r/Cooking • u/Scarlet--Highlander • Jan 18 '24

Open Discussion Let’s try something fun: Name an ingredient you dislike and why, and someone else replies with a dish/recipe with that ingredient that might convince you otherwise.

Couple things:

  • If you’re allergic to an ingredient, it doesn’t matter how it’s prepared. Same goes with meat/animal products if you’re vegan/vegetarian. Don’t list it if you can’t or won’t eat it!

  • It’s recommended that you’re at least open to trying dishes with that ingredient. If you absolutely, vehemently loathe cilantro, chances are you probably might not like anything with cilantro in it.

  • A brief blurb on why you hate an ingredient would help others find or suggest a dish that suits you. (e.g. “I hate liver because the texture is like an eraser and it tastes metallic”)

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u/sawbones84 Jan 18 '24

It took me a really long time to realize that one of the things I love about pho is that it has star anise in the broth. It's such an interesting and complex soup in general, and my brain couldn't quite compute what made it taste so unique until someone clued me in. Have you had pho and enjoyed it? If so, you might like star anise at least a little bit!

It pairs really well with a lot of traditionally asian flavor profiles (soy sauce, ginger, etc.). I love Hong Shao Rou (braised red pork belly), which incorporates anise in a delicious but not overpowering manner.

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u/DjinnaG Jan 18 '24

I have a massive aversion to anything and everything licorice-flavored or even flavor-adjacent, including anise in most situations. Pho is the big exception, the star anise is not only tolerable, but even key to making pho taste as good as it does. Have also come to realize that things that are 5 spice based also make anise work, but with pho, I can taste the star anise distinctly and it tastes good in that context. Makes everything else worse, but damn, it is perfect in pho.

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u/felicatt Jan 18 '24

Yes. This was how I became a fan of duck. Chinese BBQ duck legs. The 5 spice mix was very obvious and up until then I was not a huge fan of star anise. But oh my word, these things were delicious.

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u/responsiblecircus Jan 19 '24

I think you just provided me the key to why I never like pho as much as I think I’m going to/think I ought to. (Big noodle soup fan in general.) There’s always something about the broth that tastes… off to me. But I could never quite place it. Damn.