I have never eaten stomach. Like many of my “Tasty
Tuesday” experiences with taboo foods over the course of my “I have never...”
year, eating stomach is not something I ever intended to do. That stated, in my
pursuit of learning more about different cultures and their cuisine, I knew I
would be trying a lot of strange foods during the course of my year of new
experiences. Although eating stomach was not on my initial list of such foods,
I decided I would try pork stomach when I came across several dishes containing
the organ while perusing the menu at a local Asian restaurant, Fugu, during my
previous experience eating kidney. As a result, I tracked down an open “Tasty Tuesday” in my “I
have never...” calendar and set aside time to experience eating stomach for the
very first time.
Ehhhhhh.... |
With the breadth of new experiences I have taken on
as of late, the evening of my encounter with pork stomach came much faster than
I anticipated. After making plans to meet my circus arts and unicycling friend,
Cory, at Fugu for a meal this evening, Rachael and I headed down to the
restaurant and settled in for the meal. As we waited for Cory to arrive,
Rachael and I poured over the expanse of options available in the menu, doing
our best to isolate the dish containing pork stomach that seemed most
appealing. Eventually, that resulted in us determining the spicy pork stomach
would likely offer the fullest and most tolerable experience with the food,
which set up my new experience for the evening.
After waiting a bit for Cory to arrive, we ultimately
placed our orders with our server. Given the theme for the evening, Rachael
decided to be slightly adventurous with me by ordering an obscure octopus dish,
and Cory followed suit by ordering pork hoot, a form of elbow meat, when he
arrived at the restaurant. As planned, I stuck with my order of pork stomach
and did my best to avoid any presumptuous thoughts as we waited for the food to
arrive.
Well, here we go... |
A little conversation about recent experiences and
forthcoming events was enough to carry us through until our server returned
with our dishes. As she set my plate of stomach down in front of me I was quick
to cautiously look over the meal. The sight of the long, thin strands of
stomach meat initially set me back in my seat. The pale brown pieces of organ were
each lined with two layers of stomach interior, and their appearance made it
obvious the food maintained a springy texture. Although nothing about the meal
looked appealing, I knew I couldn’t let my visual assessment of the stomach
deter me from my goal. As a result, I closed my eyes and worked through the now
familiar process of preparing myself for the unknown.
After working through my remaining hesitation, I
plunged my chopsticks into the dish and lifted a piece of stomach before my
face. As the piece of organ hung before me it separated slightly, revealing a
stringy binding material holding the layers of the stomach together. It was
disturbing, but I couldn’t let it stop me from following through on my
objective. Realizing it was time to act, took a deep breath and brought the
chopsticks toward my face. With a hint of reluctance in my voice I muttered, “Well,
here goes nothing,” before placing the stomach meat into my mouth. Almost
immediately, a blend of spices and a savory, almost fatty, flavor rolled across
my tongue. To my surprise, the texture of the pork stomach wasn’t as rubbery as
it appeared, and the taste was more than tolerable. It was actually quite good.
Shocked... and disgusted |
The first taste |
As the meal progressed, I felt my aversion to the
idea of eating stomach slowly waning with each tasty bite of my meal. While the
feeling didn’t disappear entirely, the taste of the food was enough to
overwhelm any lingering hesitation I had about the pork stomach. In turn, I
picked away at my plate until I was feeling full. By the time our meal drew to
a close, I had eaten more than half of my meal, which speaks to the taste and
quality of pork stomach. After eating the meal, I can honestly say I understand
why many cultures use pork stomach as the anchor to many dishes. It offers a unique
variety of flavors I think many Americans would actually enjoy if we could work
past our stigmas and picky eating habits. That is saying a lot considering the
way I felt about the food leading up to tonight’s experience. I had assumptions
that were completely wrong, and I was only able to figure that out by taking on
the task of trying something new.
Finished |
Tonight’s experience eating pork belly was a good
reminder of the ways my judgment can lead to some baseless, and altogether
incorrect, expectations about the unknown. Like several of my previous
experiences trying new foods many would define as inedible, eating pork stomach
proved to me there is plenty to be gained by breaking down our assumptions and
trying something new. Sure, tonight’s experience was a simple meal prepared by
a local restaurant, by the little lessons I can take away from experiences like
the one I had tonight provide more than enough impetus to keep exploring the
unknown. With a little more than 100 days left in my “I have never...” year,
those small sources of motivation will go a long way in seeing this journey
through, and that will only serve to make me a fuller, more cultivated person.
Well I was googling the internet trying to figure out what the hell pork hoot is because, ironically, I found it on the menu for Fugu. Your post has elucidated the thought. Apparently only Fugu uses this whole term across the internet. Cool blog of trying a new thing every day. I may use it to research new things to do around Madison.
ReplyDeleteThanks!