Eating food past its expiration date

I've just eaten yogurt that has 'expired' 2 days ago. Two days is the maximum number of days that I'd go eating yogurt past its best by date. I know someone who has eaten yogurt 6 days after it expired but she said it was still fine and she didn't get sick because of it.

I got curious and wanted to know what 'best by' or ''expiration date' mean and what other foods I can eat past their expiration dates since it makes me feel really bad throwing away foods, especially if they are still ok to be eaten.

Check this site if you are curious, too. Seems like there is nothing to worry about eating yogurt a few days after its expiration date.

Boiled Chicken with Mashed Potatoes and Carrots and Green Veggies

In my previous post about Samgyetang, I mentioned that sometimes Mike and I eat the boiled chicken with rice but since Mike likes potatoes I serve samgyetang in a slightly westernized way.

Click here for the boiled chicken recipe.

As you can see from the picture above, I don't mash the potatoes and carrots to 'baby-food' consistency. I add
parmesan cheese,
a little milk,
freshly-ground pepper,
a little salt and
a little butter to enhance the taste.

What makes this dish even better are the steamed green veggies (broccoli and string beans).

Samgyetang (Ginseng Chicken Soup)

Samgyetang is traditionally a summer food for Koreans because the dish is supposedly full of nutrients which is ideal to replace those that are lost through excessive sweating or physical exertion during the warm days here.

Here are the ingredients that I use:

one whole chicken

dried jujube fruit

garlic, minced

ginseng root (fresh or dried)

water

I put the ginseng, garlic, dried jujube fuits and the chicken in the pot. I fill the pot with water, usually the water is just barely covering the whole chicken.

I bring the water to a boil with a high heat then I reduce the heat to low and simmer the soup for 45 minutes to 1 hour or sometimes 1 hour and 15 minutes (or just until the meat is so tender it easily falls off from the bones, which is what Mike likes), depending on how much time I got before we need to eat lunch.

I don't add salt to the soup. Surprisingly, the chicken tastes just fine without it. Mike likes to dip the chicken in a salt and ground pepper mix.

The chicken is traditionally boiled with sesame seeds and other medicinal herbs (dried or otherwise). Some boil the chicken with glutinous rice inside the cavity of the chicken, others don't.

I used to prepare samgyetang with rice but when I tried cooking it without rice, Mike and I find that we like it better without the rice. If we want rice with it, I cook the rice separately

Samgyetang is cooked and served in various ways and my version is slightly different and westernized. Mike told me that this is his favorite dish because of its simplicity in tems of preparation but very satisfaying to the palate.

As you can see from the picture above the chicken is not in a pot with the soup. This may sound wasteful but I discard the soup. Mike and I just like the chicken by itself.

Click here and here to know more about preparing samgyetang.

Do you eat frog legs?

The other day I wrote about turtles and frogs being sold in the Meat Section of a supermarket in Shanghai, China. I thought frogs were a delicacy in just a few countries but apparently I was wrong. According to this article an estimated 11,000 tons of frog meat are sold in international trade each year.

That is 200 million to 1 billion frogs! Where are all these frogs coming from?

When I mentioned this to Mike he said frog legs are delicious and better than chicken. I've never had frogs and I don' think I'll ever eat one especially now that researchers are saying that if the trend of frog consumption continues, future generations may have to just visit a museum to see what a frog looks like.

I consider this an 'extreme cuisine', something only someone with a 'brave palate' can eat. There are so many extreme cuisines out there and some are actually considered aphrodisiacs like the testicles of some animals.

I wonder why people eat these 'extreme cuisine'. If you have eaten or if you eat something that can be considered extreme cuisine, share what it was/is , why and how's that taste.

The Year of the OX-2009

If you're into Chinese Astrology here's a snippet of what your future holds if you were born in the year of the ox.

'In 2009, the Oxen will be given many opportunities to further your plans and goals, as well as consolidate your position. Steady progress is the position where the Ox is most comfortable and that is where you will find yourself this year. You will also have a chance to impress and gain support from those around you. This is a good year to enhance your skills and add to your repertoire with added training or study. You will be satisfied in knowing that anything you do this year will repay you in this year and the years to come. The months of May, late August and September may mark a change in your career.'

Click here to know more about Chinese astrology.

I was born in the year of the Dragon and I'm glad to read my career is going in an upwards direction. :-D

"The Dragon's career may be one of the more positive aspects of the year. This will be a year of reasonable progress. Even though the Dragon may have some distinct ideas on what you want to accomplish, 2009 will disclose conditions that you will have to adapt and overcome. You may have to adapt and work with others to gain what you want, rather than doing things in your own independent style. With care and effort, you can make considerable progress and improve your position, but your true gains will be with experience and skills you acquire this year that will prove invaluable in the future."

Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year or Spring Festival is, according to wikipedia, "the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. It is often called the Lunar New Year, especially by people in mainland China and Taiwan. The festival traditionally begins on the first day of the first lunar month (Chinese: 正月; pinyin: zhēng yuè) in the Chinese calendar and ends on the 15th; this day is called Lantern Festival. Chinese New Year's Eve is known as Chúxī. It literally means "Year-pass Eve"

The Chinese community in the Philippines also celebrate the Chinese New Year. I remember watching parades where people in lion or dragon costumes dance. I call it Dragon Dance. Some friends who are of Chinese descent would give us rice cake (glutinous rice) or nian gao or as we call it in the Philippines- tikoy. And some people would greet me 'kung hei fat choi!'.

Here in Korea it is also a very important holiday. They have 3 days off from work. People here celebrate the holiday with their loved ones. Some Koreans I know had to go to the countryside where their parents live. Giving small red envelopes is very common here. And I was told that tukguk (rice cake soup) is a popular dish during this time.

Mike has a few days off work and some of his co-teachers took advantage of the long holiday to go travelling to other cities here in Korea or outside the country. Mike and I are spending the holiday at home by watching movies and taking walks. We have planned to go outside the country sometime in the near future so we don't want to spend too much before that.

And since it is one of the most, if not the most, important holiday in Taiwan, I have a a longer vacation than Mike. I teach online for a school based in Taiwan and I was told by the students that the national holiday lasts for nine days (including the weekend). Mike starts work tomorrow but I don't until the 31st- that is if I decide to work on a Sunday.

Some of my Taiwanese students have told me that since their country is still quite superstitious, a lot of them decorate their houses or apartments with anything red - supposedly to drive away evil. They also arrange flowers and oranges (the fruit). They make sure that the house is thoroughly cleaned, their debts paid and to some extent, especially the young, wear new clothes.