Delicious, porky, spicy, fatty goodness

I’m in the DC area. Says that lots of grocery stores, e.g. Balducci’s, have it but I’ve been tricked before. I’ll check at my local cheesemonger this weekend.

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I like, almost love oatmeal cookies and occasionally crave granola, but I’ve only eaten oatmeal once or twice and it didn’t do a thing for me. I just don’t like hot cereals or gruel/porridge of any kind.

I was in the hospital in Taiwan and every morning the breakfast was rice porridge (congee) with various packaged toppings like pork floss or shaved, dried fish. There were no other choices and after the first time eating it, I chose to go without breakfast the entire time I was in the hospital.

In Japan, sick people are usually served “okayu”, the Japanese version of congee. I don’t like it, either but will eat “ojiya” or “zosui” which are MUCH more flavorful rice porridge dishes and often made with the leftover broth, etc. from hotpot. And when I was sick, I’d make “okayu” at home with an egg or leftover broiled salmon in it. But in general, I’m not a fan of hot cereals whether they be sweet or savory.

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There is absolutely nothing about oatmeal (hot or cold, sweet or savory, with or without toppings/add-ins) that appeals to me. Same goes for congee.

If I had no teeth and no tastebuds and had overall given up on life, maybe. But we’re not there yet :wink:

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Not a fan of oatmeal cookies or granola either?

Nah.

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I’m with you on the hot oatmeal/porridge aversion - never could gag it down beginning in childhood. I do, however, like oatmeal cookies and will eat oats in granola.

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I don’t eat a lot of cookies, so when I do, I’m picky. Oatmeal doesn’t even make the top 5.

Granola is ok, but I just don’t care for cereal/sweet breakfast in general. Gimme eggs, gimme bacon, gimme cheese… anything non-sugary and substantial.

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For the record, it probably goes without saying, but the form of oatmeal you start with makes and. “Instant” oatmeal doesn’t have a lot in common with steel cut.

Really good granola has always appealed to me, but I am more likely to make it and give it as gifts because nutrtionaly, the risks of the sweet versions can outweigh the benefits.

Currently I am re-trying a bunch of grain recipes I can prep and have on hand, and rolled oats are in the rotation!

My MIL makes a supersweet version of “porridge” with hominy and condensed milk, and it is one of the things on a very short list that I refuse to eat, even as a visitor in someone’s home.

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Congee mixed with pork floss and Chinese pickled cucumbers is a thing of culinary beauty.

Top it with a Thousand Year Old Egg, and you have utter nirvana.

Italian specialty grocers carry it here in Phila and some artisan sausage makers make it.

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YES! Especially cultured, unsalted butter.

And to the oatmeal haters: you’re eating the wrong kind of oatmeal. If you ever have the opportunity to have fermented oats made from a combination of freshly flaked oats and whole groats, or steel cut oats that are freshly ground and cooked, please try them. They are a world away from any pre-cut or flaked oats that sit on the grocery store shelves.
If you can’t get them fresh, the next best ones are Bob’s Red Mill steel cut oats. Acceptable, but still no contest compared to anything freshly cut or flaked.
A pat of butter, a splash of milk, a pinch of salt and a little brown or maple sugar, and you’ve got something delicious.

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I am not a horse. I have absolutely no interest in trying oats, even if they’ve been hand-cut by golden-haired fairies. It’s just not my thing. Never has been, never will be.

At my age I trust myself well enough. More for all the oatmeal lovers :wink:

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I also have strong feelings about risotto - I don’t care for al dente rice porridge.

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I’ll take pasta over risotto any day.

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'Nduja is the cousin (and possibly ancestor) of sobrasada, which I’ve eaten since I was a child. (Have some in fridge right now.)
The problem is once something becomes popular (think ramen, phỏ, harissa, etc.) the improvised variants flood the market to take advantage of the opportunity and it’s hard to find the original one that took decades or centuries of fine-tuning to perfect and make famous. And, if you’re new to it, there is no way to know what you may be missing out on. I’m pretty sure I’ve never had actual harissa the way it’s made in Tunisia, just someone’s interpretation of it.

The one thing I have learned is that if a product says “traditional” on the label, it’s almost certainly not traditional.

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I avoid all 3 unless it’s largely unavoidable, then it’s gaman suru.
The wife eats okayu but can’t wrap her head around oatmeal, cream of wheat, or American-style cold cereals; go figure.

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Well, as long as it’s “authentic.”

We’re lucky to have an incredible Italian market near us (while in Berlin - here, not so much), and one of the first things I’m picking up when we get in will be nduja :slight_smile:

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