Q&A with Guu’s chef, hangover-free alcohol, Corey Mintz’s castrated rooster

• Home chefs are increasingly turning to YouTube for cooking lessons. Eschewing the Food Network’s plucked and preening stars (except Guy Fieri, who is neither) and dishes, viewers are embracing the shaky camera angles and amateur stylings of such series as Maangchi’s Korean Cooking Show. The host, ex-Torontonian Emily Kim, has tens of thousands of subscribers, and her most popular recipe, kimchi, has been watched almost 300,000 times. Good start, Kim, but call us when you reach sneezing panda or dramatic chipmunk numbers. [Globe and Mail]

• The Star’s Corey Mintz extols the virtues of brining, which promises juicier meat and uniform seasoning. The capon—a castrated rooster prized for its tenderness—Mintz cooks for guests gets a 24-hour bath in a solution of salt, brown sugar and water, which produces a near-perfect bird. In talking about the emasculated chicken, Mintz ends the article with the observation that “we all have a tendency to get soft and juicy once we no longer have chicks on the brain.”  [Toronto Star]

• In a series of Q&As with noted Canadian chefs, The Appetizer’s Brad Frenette talks with Masaru Ogasawara, chef of the wildly popular izakaya chain Guu (a location recently opened in Toronto). Ogasawara worships his customers, saying he considers them to be “like God,” although he thinks Canadians might not understand Japanese food. He says there’s no such thing as California rolls in Japan, and notes that it can take 10 years to become a good sushi chef. [National Post]

• Professor David Nutt, former British drug czar, is working on a synthetic solution that will mimic the effects of alcohol without the nasty hangover. The hope is that the colourless, flavourless liquid will eventually replace the alcohol in Britons’ favourite drinks. His team is even working on an antidote pill to mute the effects of the serum, so police could give it to drunkards who’ve run afoul of the law. Where can we volunteer for the experimental trials? [Daily Mail]

• A marine biologist in Taipei claims to have discovered a new species of crab off the coast of southern Taiwan. The crab, a mere one inch wide, has a red clam-shaped shell with white bumps, making it resemble a strawberry. If these things prove to be edible, soft shell crabs—much to their relief, we imagine—might have some competition. [Chicago Tribune]