Amazing Race 13 recap 8: Kazakhstan makes Bizarre Foods look tame

by Jamie Rhein on

India was easy compared to Kazakhstan–sort of. This week’s Amazing Race 13 was a glance into some of the more unusual aspects of Kazakh culture. As teams sped through the streets of Almaty, even though much of the city looked western and urban with architecture that reflects its former Soviet Union ties, the teams experienced more of Kazakhstan’s agricultural tradition than perhaps is apparent in Almaty daily life.

I’m not sure how much more I learned about Kazakhstan, but I do know what not to order in a restaurant. Plus, Borat made this country famous, something the teams referred to when they found out this is where they were heading.

Travel Tips:

  • If you’re a vegetarian don’t attempt to eat the rear end of a sheep
  • If you make a mistake, the quicker you admit it, the faster you can make up time
  • If you ask people directly for help, you’ll have much better luck than just randomly shouting out, “Can someone give us directions?”

Cultural traditions and Recap: If you find yourself in Delhi and want to head to Kazakhstan, there are three options: through Frankfurt; through Dubai; and through Moscow. In the Amazing Race, it doesn’t matter which flight you are on because when your team shows up to the Alel Agro Chicken Factory in the middle of the night, you’ll have to hang out until 7:30 a.m. when it opens. That means the team that went through Dubai (Andrew & Dan) had time to get there by the time the gate opened. As a bonus, the sunrise over a chicken farm was lovely.

Once the gate opened, the first task of the day was the mad dash to the clue box. Nick, in true competitive spirit, snatched a clue right out of Andrew’s hand, thus propelling Nick & Starr towards the Fast Forward with Terrence & Sarah close behind.

While these two teams tried to down soup made from the butt end of a sheep as belly dancers danced, the other teams donned white jumpsuits, masks, shoe coverings and gloves in order to find one of seven golden eggs among the 30,000 chickens that were milling about the chicken shack.

As the chickens clucked and pecked, one person from each team cajoled the chickens to move in order to find one of the prized eggs. As the team members searched, the other team members clutched their masks to their faces and shouted encouragement. Although I wondered about the stench, I’d rather have done this then the Fast Forward.

Downing the soup was a dreadful process that probably Andrew Zimmern of Bizarre Foods would have had trouble with. Both Nick and Starr tried not to barf with each bite while Terrence tried not to barf as soon as he eyed the guy eating the sheep’s head. Terrence, a vegetarian hadn’t eaten meat for 15 years.

Sarah gamely scarfed her gross looking soup down, but it was too much for Terrence. Why they didn’t give up sooner? I have no idea. Instead, they watched Nick and Starr almost make it to the last bite before they headed back to the chicken factory to look for their golden egg. I was curious about what else the restaurant served. Here’s a link to other food descriptions that sound much better, except I would not want to eat sheep’s head.

As soon as each team found their golden egg, they hopped into a giant crane truck with a driver who was to take them through the city to Koktobe Arch at the foothills of the Tienshan Mountains.

Dallas & Toni were off to the foothills first, while Dan & Andrew had the worst luck–again. Their driver had no idea where to go, and in their resulting miffed state, the guys had a hard time attracting positive energy and someone to give them directions. Instead they thought that the Kazakhs were the “worst people,” even though people in this country have a reputation for their great hospitality.

Toni and Dallas made it up the mountain first. There they were met by Mongol warriors dressed in traditional warrior attire riding on horseback. One of the warriors was a falconer who waited with them for a falcon to sweep in with the next clue held in its claws. That was cool. And, there was a brief glimpse of the beauty of the surrounding mountains. No time to linger, though.

Once teams got their next clue from the falcon, it was off to either dress up in a two person cow suit to find a glass of milk while walking through Almaty mooing at people, or to learn how to play a simple tune on two Kazakh instruments. Each team picked dressing up like a cow –even Sarah & Terrence once they backtracked from their failed attempt at the Fast Forward.

The cow costumes were part of a children’s puppet theater troupe. Dallas & Toni had a great time with their mooing and met with many laughs and smiles from the people they passed. Andrew & Dan, growing weary of each other, had a hard time getting people to help them with directions by continuing their poor tactic of yelling out something like, “Can someone help us?” It took awhile for them to attract help.

Tina & Ken found the milk stand fairly quickly, Tina downed a glass she found on the counter even though it was warm. Unfortunately, she didn’t notice the clue on the bottom of the glass. Off this pair went, searching for another milk stand before they figured out their mistake. Back to the stand they went to get their glass. Then they made the mistake of taking off their cow suit at the puppet theater before heading to the meat stall in the Zelyoniy Bazaar, even though, Toni & Dallas, seeing them, told them they needed the cow suit. The meat market person wouldn’t give them Tina & Ken the clue, so back they went to change into the cow suit once more.

