jumbo Hot Dogs in Chinatown

Most people cite Gray's Papaya for good hot dogs, but if you're looking for more bang for your buck, your best bet is in Chinatown at Jumbo Hot Dog, where you can get a filling hot dog for 92¢ ($1 once you add tax). Cheap Ass Food crunched some numbers for comparison on their last visit: Gray's dogs are 5 inches in length and 5/8 inches in diameter, while this quarter-pound jumbo wiener clocks in at 6 inches and 1.25 inches in diameter. Onions, relish, and sauerkraut cost an extra 25¢ each. Our man Ed Levine stopped by two years ago and wasn't too crazy about them. Perhaps it's time for a second visit, Ed?

Jumbo Hot Dog

Canal Street and Bowery (map)

From Required Eating

There's Something Fis... Er, Beefy Going On

usbeef.jpgThe U.S. beef ban over mad cow disease concerns may have been lifted in South Korea last month, but how does it look when even officials aren't willing to eat imported beef on TV?

When the free trade agreement (FTA) talks between South Korea and the U.S. were under way in 2006, Trade Minister Kim [Jong-hoon] ― who was the chief negotiator ― said he was willing to eat imported U.S. beef "as a citizen." But he declined to reply whether he would eat the beef on TV. Later, Kim expressed uneasiness about journalists' questions on food safety and test eating.

[Assistant U.S. Trade Representative] Wendy Cutler, who was the chief negotiator for the U.S., was also noncommittal on the eating of beef here.

When Korean netizens' demanded for her to eat the "bone-containing" U.S. beef at a warehouse of Incheon International Airport during her stay in Korea in March 2007, she just said, "I'll consider it."

Presidential spokesman Lee hinted that President Lee is not considering test eating of imported meat "in Seoul."

If it's just beef, and it's supposed to be safe beef, what's the big deal? The Korean government's official line is that the President has eaten U.S. beef when he visited George W. Bush during his visit last month, and this is the same beef that will be exported to Korea. The U.S. Department of Agriculture even held an emergency press conference for Korean correspondents in Washington in an attempt to quell fears over U.S. beef safety. Although most of it seems to be misleading information dispersed by both media and the Internet, we all know how fast panic can spread. Will officials surrender themselves to public demands? [via ZenKimchi Korean Food Journal]

From Required Eating

In the News: Baskin Robbins co-founder passes away; Chinese KFC's special menu

From Required Eating

US Patent for Common Mexican Bean Revoked

enolabean.jpgThe United States Patent and Trademark Office recently revoked the patent for the common Mexican bean. Officially named the Enola bean, a man named Larry Proctor in the 1990s claimed to have invented it after selectively breeding some beans he bought in Mexico. Turns out that this "unique" yellow legume is actually preeetty similar—identical, in fact—to the Phaseolus pinto bean, also known as the azufrado or Mayocoba bean, which is commonly planted by Latin American farmers. Hmm... [via Boing Boing]

From Required Eating

Sampler Platter: From the Serious Eats Team

Items you may have missed from the Serious Eats universe ...

  • Baking maven Dorie Greenspan discovers the joy of using a mortar and pestle.
  • Sandwich man Zach Brooks has the first look inside Hallo Berlin Express in midtown NYC, set to open May 7 or 8.
  • Chicago correspondent Michael Nagrant has a photo slideshow of food-related pictures from Artropolis, Chicago's modern art fair.
  • Sunday Night Soup master Gurgling Cod takes a look at some issues concerning Yelp and its reviews.

Continue reading »

From Required Eating

Look Who's Talkin': Recent Comments We Have Known And Loved

The Ten Most Recent Comments By Emily Koh

From Eating Out

Serious Sandwiches: The Aussie Burger

Has anyone tried it at Eight Mile Creek down in SoHo?

From Ed Levine Eats

A Guide to Bakeries in Manhattan's Chinatown

Awesome write-up!

A lot of the bakeries also take half-off the leftover goods after 7:30 pm or so. I mean, they're already cheap as they are, but if you happen to be in the area... All I remember is that I used to drop by Fay Da after work last year when I lived by Chinatown and pick up loaves of bread for less than $1. :)

From Talk

ssamjang. can i marinate chicken with this sauce?

