Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

The first time I spotted these on Wikipedia, I swore I'd never try them, and that's saying something because I love trying new weird foods from other cultures. But you really have a talent with words concerning food, because now I really want to try a "diluted" version sometime just to see what it tastes like! I'll have to hunt down a restaurant in Chinatown that makes a dish with this in it!

And as a side note, I've been reading your column non stop between calls at work since I found it yesterday and I love it! I'm like you in that I love to go to ethnic grocery stores and try new things. It makes me want to go out and buy some new stuff soon. Thank you!

mmm heart stoppingly delicious looking burger

My family has always eaten them in a tofu 'salad' - cubed silken tofu, cubed pidan, a handful of spring onion and pork floss, topped with a little soy sauce and sesame oil. I remember as a kid being a bit leery of the way it looked, but having grown up with the taste, I love how creamy and rich it tastes, and it provides a good contrast to the other ingredients in the dish (sometimes I still cringe a bit looking at it). I don't think I've ever noticed a smell, however.

if it's your first time to try it i'd have to agree with some of the posteres here: try it with congee.. lessens the shock to your tastebuds.. ;p

with regard to the egg tasting like [blue] cheese.. i'd have to disagree.. this has a more musky(?), rather than moldy, flavor..

it also goes well with instant noodles.. ^_^

I've had rattlesnake. I did not find it particularly adventurous. But if it is for you, then yeah, this may be a bit outside of your palette.

If you do want to try it, it's probably a lot easier to start out with it chopped into congee.

I hate to be a born in a tiny Midwest town and never gotten off the continent girl but ok I am. I thought this was a Jell-O type thing with a kiwi. I swear that is what it looks like until you really look at it and scroll down. I will eat nearly anything including rattlesnake and I love sushi but this item scares me. I love to learn about new things but I can smell it when I look at the picture and it does not smell good:) so thank you brave explorer of everything for going where I fear to tread but want to read.

economyrice: but back to essence of chicken -- i do reckon it's the most approachable of the lot. some of the other "high octane" stuff i've been fed over the years has been pretty vile!

super-compressed high octane broths! they're an acquired taste - some friends can't stand them. essence of chicken is probably the least 'strange' of the whole lot. my favourite is essence of cordyceps sinensis with bird's nest, warmed up in a bowl of hot water (usually on mornings of exams :) )