By this time, Toni & Dallas had already found their last clue and were heading to the Pit Stop at Old Square where they came in second behind Nick & Starr.

By the end of the episode excitement ensued as Dan & Andrew messed up and took a cab to the Pit Stop from the meat market. Phil sent them back so they could return to the Pit Stop on foot. He told them to hurry. They hustled. The hustling paid off.

Who was eliminated?: Sarah & Terrence. Despite Sarah & Terrence’s success with each task once they gave up in the Fast Forward, it wasn’t enough for them to edge out Andrew & Dan. Andrew & Dan were ecstatic to find out they were still in the game.

Although disappointed, this couple who uses endearments for each other in about every sentence took the loss in stride. Terrence just can’t eat meat. It’s as simple as that.

Words of Travel Wisdom: Saying things like “Good job my love,” makes difficulties easier to take. Even if you don’t win a million dollars, traveling with the person you want in your life can give you great things and make a relationship stronger. Money can’t buy happiness. (It could help though, don’t you think?)

What Nick and Starr won: Horsepower wave runners. This is the first time a team has arrived at the Pit Stop in first place four times in a row.

Personally, I’d like another team to come in first once in awhile. I was also sad to see Terrence & Sarah go. I’ll miss hearing their endearments.

Where spices come from. A tour of a spice plantation in Goa

by Jamie Rhein on

If you’re in a region of the world where spices are grown, take in a tour of a spice plantation. On last Tuesday’s episode of Bizarre Foods, Andrew Zimmern went to a one in Goa.

Here is a video of a tour of a spice plantation in Goa (there are several) that points out the highlights of the various spices and how they are grown. The text captions tell what you’re seeing. Along with the close-up shots, are views of the entire plants. In the mix, there is a demonstration of how to climb a tree, and the food shots will make you hungry.

Here is a link Goa’s spice plantations. Make sure that food is part of the bargain. You are guaranteed shopping time.

Andrew Zimmern of Bizarre Food’s trip to an Ayurvedic health center in Goa

by Jamie Rhein on

Although bizarre food was involved with Andrew Zimmern’s trip to the Ayurvedic Natural Health Centre in Goa, that wasn’t the main focus of the last part of Bizarre Food’s Goa episode. (see post) Much of Zimmern’s focus was highlighting the mind and body connection of the Ayurvedic method of achieving balance. Achieving balance is not so simple.

As he pointed out as he embarked on the road to health, along with its beach destination reputation, Goa is also filled with health centers. The philosophy of the centers is to help people become more healthy through food, exercise and clearing the mind.

One of the philosophies of the Ayurvedic method is, “Incorrect diet, medicine is of no use. Correct diet, medicine is of no need,” Zimmern said.

His trip to the health center was a hoot, a holler and a quick overview of what balance entails. I’ve always thought Zimmern seemed like a fun loving, decent, easy going guy. This section of the Goa episode cinched it.

His trip to the health center was a hoot, a holler and a quick overview of what balance entails. I’ve always thought Zimmern seemed like a fun loving, decent, easy going guy. This section of the Goa episode cinched it.

At the center he took in various center offerings with the idea of a weight-loss plan. A Hatha yoga class was the kick off. One thing I like about this form of yoga is that anyone can do it, even if you have the tightest hamstrings in the world like I do.

Said Zimmern, as he good-naturedly bent this way and that, “Yoga is a way to work with muscles without damaging the body.”

Although not mentioned, other reasons for doing yoga is to massage the internal organs and align the body. The end result also has a spiritual element.

“When it’s all over, we’re supposed to be more in peace and not in pieces,” said Zimmern.

If you notice in the picture of the yoga class, Zimmern is the only guy, but not the only non-Indian. Throughout the Goa episode non-Indians were in several shots, highlighting how Goa is a tourist destination for sure.

After yoga came the food. The Ayurvedic method of diet is to eat several different types of food to match your body type in order to achieve balance. Zimmern’s meal was to help him loose weight. Lentil and mushroom curry, mango pickle (yum), potatoes and rice were on the menu. There was more, but I didn’t catch all of it. The main point is to eat a balanced variety between foods in order to bring together hot, spicy, cool, sour and sweet. You don’t chow down on any one of the dishes.

The real fun began after Zimmern’s meal when he took in a couple of purifying treatments. When a guy whose belly pooches out some, disrobes, puts on a jock strap type covering and gets on a massage treatment for an oil treatment type massage, he has me hooked.

