# Things that look better than they taste…



## Michi (Apr 6, 2020)

OK, here you go. Do not—_ever_—make this. Trust me. You _really_ don't want to…

Coca Cola chicken:


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## Carl Kotte (Apr 6, 2020)

Beef sandwhich


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## Michi (Apr 6, 2020)

Carl Kotte said:


> Beef sandwhich


That looks good. What's the problem with it?


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## Carl Kotte (Apr 6, 2020)

Michi said:


> That looks good. What's the problem with it?


Do you see any beige?


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## panda (Apr 6, 2020)

hippie chicks


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## soigne_west (Apr 6, 2020)

Michi said:


> OK, here you go. Do not—_ever_—make this. Trust me. You _really_ don't want to…
> 
> Coca Cola chicken:
> View attachment 76073




I've experimented in the past with coke a cola and poultry with good success. Mainly on thanksgiving. Cooking the turkey to 85% then finishing on broil with regular coke in a squirt bottle. Opening the door every 5 min or so to spay the turkey. It actually turns out pretty damn good in my opinion.


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## esoo (Apr 6, 2020)

Michi said:


> OK, here you go. Do not—_ever_—make this. Trust me. You _really_ don't want to…
> 
> Coca Cola chicken:
> View attachment 76073



I've used coke + ketchup as an easy starting point for stuff. Just never diet....


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## labor of love (Apr 6, 2020)

Local burrito place uses coke(soda) in their pulled pork and it comes out fine. I don’t have much of a sweet tooth so I could see something like that getting too sweet too quickly.


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## YumYumSauce (Apr 6, 2020)

Peeps


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## Michi (Apr 6, 2020)

soigne_west said:


> I've experimented in the past with coke a cola and poultry with good success. Mainly on thanksgiving. Cooking the turkey to 85% then finishing on broil with regular coke in a squirt bottle. Opening the door every 5 min or so to spay the turkey. It actually turns out pretty damn good in my opinion.


Well, you are entitled to like what you like 

I tried this out of curiosity just once. What I ended up with was something vaguely like sweet and sour chicken. But the taste was something that belongs into a novel by H. P. Lovecraft…


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## McMan (Apr 6, 2020)

Soda's relatively new globally. It's interesting to see where it ends up... In some cuisines it was a new ingredient. In others it was a replacement (usually starting with ingredients that WWII disrupted access to). 
Some preparations of carnitas use Coke (Mexican Coke--the good stuff in the bottle with cane sugar). It's a bit of a debate... Some restaurants make a big deal of putting it on the menu that they do NOT use Coke. 
Some Filipino dishes use soda--Longaniza uses Sprite for example. Sprite (called "cider") in a few Korean dishes.

I think Dr. Pepper could do well in BBQ sauce... Tamarind soda as a pork marinade... Root beer with Cod...


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## Eziemniak (Apr 11, 2020)

Friend of mine always "brines" chicken in coke for sweet and sour dishes


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## AT5760 (Apr 11, 2020)

I’ve used coke to make ham gravy for almost 20 years. Combined with cloves and black pepper, makes for great flavor.


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## panda (Apr 11, 2020)

McMan said:


> Soda's relatively new globally. It's interesting to see where it ends up... In some cuisines it was a new ingredient. In others it was a replacement (usually starting with ingredients that WWII disrupted access to).
> Some preparations of carnitas use Coke (Mexican Coke--the good stuff in the bottle with cane sugar). It's a bit of a debate... Some restaurants make a big deal of putting it on the menu that they do NOT use Coke.
> Some Filipino dishes use soda--Longaniza uses Sprite for example. Sprite (called "cider") in a few Korean dishes.
> 
> I think Dr. Pepper could do well in BBQ sauce... Tamarind soda as a pork marinade... Root beer with Cod...


my favorite soft drink reduction to use for BBQ sauce is cheerwine

dr pepper i ike to use for glazed ham


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## Michi (Apr 11, 2020)

Eziemniak said:


> Friend of mine always "brines" chicken in coke for sweet and sour dishes





AT5760 said:


> I’ve used coke to make ham gravy for almost 20 years. Combined with cloves and black pepper, makes for great flavor.


