Well, I had this all typed out just how I want it and I lost it through the joy of crashing, so let me try and stick it back together again.
Recently, I visited Colorado, and while I was up there I ate at a type of place called a Dim Sum Parlor. I recommend this sort of place to pretty much anyone who likes Chinese food, and even to some who don’t, if nothing else its entertaining.
Anyhow, while there I ate something which has confused me for a while, unfortunately due to the fact that my memory of languages I don’t understand is a little weak I can’t exactly remember the name. IIRC it was either Onishuma or Onushima.
I suppose I can vaguely describe the… meat that was used in it, since it’s the animal the meat comes from that I don’t know. Basically, a (slightly curved) flat strip with flatter (thinner), longer strips covered in goosebump-like bumps coming perpendicular from the wide side on the outside of the curve. It had the consistency and somewhat the taste of squid, but definately didn’t look like any squid I’d ever seen.
Really I was just wondering if any more experienced eaters of foods could tell me exactly what this was to maybe give me a little peace of mind.
Ah, Mearl Dox, that was actually, somewhat jokingly, brought up at the table, however, having never seen nor eaten it, I cannot say one way or the other, but I believe the size of the… well, the whole general thing, the widest part of the strip(s as the whole thing was the same width) was about the same as a staple’s, and the length of the flatter bits was probably 1 1/2 to 2 inches.
I should learn to finish my replies before submitting them. I intended to say the dimensions of it was, I believe, the reason it was only jokingly mentioned.
As **Mearl Dox ** suggests, it might be cow tripe - it’s normally served hot. Did it have a vaguely honeycomb texture on top with a smooth wall about 1/8" thick?
Just wait until you’ve tried the squid tentacles, duck tongues, chicken feet and fish swim-bladders. I kid you not.
Sounds like tripe to me too. Not all tripe has the honeycomb pattern–some of it has that pimply pattern, and some is smooth. I consider myself a connoisseur of menudo, and am quite familiar with beef trip in all its culinary glory.
Well, my girlfriend does speak Chinese, and when I showed her this she said she was 100% sure you were talking about beef tripe.
I’m not sure why you guys would make it a joke anyway. It’s not bad stuff. I mean, not like we’re talking about those little squares of congealed pig’s blood or anything…
I agree with all the other Dopers who have guessed that your mystery meat is tripe. The name, however, baffles me. The one you’ve mentioned sounds more Japanese than Chinese.
Can you tell us anything about how it was prepared? Was it, by any chance, boiled and served with a dipping sauce containing soy sauce and sliced chilies? If yes, I would definitely guess that it was tripe.
Just a thought, OP you said it tasted somewhat like squid. Do you mean that it had a somewhat fishy quality to the flavor? I’m thinking that might indicate sea cucumber rather than tripe? Sea cucumber can definately be brown and goosebumped.
My father’s Taiwanese coworker took my family and I out for Dim Sum. She and her friends ordered in Chinese (we ended up with something like $400 worth of food for 15 people. All was delicious.
The chicken feet were tasty… I liked the sauce but the bony structure was a bit… odd.
I do enjoy dim sum occasionally, but I believe it generally wise never to eat anything I cannot positively identify. This after an unfortunate experience in Japan in which I bit into something that looked like a doughnut but turned out to full of stinky shredded fish.
Oh, and by the way, from that experience (the food in general, not the particular one in question) I’m very fond of Dim Sum parlors, so if any Dallas Dopers out there happen to know of one nearby, please let me know. .)
So, wolfman pretty much all of that looks familiar, but none of it seems to be the food I’m looking for. Oh, and for you and Necros, the restaurant was called The Empress in Denver, right in that area was at least one other Dim Sum Parlor, as I remember having to choose .)
Empress Jolrael: As best I could tell it was steamed or boiled, and it was served in a sauce, my best guess would be that it was black bean sauce, but it wouldn’t be too terribly surprising if I were wrong.
Anyhow, I’ve been looking at images of beef tripe served in dim sum style, none of it looks quite right so far, I’ll look for things of Bippy the Beardless’ suggestion and check back in a little later .)
