Hi there. I’m Chichi. This picture was taken on a joyous day. I picked up a gargantuan daikon and couldn’t put it down, so there you are.
You’re reading this blog because you love offal. Offal, broadly defined, includes the viscera of animals as well as the other nubby, bony extremities that constitute the entire creature. Or maybe you don’t like that sort of thing at all, but you’re curious.
Either way, I’m really glad you’re here. If I can just convince one person each day to give chicken feet a try, or to buy pork necks instead of pork loin at the meat counter, then I’ll have furthered a cause to which I’m deeply committed.
A host of good arguments support the claim that we should be eating the whole animal: economical, environmental, and philosophical reasons that all make sense. I hope to discuss all of those arguments in turn on this blog. But most of all, I want to talk about taste. I cook offal because it is delicious. Sure, a lot of things on this planet are delicious, but offal is uniquely so. Nothing, and I mean nothing, has the texture of gizzards except, well, gizzards. And I challenge you to find a better cross-section of skin, fat, flesh, and cartilage, than that of the pig’s tail.
Of course, the other half of what I do is write. Writing and cooking are disparate activities – one involves sitting alone at a desk, staring at a blank screen; the other, sinking your hands into flesh and vegetal matter, fat and oil. But in another sense, the two tasks are not so very different. Just as tinkering with a recipe requires patience and a willingness to try various methods and ingredients, crafting a good sentence takes a lot of fidgeting. I’ll spend hours moving around my modifiers, or figuring out how to turn a long phrase with a transitive verb into a concise one with an intransitive verb. Exciting stuff, right?
At the end of the day, I’m usually not satisfied with what I’ve done, but I really love doing it. Every morning I wake up wondering what new texture or taste I can try, and more often than not, doing so will involve offal.
Other things I love, in no particular order: persimmons, A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor, peanut butter and honey mixed together, John Rawls, manual coffee grinders, tofu, and noodles of all types.
And finally, if you want to talk about offal but for whatever reason you’d rather not put it out there on the world wide web, you can reach me at theoffalcook@gmail.com.
For some reason only half of the submit has been displayed, could it be my browser or the site?
Just followed from your article on beef tendon at seriouseats. This idea of writing about offal is intriguing. Keep it up. Have you had the fish kidney at Pam Real Thai?
BTW, I love it when they sell daikon in its undismembered montrous size. Was the picture taken at Mitsuwa by chance?
Hi there! Wonderful idea, but could this truly operate?
Hi Andrew,
I’ve not tried the fish kidney at PMT. I take it that you like it? I’ll have to look into it!
And yes, that picture was taken at Mitsuwa during their annual tuna auction. For some reason the produce at Mitsuwa is always really expensive and not necessarily high in quality. It’s frustrating.
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Hooray! I’m ecstatic that you’ve started your own site. I’ll be following you for sure.
I was disappointed to see your chalkboard fridge page down, but I’m glad you’ve started up this blog.
You are seriously intense on offal. I thought I was being a good Asian soldier, eating wild undescribeable things from animals – you do me all shame. Thanks for stretching my imagination in so many ways!
chichi, can you advise the brand name of the anodized aluminum wok you have pictured in your article searching for the perfect wok and if it is still available?
Thought you wold enjoy this article…
http://www.pasadenaweekly.com/cms/story/detail/zombie_food/9279/
…cheers
Hi Chi Chi,
You are my kind of woman!!
I stumbled upon on your website and it intrigued me no end to see a person enthusiastic about cooking and eating offal and the less common cuts of meat. Keep up the good work and I hope to catch more soon. All the best!!
Hi Chichi. Found your site after reading your piece on lamb fries. I own two beer bars in Oakland, and I just wanted to let you know about a new menu item. Here ’tis:
Rocky Mountain Oyster Po’ Boy sandwich
Fried bison balls on a bun! With creole mayo, lettuce & tomato & fries/catatoes.
Dare You Delite tm
9.75
Sounds mighty offal, eh?
Hi, Chichi. I emailed you over at seriouseats, but thought that I would write here also. I bought some monkfish liver at the grand armory farmers market yesterday. Given your love of offal, I thought that you might have some suggestions on how to prepare it? Got any? Thanks!
Hi,
I would love to invite you over your next trip to Los Angeles to try our Cajun Seafood.
Special ingredients make just the perfect sauce to go with our Live Crawfish or Never Frozen seafood!!!
Stop by or let us know so we can arrange your visit to the restaurant in West Covina.
Best
Fernanda!
The Crawfish Spot
General Manager
626-338-8717
Chichi,
I just ran across your post on cooking a venison neck. This much-maligned piece of meat has always been a favorite of mine, and it has always struck me as odd that some hunters just grind in for burger or give it to their dog. The recipe you used looks good; the cinnamon threw me a bit, but, hey, I’m open minded. I’ve done something very similar with wine and beef stock as the braising liquid along with the usual aromatics and with the addition of juniper berries. Low and slow is the key; the crockpot and necks are practically made for each other. Of late, my favorite use for deer necks has been as a filler for burritos. I usually throw the meat into the crockpot along with a healthy amount of chili powder, cumin, coriander, bay leaf & salt/pepper, a chopped onion and a few minced cloves of garlic. I pour water in to cover and simmer it until the meat falls off the bone, shred the meat and put it back in the pot along with some of the strained cooking liquid- really, really good. Anyway, thanks for your post- keep up the good work!
Your pieces are great. Do you have a hard copy cookbook? I only find some recipes online. My wife is a really fabulous cook, and I am sharing your articles and postings to encourage her to to use even more of what we have available. We have a ranch in Cat Spring, Texas, and all the freshest beef, veal, venison, wild hogs, wild and domestic ducks and geese (and the eggs from the domestic ones), dove, quail, squirrels, rabbits, bass, bluegill, catfish, an orchard with apples, pears, peaches, nectarines, plums, and figs, and a big garden with pretty much everything. You probably have access to anything you want, but if you ever want to try anything we have, including anything exotic like nilgai, antelope, elk, or any of our saltwater fish, say what and where to send it. Just send some recipes for how to cook it.
Hi Chichi. How do I subscribe to your blog? Thank you.
Good Day! Can you put me on your e mail list! I would like to receive e mail from you thank you Larry larnewm@aol.com
Chi Chi, you are my hero!
Another dead blog.
Chi Chi,
My fiancee and I found your blog to be delightfully succulent. Stumbling in and out, and in and out, then back in to your writing these past few days has been deeply stirring to our soul. The passion of the food is titilating to say the least. The meat… soaking, the bones… dripping, the neck… glistening in the warmth of the broth, a moist compliment to a dry wine. Ah. Are you familiar with D.H Lawrence and his poem of the fig? Your writing is so remniscent..” Involved, Inturned, The flowering all inward and womb-fibrilled; And but one orifice”.
Please feel free to email with updates. Details encouraged.
-Chow
I just found your site and love the way you describe your cooking and experiences. Thank you for making my day!
What a great blog! I was wondering if you were the Chichi who used to post on Betsy’s Kitchen Link.