Comments on: Tuna Shakes and Cucumber Sausages http://www.saltshaker.net/20060128/tuna-shakes-and-cucumber-sausages Casting a little flavor (and a few aspersions) on the world of food, drink, and life Tue, 06 Jan 2009 23:58:12 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.5 By: dan http://www.saltshaker.net/20060128/tuna-shakes-and-cucumber-sausages#comment-258 dan Sat, 18 Mar 2006 13:08:13 +0000 http://www.saltshaker.net/20060128/tuna-shakes-and-cucumber-sausages#comment-258 Cluvy over on eGullet finally responded as having recognized this as what he/she knows as <em>old cucumber</em> or <em>lao huang gua</em> (literally <em>old yellow melon</em>). Punching that into a google search yielded a few descriptions of, but no other photos. I'm afraid I didn't use it for soup and I peeled it. My bad... From asiafoodpix (on which the pix are all broken links...which sort of defeats the purpose I'd think): Cucumber ............................................................ <em>Cucumis sativus</em> Cucumber is usually eaten raw. The tips may be bitter in taste and often discarded. Keep fresh in a bucket of water. An orangy brown variety known to the Chinese as Old cucumber, or Lao huang-gua, is used almost exclusively for soups. Usually cut into sections and not peeled. <center>—————</center> I did find an interesting photo when I plugged in "old cucumber" to google images at <a href="http://umami.typepad.com/umami/2004/08/" target="_blank">U M A M I</a> who used a very similar looking, if shorter, <em>lao huang gua</em> to make tea! <center>—————</center> Plus I found another very similar one at a <a href="http://www.nam-kee.com/gourds.htm" target="_blank">trading company</a>. Cluvy over on eGullet finally responded as having recognized this as what he/she knows as old cucumber or lao huang gua (literally old yellow melon). Punching that into a google search yielded a few descriptions of, but no other photos. I’m afraid I didn’t use it for soup and I peeled it. My bad…

From asiafoodpix (on which the pix are all broken links…which sort of defeats the purpose I’d think):

Cucumber
……………………………………………………
Cucumis sativus
Cucumber is usually eaten raw. The tips may be bitter in taste and often discarded. Keep fresh in a bucket of water. An orangy brown variety known to the Chinese as Old cucumber, or Lao huang-gua, is used almost exclusively for soups. Usually cut into sections and not peeled.

—————

I did find an interesting photo when I plugged in “old cucumber” to google images at U M A M I who used a very similar looking, if shorter, lao huang gua to make tea!

—————

Plus I found another very similar one at a trading company.

]]> By: SaltShaker » Blog Archive » Salsa! http://www.saltshaker.net/20060128/tuna-shakes-and-cucumber-sausages#comment-161 SaltShaker » Blog Archive » Salsa! Thu, 02 Feb 2006 13:27:08 +0000 http://www.saltshaker.net/20060128/tuna-shakes-and-cucumber-sausages#comment-161 [...] If you’ve been reading along, you’ve met the other two important ingredients, my bizarre cucumber and Korean melon (on the left in the photo, more details by clicking on the links). The word salsa here just simply means sauce, so I’m using it more in the sense that we gringos do. When I was growing up I’m not sure that salsa existed in our world of awareness. It first came to light probably either through Taco Bell (remember when they only had one “mild” hot sauce and it actually seemed spicy?) or perhaps in a jar from El Paso foods, used to make nachos at home. Gradually it became part of the vocabulary and meant a pureed red or green hot sauce. Somewhere down the line it became ubiquitous in the American restaurant world in the form of some sort of mix of chopped fruits or vegetables, flavored with hot peppers and herbs, and served alongside some sort of meat. I’m using it in that sense. [...] [...] If you’ve been reading along, you’ve met the other two important ingredients, my bizarre cucumber and Korean melon (on the left in the photo, more details by clicking on the links). The word salsa here just simply means sauce, so I’m using it more in the sense that we gringos do. When I was growing up I’m not sure that salsa existed in our world of awareness. It first came to light probably either through Taco Bell (remember when they only had one “mild” hot sauce and it actually seemed spicy?) or perhaps in a jar from El Paso foods, used to make nachos at home. Gradually it became part of the vocabulary and meant a pureed red or green hot sauce. Somewhere down the line it became ubiquitous in the American restaurant world in the form of some sort of mix of chopped fruits or vegetables, flavored with hot peppers and herbs, and served alongside some sort of meat. I’m using it in that sense. [...]

]]> By: SaltShaker » Blog Archive » Korean Melon http://www.saltshaker.net/20060128/tuna-shakes-and-cucumber-sausages#comment-159 SaltShaker » Blog Archive » Korean Melon Mon, 30 Jan 2006 16:05:49 +0000 http://www.saltshaker.net/20060128/tuna-shakes-and-cucumber-sausages#comment-159 [...] Buenos Aires - Coreatown provided more fun produce in the form of what I’ve at best identified as a “Korean Melon.” There seem to be several different types, and the English translation is usually just rendered simply. Occasional additions like “Golden Liner” or “Golden King” are added to it, and the Cook’s Thesauraus site refers to it as the dua gan, though when I search on that phrase I come up with photos and descriptions of a very different type of melon, so I’m not placing any bets on that particular name. These are a little bigger than a softball. The flesh inside is very crisp and fresh tasting, not overly sweet, although it could just be that these are not fully ripe, as most descriptions I’ve seen of them tend towards a sweeter, more perfumey style. It’ll pair nicely with my off-beat cucumber in its salsa tonight or tomorrow. [...] [...] Buenos Aires - Coreatown provided more fun produce in the form of what I’ve at best identified as a “Korean Melon.” There seem to be several different types, and the English translation is usually just rendered simply. Occasional additions like “Golden Liner” or “Golden King” are added to it, and the Cook’s Thesauraus site refers to it as the dua gan, though when I search on that phrase I come up with photos and descriptions of a very different type of melon, so I’m not placing any bets on that particular name. These are a little bigger than a softball. The flesh inside is very crisp and fresh tasting, not overly sweet, although it could just be that these are not fully ripe, as most descriptions I’ve seen of them tend towards a sweeter, more perfumey style. It’ll pair nicely with my off-beat cucumber in its salsa tonight or tomorrow. [...]

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