Recent Comments

From Serious Eats

Celebrating Japanese Food at the CIA's Worlds of Flavor Conference in Napa

ArtSpats, just telling it as it was for that moment.

HMW, not nitpick-y at all. Thanks for catching those. We'll get that fixed. Agree that "tsukau" means use, but my understanding is that it ultimately means to stimulate at the same time.

From Serious Eats

Mobile Chowdown 3: Seattle vs. Portland Street Food

Thanks for all the comments, everyone!

Extramsg, I don't disagree with you at all. Our cities can't - at least for now. I'd LOVE to see the best quality carts/trucks from each city be at the same event - in equal numbers. But luckily there's the start of mobile food here in Seattle, and I think we'll be getting more as time goes along. I only hope it can approach the quality and quantity of what you're lucky to have in Portland!

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'Japanese Hot Pots'

Pho is a favorite when feeling under the weather, or just wanting something tasty and quick!

From Serious Eats

Weekend Book Giveaway: 'Asian Dining Rules'

I'd been hearing a lot about a new "KFC" (Korean fried chicken) in Federal Way (WA), so I took a trip to Cockatoo’s Chicken Restaurant.

It might seem I was drunk, but really it was a case of brain-lock induced by being lost in the Korean-ness of it all. Having ordered some deep-fried wings (with ultra-spicy sauce that didn’t disappoint) and some stir-fried chicken gizzards, I wanted a healthy side dish, and asked the server about the "Seasoning Pupa." (My "poop-a" mispronunciation, itself unappealing, masked the real meaning.)

"That’s hard, uh, to, um, explain," he said, struggling with his English. My dining companion and I played twenty-one questions, and he told us what it wasn’t: meat, vegetable, fruit, noodle, or grain. But not what it was. Best he could explain, "pupa is popular…a traditional Korean food." When he answered yes to our "Is it healthy?" question, we shrugged our shoulders and decided to try it.

The dish came quickly. At first glance, we thought "pupa" were beans floating in a red hell-sauce. If only. From the body curve and markings, we realized these weren’t beans. "Is this some sort of insect?" we wondered aloud. "Yes, insect!" our server screamed excitedly…and ten minutes too late.

Consider this our Bourdain or Bizarre Foods moment. Pupae ("pyoo-pee"—still sounding like a bathroom function) are silkworms, and have a slight crunch with some air pockets. They taste a bit bitter, slightly nutty, and certainly earthy—like something that’s slithered in the sand or somewhere similar. And certainly not popular, at least on this night, as no one else was eating them.

See more comments by Jay Friedman »

Recent Posts

From Serious Eats

Celebrating Japanese Food at the CIA's Worlds of Flavor Conference in Napa

From Serious Eats

Mobile Chowdown 3: Seattle vs. Portland Street Food

See more posts by Jay Friedman »

Recent Favorites

From Serious Eats

Celebrating Japanese Food at the CIA's Worlds of Flavor Conference in Napa

See more favorites by Jay Friedman »

Recent Polls

Jay Friedman hasn't answered any polls yet.

Recent Quizzes

Jay Friedman hasn't taken any quizzes yet.

Recent Comments

From Serious Eats

Celebrating Japanese Food at the CIA's Worlds of Flavor Conference in Napa

ArtSpats, just telling it as it was for that moment.

HMW, not nitpick-y at all. Thanks for catching those. We'll get that fixed. Agree that "tsukau" means use, but my understanding is that it ultimately means to stimulate at the same time.

From Serious Eats

Mobile Chowdown 3: Seattle vs. Portland Street Food

Thanks for all the comments, everyone!

Extramsg, I don't disagree with you at all. Our cities can't - at least for now. I'd LOVE to see the best quality carts/trucks from each city be at the same event - in equal numbers. But luckily there's the start of mobile food here in Seattle, and I think we'll be getting more as time goes along. I only hope it can approach the quality and quantity of what you're lucky to have in Portland!

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'Japanese Hot Pots'

Pho is a favorite when feeling under the weather, or just wanting something tasty and quick!

From Serious Eats

Weekend Book Giveaway: 'Asian Dining Rules'

I'd been hearing a lot about a new "KFC" (Korean fried chicken) in Federal Way (WA), so I took a trip to Cockatoo’s Chicken Restaurant.

It might seem I was drunk, but really it was a case of brain-lock induced by being lost in the Korean-ness of it all. Having ordered some deep-fried wings (with ultra-spicy sauce that didn’t disappoint) and some stir-fried chicken gizzards, I wanted a healthy side dish, and asked the server about the "Seasoning Pupa." (My "poop-a" mispronunciation, itself unappealing, masked the real meaning.)

"That’s hard, uh, to, um, explain," he said, struggling with his English. My dining companion and I played twenty-one questions, and he told us what it wasn’t: meat, vegetable, fruit, noodle, or grain. But not what it was. Best he could explain, "pupa is popular…a traditional Korean food." When he answered yes to our "Is it healthy?" question, we shrugged our shoulders and decided to try it.

The dish came quickly. At first glance, we thought "pupa" were beans floating in a red hell-sauce. If only. From the body curve and markings, we realized these weren’t beans. "Is this some sort of insect?" we wondered aloud. "Yes, insect!" our server screamed excitedly…and ten minutes too late.

Consider this our Bourdain or Bizarre Foods moment. Pupae ("pyoo-pee"—still sounding like a bathroom function) are silkworms, and have a slight crunch with some air pockets. They taste a bit bitter, slightly nutty, and certainly earthy—like something that’s slithered in the sand or somewhere similar. And certainly not popular, at least on this night, as no one else was eating them.

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'Fat'

Red-cooked pork belly. Gotta leave the fat on...why do some people trim it?!?

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'My Last Supper'

My last meal would be at a favorite small sushi place in Tokyo. Lots of uni and maguro and other favorites. Afterward, I'd step outside and break out a bar of a favorite chocolate.

From Serious Eats

Seriously Delicious Holiday Giveaway: Bacon of the Month Club

I've just switched from crisp to pliant, to better appreciate the fat.

From Serious Eats

Photo of the Day: Giant Soup Dumpling

I had one of these at the famous Nanxiang xiao long bao place in Shanghai. The wrapper isn't anything special to eat... it really is about the broth. Given that, I really like the regular xiao long bao better - and those are better in Taipei than in Shanghai, from my experience.

See more comments by Jay Friedman »

Recent Favorites

From Serious Eats

Celebrating Japanese Food at the CIA's Worlds of Flavor Conference in Napa

See more favorites by Jay Friedman »

Polls

Jay Friedman hasn't answered any polls yet.

Quizzes

About Jay Friedman

Website:

Location:

About:

Favorite foods:

Last bite on earth: