wherein Liz experiments with cilantro

[edenfalling]

I just made myself some scrambled eggs on toast and topped one of the slices with a little fresh cilantro, to see what on earth it tastes like to me.

Conclusion: I do not taste soap or mud, which I think are the two most common negative reactions, but I can't say I particularly like the flavor. It's kind of like... well, there's a hint of dandelion and/or plantain -- sort of mixed-field-greens -- but mostly I think it tastes like non-bitter parsley. And I don't much care for parsley either, so there you go. I have tried it; it's not my thing.

I have removed the cilantro and am now eating the eggs on toast. Because eggs on toast. Mmmmm. :-)

Comments

[heliopausa]

Definitely mmmm... for eggs on toast. (But then, sliced fresh tomatoes on toast are pretty good, too, and... it's breakfast-time, and why am I loitering here over a laptop?! - exits, with speed :D )

[edenfalling]

Enjoy your breakfast! :-)

[redwolf]

Not a fan of coriander (cilantro) in general; it tastes like perfumed parsley to me, but my one exception is on Vietnamese rolls. It works on them.

[edenfalling]

Common American usage is to say coriander when referring to the seeds of the plant, and cilantro when referring to the leaves -- at least when talking about spices and cooking. I guess we make the distinction because the two parts of the plant are used in very different styles of cooking.

Anyway, I have never eaten Vietmanese rolls of any type. What are they made of, and what do they taste like?

[redwolf]

It's just a meat and salad filled bread roll, but yum! They're also called Banh Mi. Here's a write-up specifically on the pork rolls.

Local place bakes their bread rolls on site. The chicken is a favourite not dissimilar to the linked recipe. Fresh bread roll, buttered with mayo, thin sliced cucumber, coriander, lettuce, shredded chicken, grated carrot, chilli and soy sauce. It's a reasonably simple bread roll, but they taste incredible. Perhaps they're sprinkled with crack.

As soon as it hits lunch the local shop (an offshoot of Hong Ha mentioned in the pork roll article) has a queue out the door, but they'll have you served in five minutes.

[edenfalling]

Hmm. I'm not completely sure those would be safe for me to eat -- I am moderately allergic to raw carrot and strongly allergic to raw cucumber, and it doesn't look like the pickling process in those recipes is anywhere near long enough to unravel the proteins my body reacts to the way kosher dill pickling does -- but they definitely sound worth trying! I'd just have to be sure to take Benadryl beforehand, which is what I do so I can eat BLTs despite being allergic to raw tomatoes. *wry*