qagh

[melmaqngan]

IIRC, snails that are destined for escargot are first placed on a bed of moist cornmeal for a few days, the rationale being that the cormeal will fill their insides while expelling/scrubbing out the more unpleasant stuff. Now I'm wondering if the same technique can be used on earthworms, mealworms, nightcrawlers, etc.

BTW, does anyone know if the worms used on reality shows are cleaned beforehand? They look pretty filthy to me.

 

[SoplaHtaHwI']

IIRC, snails that are destined for escargot are first placed on a bed of moist cornmeal for a few days, the rationale being that the cormeal will fill their insides while expelling/scrubbing out the more unpleasant stuff. Now I'm wondering if the same technique can be used on earthworms, mealworms, nightcrawlers, etc.

BTW, does anyone know if the worms used on reality shows are cleaned beforehand? They look pretty filthy to me.

Don't know/don't care about the reality-show worms, but I have it from a cook (have not tried it myself) that what you described does indeed go for any crawly... (not Crawley 8-)

[KAllen]

Thats why they put crawfish in salt water before you boil them...so they will "purge".  Then you pop them in boiling water...alive of course.

[Kesvirit]

Someone recently told me a third-hand story of a woman who was served lobster at a very upscale restaurant. When the woman “dug in” (I’ve never eaten lobster, so I don’t know the procedure), the lobster started struggling and the woman fainted. I wish I knew what followed.... Smelling salts? An ambulance? A lavish apology from the manager and free seafood dinners for life? A lawsuit? The one time I was confronted with a weakly wigggling crawdad on my plate, I held it up and said, “Grandpa, this one’s not done yet.” “What? Oh. Here, gimme that.” He plopped it back into the pot and that was the end of the matter.

quoth yours anonymously upthread:   As to the ethical issues, well, what qualifies as food is largely culturally determined. A snack popular South Korea consists of dipping a live baby octopus in sesame oil and swallowing it. They don’t have much flavor, but the fun is in the fight as you try to swallow while it holds on to your face for dear life. In comparison, mere gagh is suitable only for small children and invalids.

Here’s a video to inspire you, starring two Canadian English-language teachers and their guides out for a supper of Seoul food.  {peSop!} (Eat up, y'all!)

[Ky'lath]

Shrughs, I've never had the good fortune of eating real Gagh, however I have eaten an earthworm. It tasted okay... I swallowed it whole and such. Everyone else at my school retreat was grossed out beyond all telling. They screamed like little babies.
(And yet they ate the... whatever it was... the kitchen was preparing. Quite franky the worm was better eating.)

[torqey]

I'm a vegetarian (wierd for a Klingon, I know) so what's the best way to make gagh meatlessly? Obviously, spaghetti springs to mind, but is there a way to make it more realistic? No, it does NOT need to taste like real gagh.

[Qunchuy]

Spätzle comes to mind.

[ghel'rIq]

In my researches of gagh recipesn (ones that can be made to eat thar resemble what is seen on the screen), I have noticed that they pretty much all use noodles (Japanese Udon mainly). This has caused me some confusion. Whilst I understand that noodles pretty much resemble in look of serpent worms, my thoughts are that serpnt worms are in fact animals, so there for shouldnt a replica dishbe made using somsort of meat product?

[Kehlan]

I imagine it would if you want authenticity over just looks.  However, most things that are of animal origin and yet look like gagh arent something you'd probably want to actually eat.

On the subject of edible imitations though I was in Vienna (austria) on holiday and had a dish which reminded me very much of gagh.  They shredded some onions into long fine strips and then battered and deep fried them..  They were delicious but really looked very gagh like. I did take a photo and will try to post it at some point.

[qoSagh]

I ordered what was supposed to be live scallop at a sushi restaurant once. It was not worth the price. What it really was was freshly killed scallop. It was thinly sliced sashimi style, with thin slices of lemon in between. Had no real difference in taste but even that was masked by the lemon. To cap it all off, it obviously was not moving.

[Kaz Son of Maktan]

Has anyone else seen shows lately showing a Korean delicacy of live octupus! Wow! Yeah, they're not serpents, but I have seen two shows recently that made me think immediately about gagh.
In Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations, he visited a Koreatown restaurant where they had a live whole octupus garnished overa bevy of (cooked) seafood. They later cut the tentacles and ate them with a little hoisin sauce as they still wiggle around. In another food show, kendo practitioners (Japanese fencing) in Korea took their American compatriot to a restaurant to a participate in a ritual they do before a tournament. They take a small octopus, wrap it around a pair of chopsticks, and shove it in their mouths and chew away. As I recall, it was a test of strength and a sign of good fortune before they battled the next day. Oh yeah, on rare occasions people have choked to death because they didn't chew hard and fast enough before the suction cups kept themselves anchored in the mouth...now that's a warriors food for you! One you must fight and best or it'll kill you

[K'Voth]

That actually sounds strangly enjoyable to be honest.

[qoSagh]

I saw the episodes. It did look interesting. So the fact remains, who will be the first among us to eat this at a fan table at a con in full ridges?

[Kaz Son of Maktan]

I would love to be there!

[a'Noi N'gurl]

Does anyone know the name of the sauce gagh are 'cooked' in?  I need the Klingon name.

Thanks you,
a'Noi N'gurl (aka QuarksBarB)
http://www.quarksqantina.com/00home.html

[ter'eS]

ghevI'

I know it sounds like "gravy". What can I say, Marc Okrand likes his puns.

[Khartan]

Does anyone know the name of the sauce gagh are 'cooked' in?  I need the Klingon name.

Thanks you,
a'Noi N'gurl (aka QuarksBarB)
http://www.quarksqantina.com/00home.html

You are presumably referring to the reference in Klingon for the Galactic Traveler, where it is suggested that " the worms are poured into a bowl of thick sauce which contains an extremely flavorful herb which the worms find very delicious, and devour, even though it is toxic to them, and kills them within minutes."  That is the only mention I know of such an additive, and no name is given for it there. It may or may not be the same as  Grapok Sauce http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Grapok_saucel

[ter'eS]

"Perhaps the most representative Klingon food, certainly the one best known outside of the Empire, is gagh (or, in Klingon qagh): serpent worms in a thick sauce (called ghevI')" Marc Okrand, Klingon for the Galactic Traveller , p. 86

 

edited to add:

I don't know what you're talking about, "no name is given for it there". The name ghevI' is in the same sentence you quoted! The same paragraph also tells us that, if you have any qagh left over (not likely in my house!), you can save the qagh in the ghevI' and heat them up the next day, and that is called thlIq.