Spicy Fish Custard

Delicious chicken curry

Indonesian Layer Cake

Brain Omelet and Paper Thosai

February 2, 2007 · 17 comments

in Random

Following my Rasa Malaysia Omelet post, I received this picture from Food Marathon. Food Marathon thought my so-called elegant and luxury omelet looks more like a brain.

Brain Omelet?A brain!

It is a somewhat disturbing thought, but my mother used to cook her omelet with pig brain. Yes, pig brain!! The Chinese believe in “以形补形” and my mother is a firm believer. Translated loosely, 以形补形 means what you eat is what you become. In this brain instance, if you eat lots of them, you will become brainy or smarter. (I question this very fact; pig is not supposed to be smart, now is it?!)

No, I didn’t eat the dish. I never did. The sight and smell of it made me nauseous. This picture reminds me of what I will never eat.

Paper Thosai/Dosai/DosaOn the contrary, Precious Pea emailed me a picture of something very edible. Her paper thosai looks crispy, golden, and absolutely mouthwatering. With the two curry sauces and the sardine sambal as condiments, I can eat this Indian delicacy by the dozens.

Now, do you eat brains?

Note: Rasa Malaysia will feature reader submissions occasionally. If you have an interesting picture to share with other readers, drop me an email.

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{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }

Anonymous 02.02.07 at 10:10 PM

Brain is scary, they also use pig’s brain to cook soup.

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tigerfish 02.03.07 at 2:09 AM

Yeeeeeee….brain is something I will NEVER eat ! 以形补形…does 猪脚 (pig trotters)补脚 ? Pig so strong meh? LOL!
But to think of it, all(almost) parts of the pig can be eaten…including the ears, the tongue… I think next on the “brain” list is monkey brain. Heard so many times it’s very grotesque…I hate to elaborate.

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Precious Pea 02.03.07 at 4:48 AM

Thanks for posting up the thosai photo. It was so good till I went again this morning. Absolutely a satisfying breakfast.

Talking about brains, i tried lamb brains at a French Restaurant before. It was deep fried with batter and cos it was too rude for me to reject, I took one. Texture was like fried tofu but i dare not chew cos i didn’t want it to linger in my mouth too long. By the way, why eat pig’s brain to be smart? I never heard of people saying as smart as pig though.

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Stephanie 02.03.07 at 4:53 AM

Adore brains. My mother used to cook them in a very plain, Anglo white sauce for my brother and I when we were little and, to me, it’s the ultimate comfort food. A good chef friend of mine of Lebanese extraction makes a Syrian brain omelette with mint… I haven’t tried it yet, but think it sounds divine.

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Jackson 02.03.07 at 10:45 AM

really looks like a brain if u put the picture side by side …

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BuddingCook 02.03.07 at 1:00 PM

I see the resemblance. Consider yourself tagged :D

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Claude-Olivier 02.03.07 at 2:44 PM

Hi

Omelet with pig brain ??? Oh no…it should be no so good…not at all. I prefer the last photo, an indien dish no ??? It looks good..

Cheers
Claude

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team BSG 02.03.07 at 5:38 PM

There is a very famous shop selling pig brain steamed soup in herbs which is claimed to prolong yr life up to 118 years. It looks like beancurd and is brainilicious. Also the whole works of iguanas,flying foxes.squirrels,terrapins, civets, etc etc

In Jln Peel, do u want to try ?

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Rasa Malaysia 02.03.07 at 7:03 PM

Anonymous – yes, I have seen those before…just like that Team BSG said, it’s supposed to be very good for longevity!

Tiga – I don’t eat any of those organs or inner organs – hearts, kidneys, stomach, intestines, etc. Very geli to me.

Precious Pea – my explanation wasn’t clear, I meant my mother said if I eat brain, then I will have “more brain”…I guess she meant I will get smarter? LOL!

Stephanie – I was at the Culinary Institute in Napa Valley one time and had sweet bread accidentally. I thought it tasted weird and as soon as I knew what it was, I almost threw up.

Jackson – yes, you are right. My omelet does look “brainy.”

Budding Cook – yay, I am tagged! :)

Claude – I think pig brain is an acquired taste…I do not eat them. Yes, Indian thosai is very good, it’s like a crispy crepe with curry dipping sauce. ;)

Team BSG – No, I don’t want to live until 118 years old, so I don’t eat those flying animals, brain, snakes, and tupai kind of food. I just want my 8-course supreme seafood dinner I told you and WMW. :P

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sue 02.03.07 at 7:16 PM

Speaking of which, your omelet looks similar to that brain picture. :)
Though, that is a completely turn off thing to think about if you are going to eat it.

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Anonymous 02.04.07 at 12:39 PM

Yummy, I miss the paper thosai from Malaysia! There is a place in Penang, Malaysia which sells the “paper” thosai in two sizes -The Star or NST. It was hillarious when the guy asked me what paper do I want.

~ Aileen ~

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Chubbypanda 02.05.07 at 1:38 AM

I grew up on pig brain omelets and I’ve very brainy. Of course, I didn’t find out what was in them until many many years later. Mom was sneaky…

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Audrey Cooks 02.06.07 at 3:11 AM

I love pig’s brain omelette, not monkey brains not in a million years! I also love pig brains soup brewed in a lot of julienne of ginger. Maybe it’s because the pig’s brain in never used, that is why ppl believe it still has lots of memory power in it. he he he!!!!

Team BSG, eek!! flying animals and the rest of those u mentioned … doesn’t go well with me.

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Annapurna 02.06.07 at 5:54 AM

Brain, properly prepared, is delicious. As are sweetbreads. Here in France, we eat both and we are known for being great intellectuals!

As for pig brains, I’ve never had them, but pigs very intelligent animals. More so than “Man’s best friend”, so that should be some good brain food!

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pablopabla 02.07.07 at 2:02 AM

I had pig’s brains before when I was a little kid. Wondered what effect it had on me :P

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cooknengr 02.09.07 at 9:20 AM

I had Pig brain omelette in a Ang mo mom and pop breakfast joint during my trip to the southern states. Th flavor was strong.

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Robyn 02.13.07 at 3:50 AM

We are a few brain preparations in the Philipines. But there’s a time and a place.
Last Sat. I lay bed (in Manila) with a bad case of stomach flu (no, it wasn’t street food). Dave informed the folks who were to drive us to the airport (a kindly, grandparent-type Filipino couple) we’d be delaying departure for a day. The wife half, concerned for me, wanted to ask me if I was OK. When I said I was fine, just a touch of flu, she said, sadly, ‘Ohhh…does this mean you won’t be able to eat the pig brain omelet I cooked for you this morning?’ General nauseousness turned into a dire need to vomit and I couldn’t get off the phone fast enough.
I’m not I’ll ever be able to eat brains again.

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