As hot oil was dripped on his head and massaged in, he quipped, “I may look silly right now, but this is fantastic. I know why the Beatles came here and say it changed their lives.” (The photo, from the center’s Web site is of the oil treatment.)

Other treatments, all designed to purify the body, involved being hit with small rice bags, being put in some sort of box like sauna with his head sticking out and having cold butter milk poured on him.

At the point of the cold butter milk, the chair Zimmern was sitting in broke, tumbling him to the floor. I began laughing (not at him, with him) and thought, what a guy. Instead of taking the “I’m mad as hell,” approach, he laughed it off, and while still splayed on the floor quipped, “I’ll just roll over, I’m too greased.”

The last part of his treatment, designed to burn the excess fat from his body, was to down an herbal drink made from purified cow’s urine. “Alright, so I just slug this down. . .Tell patients not to smell it first,” he told the person from the center who explained cow urine virtues.

Zimmern described it as being very sour and very bitter, and said he could feel the fat melting away. Somehow, I don’t think he believes cow urine is the answer to his weight problem.

His last comment as he put down the glass was, “I think I’m through here.”

Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern: Goa, the spice of life

by Jamie Rhein on

From the first shot of Goa in this week’s episode of Bizarre Foods, I could smell the aromas. And that’s a good thing. Although Zimmern said that the food in Goa is different than many parts of India, in New Delhi where I lived for two years, every spicy, sweet and sour taste that Zimmern mentioned could be found. That’s because New Delhi was filled with people who started out somewhere else. For those who like taste variety, India is heaven, and Zimmern once again showed how.

What I liked about this episode is that anyone heading to Goa can find the food that Zimmern ate without spending much money. He went to simple places in each location he visited. And, although he did touch on the unusual foods, it was mostly the cooking methods and not weird ingredients that carried the episode. Goa became an inviting backdrop for eating pleasure. Instead of thinking, “Oh, gad!” I wanted a bite– or twelve.

In Goa, a state colonized by the Portuguese, and described by Zimmern as a hippie hangout in the 60s and 70s that still teams with tourists, Zimmern walked through Mapusa Market as the camera panned and periodically lingered on sacks of spices followed by piles of various fruits. Along with the variety in the smells and flavors of the bounty is a vibrant color palate which is probably why camera shots of spices were popular throughout this episode.

First up– a lesson in curry. As Zimmern pointed out, curry is a blend of spices that goes much further than what Westerners know as curry powder. In India, curry is called masala. When the tasting started Zimmern honed in on a couple of dishes that make Indian cuisine unique.

Pickled mango was one of them. Mango, a usually sweet fruit is turned sour by being kept in salt. One of my favorite relishes, mango pickle is often found on restaurant tables similar to how a bottle of ketchup is a condiment in the United States. My favorite Indian restaurant in Albuquerque, New Mexico when I lived there was the Indian Kitchen. There was always a jar of mango pickle at the ready. I’d eat it like candy.

For his market grazing, Zimmern also sampled bora berry, a small light brownish-yellowish fruit, about the size of a grape that he said was “slimy goo, sour and disgusting.” Must be an acquired taste. As the guide who was showing Zimmern around said, children love them. Passion fruit Zimmern liked.

At a sausage seller, he sampled chouricos, a sausage made of pig meat that includes organs and is mixed with hot spices and stuffed inside pig intestines. Instead of intestines, Zimmern said guts. Using pig intestines as sausage casing is actually not that unusual. Say guts and it sounds gross.

The next dish, mackerel soaked up to a year in masala sauce, is unusual. Zimmern offered to eat it raw, but the guide told him absolutely not. It’s fried first and she sent him off to Republic Noodle, a small restaurant near the market to be cooked before he became sick for sure. “This could have been my last Bizarre Foods,” he quipped.

The cooked mackerel wasn’t fabulous. “This smells like lime soaked in ammonia,” he said before taking a bite. “Wow. That’s sour and fishy. You can’t even cut this thing with a knife.” Sounds like a food to stay away from unless you’re really, really, really hungry. Still, for people who live through monsoons, this method for preserving foods comes in handy.

In Panaji the capital of Goa, the architecture reflects the Portuguese colonial influence–so does the cuisine. Vindaloo, a signature dish of Goa, reflects the influence. I’ve eaten chicken vindaloo many times, but didn’t know it came from the Portuguese. Vindaloo, as Zimmern pointed out, is a way of preparing a sauce that includes vegetables, various spices, vinegar and red hot peppers, making it one of the hottest dishes in Indian cuisine. He ate his version at the restaurant in the Hotel Venite. “Spicy. Tomatoey. Strong vinegar backbone. Boy, that’s some serious warm heat,” he declared. Vindaloo can be made with pork, fish and beef as well.