Alright, alright. I'll just have to accept that some people have awful taste 

But, rather than bashing on poor Michi, how about some other suggestions of things that look better than they taste? (Personally, I find that quite challenging, actually…)


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## Carl Kotte (Apr 12, 2020)

Michi said:


> Alright, alright. I'll just have to accept that some people have awful taste
> 
> But, rather than bashing on poor Michi, how about some other suggestions of things that look better than they taste? (Personally, I find that quite challenging, actually…)


Tiger prawns! They look delicious but seriously the taste is pretty terrible.


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## Eziemniak (Apr 12, 2020)

Potato hasselback - plain roastie always wins
Cherry tomatoes
Starfruit
Most of the japanese food


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## Keith Sinclair (Apr 12, 2020)

Weird have never had a sweet tooth. Many things are too sweet for my taste. So I would say fancy deserts with lots of sugar


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## soigne_west (Apr 12, 2020)

I’ve found in some* dishes, adding sweetness adds depth to a dish. Same idea as adding acid. Al long as everything is balanced.... I’ll add a little cane sugar to my fried rice if I’m not using sweet soy. Some soups as well. The idea isn’t to make a candied dish, it’s to add complexity.


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## soigne_west (Apr 12, 2020)

Also, edible flowers look amazing but taste terrible


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## Kippington (Apr 12, 2020)

soigne_west said:


> I’ve found in some* dishes, adding sweetness adds depth to a dish. Same idea as adding acid. Al long as everything is balanced.... I’ll add a little cane sugar to my fried rice if I’m not using sweet soy. Some soups as well. The idea isn’t to make a candied dish, it’s to add complexity.


I've never managed to achieve that perfect balance, not as well as those Thai cooks can do it.
I gotta learn how to better use fish sauce and lime juice with palm sugar...


soigne_west said:


> Also, edible flowers look amazing but taste terrible


I know you mean the garnishes, but what about zucchini flowers? They're pretty tasty.


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## soigne_west (Apr 12, 2020)

This is a cook I used to work with who could literally eat anything. Saltine challenge, cinnamon challenge.... couldn’t finish the flowers


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## soigne_west (Apr 12, 2020)

Zucchini and squash blossoms are delicious.


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## Kippington (Apr 12, 2020)

Dude, wouldn't that punnet of flowers be worth more than the $8 bet?


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## soigne_west (Apr 12, 2020)

We some cheap bastards


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## Michi (Apr 12, 2020)

Carl Kotte said:


> Tiger prawns! They look delicious but seriously the taste is pretty terrible.


Do you have an aversion to prawns in general, or just to tiger prawns?

I'm not a prawn connoisseur, so I haven't paid that much attention in the past. But I'm sure I've eaten lots of tiger prawns over the years and never had a thought of "oh, I don't like those prawns as much as usually."


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## Michi (Apr 12, 2020)

I've had green ants a few times on food. They look cool, but I'm not too fussed with the taste, somewhat peppery and sharp.


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## Eziemniak (Apr 12, 2020)

What is it?


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## Michi (Apr 12, 2020)

And another one. Durian is definitely one of those extremely acquired tastes. Some people fall madly in love with it, others recoil in horror. It's pretty though


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## Michi (Apr 12, 2020)

Eziemniak said:


> What is it?


That's goat cheese with green ants.


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## Carl Kotte (Apr 12, 2020)

Michi said:


> Do you have an aversion to prawns in general, or just to tiger prawns?


No just tiger prawns. All the kinds I’ve tried have had an unpleasant sweet artificial taste. I consider them the surimi sticks of the ocean.


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## Keith Sinclair (Apr 12, 2020)

Thai curries may have a little sugar. It is a balance of salt, Chili's, kefer lime leaf, basil, mint, lemon grass. Thai food has great flavors. 