Mmm, ssamjang. This doesn't really answer your question, since this would still be used as a condiment, but I've mixed it with a bit of soy sauce (or balsamic) and used it as salad dressing. I wonder if you could even use it as a sandwich spread (maybe mixed with hummus)? Too stinky?

Hmm, maybe I'll experiment now and find out if it'll taste really weird...

I've tried marinating chicken in it before too, but I couldn't really taste it as strongly.

From Eating Out

Fort Worth, Texas: A Serious Eating Tour

That fideo looks... dare I say... amazing?!

From Required Eating

Meet & Eat: Emily Koh

Lemons are OK -- they've definitely grown on me. Lemonade... eh, let's just say I'll drink it if there's absolutely nothing else and I'm parched. I think my whole deal with citrus stuff is that the smell just reminds me of Pine-Sol or fabric cleaners, heh.

From Required Eating

Photo of the Day: Piggy Pastries

Real pork buns! Mwaha.

From Slice

Top Ten Crazy Asian Pizza Crusts

All this Asian pizza exposure this past week has brainwashed me into thinking that some of these might actually be really... um, tasty. I'm even willing to "forget" that I'm lactose-intolerant for the sake of taste-testing. You know. Take one for the team. Yeah...

I mean, c'mon. Cream cheese crust? Mochi crust? COOKIE CRUST?! Yum (?).

From Talk

Would you rather give up coffee or pasta?

I'd definitely choose the pasta, but here's another "would you rather" type of question that my friends and I find ourselves pondering:
Choose one to give up: chocolate, wine, or cheese.

Responses to Comments by Emily Koh

From Eating Out

Serious Sandwiches: The Aussie Burger

Pineapple has no place on a burger! But I'd say (as an Australian) beetroot has as many fans as it has haters. Plus that restaurant you mentioned seems like one of those upscale burger joints that have been opening all over - touting their rather expensive burgers as a healthy option. Real heads know it's the local fish and chip shop that brings the goods.

From Eating Out

Serious Sandwiches: The Aussie Burger

To answer your question, yes, I can assure you there are LOTS of things greater than the breakfast burger...

From Eating Out

Serious Sandwiches: The Aussie Burger

Ruby's in NYC makes Aussie style burgers! I haven't been there in years, but I'd love to go back and see how it is.. :)

From Eating Out

Serious Sandwiches: The Aussie Burger

I remember these from when I lived in Oz -- a 'Burger With The Lot' -- cheese, pineapple, beetroot, bacon and a fried egg plus the usual lettuce, tomato and onions...

From Required Eating

Meet & Eat: Emily Koh

Emily Koh's friends love going to Emily for all of their food outing recommendations :)

From Ed Levine Eats

A Guide to Bakeries in Manhattan's Chinatown

@mandabear
It seems a lot of Chinese buns can fall under the category of pan dulce! Mexican buns and bo lo bao both resemble kinds of pan dulce. Related, perhaps?

From Ed Levine Eats

A Guide to Bakeries in Manhattan's Chinatown

@ chinowitz: Yeah I know. I wrote pineapple buns with egg custard filling.

From Ed Levine Eats

A Guide to Bakeries in Manhattan's Chinatown

Be aware that 'pineapple buns' (bwolwo bao) normally do not have egg custard filling as you have depicted. The egg custard filled buns externally look the same as the 'pineapple buns' but are called 'guy yeung bao' -- not sure what that is in English.

From Ed Levine Eats

A Guide to Bakeries in Manhattan's Chinatown

@ fuuchan - I don't know why Mexican buns are called that but they DO look a lot like the buns I find at panaderias. Pan dulce?

From Eating Out

Fort Worth, Texas: A Serious Eating Tour

Caros...the restaurant I miss the most from Fort Worth. The tostadas make the most excellent nachos. A plate of bean & cheese nachos with a couple of their margaritas...doesn't get much better!

And they're not new...they've been there for years & years...just down from TCU on Bluebonnet Circle.