Zimmern’s meal also included hilsa fish roe. The roe–fish eggs–were in a ring that had been steamed, chilled, sliced, and rolled into corn flour. “This is absolutely the definition of dry mealy food,” said Zimmern before he ate a bite of vindaloo as a chaser. Throw some mango pickle on the roe and it might be good?

At another restaurant, Mum’s Kitchen, there is the concept of making Indian food as Indian moms might make it. The idea is to “make sure the right way to do something doesn’t disappear” by adding a mother’s touch into the dishes.”

Here chicken can’t get any fresher. The chicken is killed on the spot and is plucked, cleaned, cut up and cooking in minutes. Zimmern pronounced the dish, chicken xacuiti delicious. Since it’s from marinating chicken in a masala mixture of cumin, curry leaves, coconut and red chilies, I’d second that. It didn’t sound weird, and besides, moms cooked it.

Even the most unusual dish on the menu, Bombay Duck, was tasty despite sounding awful. The duck isn’t duck, but a type of soft boned fish with lizard qualities. The story goes that the name comes from the British who said the fish’s smell reminded them of a crowded train car of the Bombay line.

Next on Zimmern’s Goa jaunt was a trip to Calangute Beach. Here, wood-fired tandori ovens are used for cooking which gives meat and bread a smokey flavor. At one simple restaurant, 100 yards off the ocean with jet skis in the background, Zimmern ate tandoori-style fish after mentioning that there are miles and miles of beaches in Goa, so fish is a-plenty.

Zimmern’s eating at this beach made me want to head to the Asian food store closest to my house to buy a bag of Indian snack food. After eating a chick pea sandwich, Zimmern sampled a snack mixture of puffed wheat, chick peas raisins and spices.

As he said, “Even the simpliest food are seasoned so well. You feel like the most humble foods have been transformed.” If you’ve never eaten Indian snacks, buy some, but be careful about the hot factor. The packaging will say if a food is hot or mild. If it says hot, believe it.

Another tasty treat with a wicked kick was the deep fried chili fritters with chili puree on top. Don’t do what Zimmern did and glop on the puree. “That was a really dumb idea. In a little while I’ll have to peel my taste buds off that cloud up there,” Zimmern said about his mouth explosion.

To get away from the tourists, Zimmern suggested Arambol Beach where you can sunbath with the cows. With white sand beaches and the ocean offering a place for relaxation, shack-like restaurants were the setting for Zimmern’s fish feast. Fish is cooked up on a propane grill.

The flat spiny pomfret that Zimmern ate is a white fish variety that is cross-hatched before it is grilled so that will come apart in pieces making eating it with ones fingers easy. The king prawns were also grilled. At this point, I’m thinking, shoot yes, that I’m hungry.

Next stop was Sahakari Spice Farm where there are at least 100 different types of plants. This section was a great lesson in where the ingredients in spice bottles come from. As this section illustrated, in addition to jazzing up food, spices also foster good health.

The man giving Zimmern the tour said that black pepper acts as a laxative and cinnamon takes care of cholesterol, for example.

The farm was also a place for highlighting the labor intensive harvesting practices, like when the guy shimmied up coconut and betel nut trees to get the good stuff.

To get to his next eating place, Zimmern took a ride in a rough hewn wooden boat on the Mondovi River where sand bars makes travel tricky and in spots crocodiles infest the waters.

In a private home, Zimmern ate sorpotel, a dish common to weddings. With pork as the main ingredient, it was cooked in a large pot over an open fire nto a dish flavored with Kashmiri chili, onions, ginger, cardamom and cinnamon. Yum. (Except I could do without knowing that blood is used for a thickening agent.)

The last part of this episode was my favorite and worth its own post. Stay tuned for Andrew Zimmern’s trip to the Ayurvedic Natural Health Center which made me laugh out loud. It involved oil, heat, a broken chair and cow’s urine.

(photos of market and Zimmern from Bizarre Foods Web site.)

Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern: Sicily. Yep, the food is bizarre

by Jamie Rhein on

Andrew Zimmern seemed positively giddy in last Tuesday’s episode of Bizarre Foods as he ate his way around Sicily’s bonanza of animal innards eats. First stop was Palermo, the capital where butcher shops display all sorts of animal parts, just like they’ve done for centuries. At Mercato Ballero, a bustling outdoor marketplace, Zimmern got busy eating with gusto.

