Korean Job Discussion Forums

[mnhnhyouh]

I am a reasonable cook, and enjoy walking through the markets looking for stuff I have never cooked with before.

However, I am wondering if there are some poisonous foods out there that need to be treated in the correct manner before eating?

Rhubarb in western markets springs to mind for an example closer to home.

And what are all the bundles of sticks, some with thorns, for?

h

[cruisemonkey]

[blaseblasphemener]

we used to have rhubarb growing in our backyard, and my mom cooked it for pies. How is it poisionous? Didn't know that.

[Matilda]

From my understanding, only the green rhubarb leaves are poisonous. The yummy red stalks are delicious for puddings and pie!

[mnhnhyouh]

The leaves are poisonous, but the stems are not.

h

[Sina qua non]

Fugu!

I saw this Simpsons episode once.

Be careful; you could die.

[mnhnhyouh]

Yeah, I did see the Fugu fish in a tank outside a resturant.....

h

[rednblack]

mnhnhyouh.
My wife said there is nothing to worry about. Nothing like Rhubarb etc.
Regarding the 'sticks'. They are for adding flavour to a dish, mainly soupy style meals. She adds a couple when making sam-gae-tang, along with a few other bits and pieces.

[mnhnhyouh]

[bixlerscott]

I am new here in Korea, but I do indeed recognize the puffer fish for sale in various street markets. I do not know if they already cut out the poisonous part, but these are whole fresh fish for sale.

This fish looks very slimy, often brown in color, flattened looking, and has a tenacle feeler thing protruding out the top front of its head. Pretty gory and nasty looking thing.
I understand that it is very awesome to eat though, have not tried it yet.
I also understand that cooks go to school 5 years to learn how to prepare and cook the puffer fish properly as to not kill, yes kill, the diners. Cafeful, you could kill yourself very easily with this fish to my understanding.

[mnhnhyouh]

I think the whole fish is poisonous, but some parts are more poisonous than others.

h

[Boodleheimer]

[frankly speaking]

When cutting the puffer fish there is a gland that can get nicked when slicing the meat. A well trained chef can easily prepare the fish though. Personally I didn't find it all that appealing especially compared to the exaggerated price. I will stick to tuna and salmon.