I may add a little raw cane sugar to curry or pasta sauce. I worked decades in Hawaii kitchens. Maybe because it's main export used to be sugar, many cooks dump lots of salt & sugar in the pot. My favorite duo is fresh garlic & ginger.


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## ian (Apr 12, 2020)

Michi said:


> And another one. Durian is definitely one of those extremely acquired tastes. Some people fall madly in love with it, others recoil in horror. It's pretty though
> View attachment 76736



Not sure this qualifies. Look at that thing! And I like the taste... 



soigne_west said:


> Also, edible flowers look amazing but taste terrible



I kinda like nasturtiums.


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## Tristan (Apr 12, 2020)

1. Anything on my home delivery app menu (vs the pictures)
2. Most things in vegan restaurants that aren’t helmed by superstar Chef teams
3. Freak Shakes


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## Tristan (Apr 12, 2020)

Michi said:


> And another one. Durian is definitely one of those extremely acquired tastes. Some people fall madly in love with it, others recoil in horror. It's pretty though
> View attachment 76736


Dude. That fruit is ugly as sin.
But the most glorious food.
I can spend $200 a week during peak season eating the very very best of them.


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## ptolemy (Apr 12, 2020)

ooops wrong thread.


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## F-Flash (Apr 12, 2020)

I nominate that hf gyuto in bst right now!


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## parbaked (Apr 12, 2020)

Mooncakes...except for the savory pork ones from around Shanghai, which taste even better than they look!


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## Ryndunk (Apr 12, 2020)

Ketchup!


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## AFKitchenknivesguy (Apr 12, 2020)

Can't agree with ya OP unless you are really bad at prepping/cooking. Looks good though!


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## Michi (Apr 12, 2020)

AFKitchenknivesguy said:


> Can't agree with ya OP unless you are really bad at prepping/cooking. Looks good though!


What, you mean the Coca Cola chicken? Your right to enjoy and like Coca Cola chicken is unalienable! 

Personally, I think leaving out the coke would make for a good start. And, as a second step, remove the ketchup. Then move forward from there


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## AFKitchenknivesguy (Apr 12, 2020)

Yeah the initial post sorry. My dishes with coke were always good but they were BBQ type dishes. Always balance the sweetness with salt and smoke flavor.


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## ecchef (May 3, 2020)

Eziemniak said:


> ...Most of the japanese food


Really? Where do you eat?


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## Eziemniak (May 4, 2020)

Recently only at home


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## rob (May 5, 2020)

Might cop a beating for this suggestion.

CORIANDER!


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## ayumi_ishida (May 18, 2020)

how about ugly delicious ?
I follow Chef David Chang on Instagram and his food often looks unappetizing , ugly . 
But it's probably delicious .
It's almost as if he's making an extra effort to make the food look bad .


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## ian (May 18, 2020)

ayumi_ishida said:


> how about ugly delicious ?
> I follow Chef David Chang on Instagram and his food often looks unappetizing , ugly .
> But it's probably delicious .
> It's almost as if he's making an extra effort to make the food look bad .



wrong thread.


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## ayumi_ishida (May 18, 2020)

oops , sorry .


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## panda (May 18, 2020)

rob said:


> Might cop a beating for this suggestion.
> 
> CORIANDER!


I always wondered why the rest of the world refers to cilantro as coriander. Then realized America is just dumb when it refers to the seeds as coriander seeds.. so inconsistent!!


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## YumYumSauce (May 19, 2020)

Eziemniak said:


> Potato hasselback - plain roastie always wins
> Cherry tomatoes
> Starfruit
> Most of the japanese food



Dem fighting words


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## YumYumSauce (May 19, 2020)

Michi said:


> I've had green ants a few times on food. They look cool, but I'm not too fussed with the taste, somewhat peppery and sharp.
> View attachment 76735


Sounds very interesting!


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