“The cow stomachs are so fresh, you can hear them moo,” he exclaimed as he picked at a plate of intestines and stomach, naming each part to clarify which was what. “They all taste different. A little bit chewy. A little melting. If you like eating the inside of a cow, then this is for you.”

One stall sells fritole, a fritter made from the innards the other vendors don’t sell. If you’ve ever needed a clue about where Zimmern acquired his taste bud preferences, this was it.

“Fritole takes the idea of leftovers to a different level,” he said, followed by a description of eating roasted fat and skin as a boy. Zimmern would dip into the drippings off of whatever meat was being cooked.

The spleen sandwich, another Sicilian specialty, and one that has been served up since the 1800s, was right up Zimmern’s unusual food group alley.

Zimmern had his spleen with a sprinkle of cheese and pronounced the dish, “rank and foul. I love it. It tastes like mud. There’s a lot of gristle in there. This stuff is not for the faint of heart.”

Hmm. I think I’m one of the faint of heart. The more Zimmern ate in Sicily, the more I wondered what I’d be able to eat if I ever headed there.

Then came a stop at one of the best restaurants, Trattoria Ferro Di Cavallo where Zimmern ate something I would enjoy–sardines formed into meatballs. He commented on the raisins as part of the concoction. As he said, these sardines are not the same flavor as the ones found in a can drenched in oil. Canned sardines on saltine crackers remind me of my childhood.

Another dish, the capenata, a relish made of chunks of eggplant and peppers was pronounced fantastic. I would eat that too and like it. But, like a roller coaster ride that gives few reprieves from the steep drops and crazy turns, after Zimmern downed the capenata, he turned and headed for another restaurant Osteria D’Vespry for a gourmet version of the inside of a cow’s mouth. Yep, that’s right. You can eat cheeks.

The dish was delicate and gorgeous, but the description “quivering nerves and tendons” and the “fatty deep and rich with a hint of the barnyard floor,” didn’t sell me on it.

Leaving animal innards, Zimmern headed to Cerda for the Artichoke Festival. Now, we’re talking. This section hit a high mark for showing me how to cook something familiar with in a new way. Fresh artichoke can be roasted over coals, for example.

At the Trattoria Nasca, Zimmern discovered fried artichokes, roasted artichokes, artichoke fritata, and cold artichokes with dill.

Artichoke is also made into ice-cream in this artichoke loving town. The gelato is served up in a bun, handy for a hot climate. Zimmern pointed out that as the ice cream melts it soaks into the bun. That’s clever.

But, one can’t stay with normal food for too long on Bizarre Foods so Zimmern headed to a village on the volcano Mount Etna for a cooking class at Eleonara’s House. In the kitchen of this centuries old house, rabbit was cooked with pine nuts, fennel, carrots, dark chocolate and vinegar. That wasn’t so unusual, sounded delicious even, but when it was done, Zimmern called dibs on the head. He enticed Eleonara to try the rabbit cheek, something she had yet to eat in all her years of preparing rabbit. She pronounced it delicious. I sort of wanted to puke.

The cinnamon pudding from a recipe passed down from the Middle Ages perked me up, though, and gave me the idea once more that if I ever make it to Sicily I won’t starve.

At the fishing village of Marzanemi, Zimmern was up 4 a.m. to head out with the fisherman pointing out just how much work is involved with hauling in nets and what is caught. Afterward, at a fish processing plant, Zimmern was taken through tuna processing. Tuna in a can at a grocery store looks tame for sure.

What about tuna eggs, tuna sperm and tuna testicles? In Zimmern country, those cook up into delicacy dishes. The sperm is considered an aphrodisiac. Ya’ think?

What made this segment the most enjoyable was how the family Zimmern visited gather everything they eat from the sea and from their gardens. One dish I would probably go for is the sea snails grilled with a little olive oil and lemon juice. I’m also quite fond of cuttlefish, but eating it cooked in its ink? Not so much. Give me a pasta dish with just the tomato sauce and herbs, that’s another story.

One of the details I appreciate about Zimmern’s visits with folks is how much he enjoys their company. He gave the fisherman, Captain Corrado Barrone, the man who hosted him, his Swiss army knife, a present that was greatly appreciated.

Tonight Zimmern heads to Goa. I’m hoping he spends a bit more time on the culture and sights and lays a bit low on the bizarre food. I had a hard time keeping up with him in Sicily. I think he must have had a hard time keeping up with himself. His blog has yet to be updated from the Phuket episode two weeks ago.

(Photos (except for the spleen sandwich) are from the Bizarre Foods Web site.)

**This post would have been earlier, but no electricity due to wind storms creates mayhem in a blogger’s life.