A thought.... for anyone interested.... and yes, I've certainly done this "no no" myself, on more than one occasion. And some will disagree that it's a no-no at all. Whatev. My own no-no was using ostrich in the non-beef burger TD and caring about the outcome. The thing is that most people in the U.S. (and many other countries) have never even heard of ostrich burgers, let alone tried one. (Ostrich is pretty awesome, btw.) Since no one actually gets to eat all of the entries, at some level it becomes a contest of imagination - how do we imagine it tastes, or how do we imagine the ingredients go together? If one has never tried an ingredient, such as ostrich, one cannot truly imagine what it would taste like. If one cannot imagine what something will taste like, they may revert to appearances, or just not vote for said thing at all. My perspective has changed - I love the challenge of coming up with new ways to do things or trying dishes/ingredients I've never made/used before, but I am cool with it if I get no votes at all. I would do ostrich burgers again in a heartbeat, if I had an easier, less-expensive means of obtaining ostrich. (A five-pound minimum was the least I could find, and when there is only one person eating, five pounds is a lot.)
So culantro.... I've heard of it. But if I've ever tasted it, I couldn't say - it might have been in a dish ordered at a restaurant. What I do know is I can't buy it at any of the local grocery stores where I currently live, in the midwest U.S. And I haven't seen it when out shopping at garden centers for herbs to grow in this area. Funny thing is I happened to be looking into it, to possibly order it online, very recently. A description I found was that it's like cilantro on steroids - much stronger-tasting but very similar flavors. So, in theory, you could use just a smaller amount of culantro and achieve almost the same flavor. Yes? No? But I am just one person; my own experience with culantro (or lack thereof) is not an indicator of everyone else who participates in the TD's. However, I can see that culantro might be a mystery ingredient in some people's minds, much like ostrich was. But I am not saying to not use it. Au contraire. Any time you get to eat what you like is a good time and a winner in my book.
Cooking... heat.... ceviche... all that goes in the same place as "blackening" in my book - y'all can have your take on it, but I'll keep mine, thank-you-very-much! LOL