Never use an aluminum pot, pan, or utensil when cooking tomatoes - or any other soft metal items for that matter. The acidity in the tomato doesn't do well with them; they create a chemical reaction that can turn cooked tomatoes bitter and fade the color, and the food will absorb some of the aluminum!
— Andrew Zimmern
For wok cooking, use oils with a high smoke point and low polyunsaturated-fat content: grapeseed oil, peanut oil, etc. Sesame oil and olive oil will burn and taste bitter. Oils with high polyunsaturated-fat contents like soybean oil will also make your food texturally unpleasant.
Wok cooking is intimidating, but it's the most versatile and handy tool in your kitchen.
My mom was as brilliant a cook as my dad is.
I love the Minnesota State Fair, and I go with my family every August for nearly all 12 days.
Sardinia has to have some of the best seafood on the planet. I'm a sea urchin freak, and Sardinia's are some of the best I've had.
For most people, carp isn't just garbage fish - it's an invasive species.
I famously tasted shark fin soup many, many years ago before we understood exactly what was going on with the harvesting of sharks. I've consequently come out against it. I make personal choices in my life and stand behind them.
Yelp is - I mean, Yelp's not even good for looking up the restaurant's phone number because, you know, on the site, they just want you to read their reviews and look at their ads. They don't even actually want to give you the information about the restaurant or the menu.
I've spent time in the coastal Carolinas and have seen what small business development has done to maintain the wetlands and reestablish the fisheries and secure jobs for the people that make their living off the water.
I'm obsessed with Chinese food and culture. It's food that I adore above all others.
I've never been a mainstream kind of guy.
If you're not out testing what's complementary to your brand, you're not making the most of your income potential.
I'd dreamed of being in the food business from the moment my globetrotting parents introduced me to the foods of the world during childhood trips to Europe and Asia.
I love bugs. And as the first person to popularize their eating in America, I take special pride in seeing their appreciation soar.
Too many children and adults go hungry every day.
The greatest food city in the world is New York City, just in terms of depth and breadth, variety, size, infrastructure.
Be aware of what you cook tomatoes with. The high acid content of the tomato slows down the cooking process of some other foods. Dried beans cooked with tomatoes added to the pot can take up to 20 percent more cooking time than beans without tomatoes added.
A well-seasoned and properly cleaned wok will always have micro-pores in the metal that hold some oil or food particulate, etc. - that's a good thing.
I love cooking Japanese food at home. It's so easy to make an easy fry, a saute, or a quick braise and serve it over a bowl of rice with pickles and a side salad.
As a young boy growing up in New York City, we would spend our summers on the South Fork of Long Island. My dad would take me down to the beach at low tide. We would walk a mile down to the jetties, and he would lower me by my ankles into the crevices between the massive boulders to grab at huge ropes of mussels.
Everyone knows about hot dogs and the Big Apple. But for me, New York City street food is all about the Biryani Cart.
It might seem strange to feast on Guinea pig, but Ecuadorians love to eat cuy. Personally, I think it's a phenomenal alternative to pork or chicken. High in protein, low in fat, cheap and easy to raise. Oh, and cuy tastes great, much like roast pig. You might call it a pet, but I prefer to call it dinner.
There's fresh fish, and then there's fresh fish. Samoa is ranked as one of the best places for game fishing in all the world, and runs thick in the waters off the island chain. In fact, it's used as an edible currency in local markets. The day I fished there, we caught loads of yellowfin.
I am very much a person who likes to change with the times. Education is what it is all about.
I think Yelp is neither good nor bad for the food industry. I find it useless.
I can't tell you how many times I get into a taxicab in New York or Los Angeles, and I'm talking to somebody who is a recent immigrant who was a doctor or lawyer or engineer or professor in the country they just came from. They're starting over again in life, and I think the majority of people out there can relate to that.
People forget that in early 1970s, there were 3 sushi bars in New York City. Three. Three. Think about that. Now, there is sushi in... I've eaten it - there is sushi at gas stations in Middle America.
Here's the lines I draw: I never say something I don't believe - ever, ever, ever; and I won't endorse a product I don't like and use. When the cameras are off, we are who we are when they're on.
I'm a 'bright, shiny objects' guy. I'm always looking for what's next.
If there's one thing I've learned after a lifetime of dining on delicacies like blood pudding, sea squirts, and camel kidneys, even folks who wouldn't come within 100 yards of a Cambodian tarantula want to hear what it's like to chomp on one!
Eating well is a class issue.
I think that Manila is underrated in terms of food in the Philippines.
My phone is my favorite travel gadget because it has my translator.
Surrounded by a sweltering state known for its staunch conservatism, Austin is an oasis. It's home to the University of Texas, which continuously fosters a well-educated youth culture who have been funneling their collective creative energy into building a vibrant music, film, and technology scene for decades.
Remember for stir-frying not to use a wok bigger than 16 inches. Once it has food in it, you won't be able to work very efficiently.
The jambalaya of the American South owes a lot to the cuisines of the islands and western Africa, and it's my favorite of this type of one-pot cookery.
Some of the oddest foods I've encountered are 'American' foods represented internationally.
Let me say this: Camel is delicious, but when handled improperly, it's rank.
I'm an advocate for alternative proteins, and I believe we can eat many.
Sometimes I have to shake my head at how much work it can take to track down a handful of food. Perfect example: I spent a whole day in the Amazon rainforest, in Ecuador, scouring the trunks of dead palm trees for grubs.
I have a tremendous platform and responsibility to talk to people about these issues about sustainability and about health and wellness when it comes to food.
I'd be very happy serving on a local school board. I just know that I have a responsibility to give back.
I serve on a lot of charitable boards - the areas of mental health parity, services for those that are underserved, and certainly children's rights are things that I believe in very, very strongly.
I'm into exploring the fringes of a culture.
The Internet has democratized content, and the gatekeepers are no longer in control. That democracy is wonderful for entrepreneurs.
I am grateful to have my life back and for the friends and family who never gave up on me, for a God who was there when I was ready to find him. I am grateful for so much, that every day, one day at a time, is Thanksgiving.
I get asked to speak to a lot of different groups, one of the best parts of my job hosting a show on the Travel Channel, 'Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern.' I take viewers to the far corners of the globe and introduce them to other cultures by exploring the foods they eat - at times, pretty strange stuff.
Too many Americans are getting sick on our over-commercialized food system.
I love eating in San Francisco, Chiang Dao, China, Tokyo, Hanoi.
