I made the ratatouille from Ratatouille yesterday. Goddamn delicious.
It fucking well better be. Pixar hired Thomas Keller (Bouchon, The French Laundry, Ad Hoc) to design all the dishes for that film. That's right, Pixar hired a three-star chef to create food for a medium that doesn't even convey taste.
I made risotto for the first time last night. My mom always messes it up; she's a bit afraid of it. I used some Knorr stock concentrate, and then amped it up with the soak water from my porcinis. It was incredible. It got a bit sticky when it cooled, but it was just creamy enough and perfectly cooked. I've got the basics pretty much down pat, so now I can play with it a bit. I'm going to do a Risotto Milanesa (the paella of risottos--flavored with saffron) with shrimp and rabbit next, and merge the Spanish and Italian disciplines.
Risotto tips for people who are scared of it:
-Add stock the moment the wine evaporates. -Once there's stock in the pan, the rice is cooking; stir constantly. -Add stock a ladle at a time. Add more stock when the bubbling slows and you feel the risotto thicken. -Use all the stock. I used seven cups for two cups of Arborio rice. -This is arguably the most important detail: taste the rice every time the stock cooks off and you add more. It'll start chalky and raw. When finished, it'll be creamy and soft, but with the "snap" that properly cooked rice has. If you're on medium-low heat, this should happen around the same time that you run out of stock. If not, don't panic. Just take the pan off the heat and let the risotto thicken. Keep stirring until any sizzling stops and the risotto thickens up slightly.
Rules of thumb: Chalky grain centres are undercooked. If the grains are really soft and the dish behaves like stodgy porridge, you've gone too far. Add things with long cooktimes (squash, seafood, meat) early on so they cook through. Add things with short cooktimes (creminis, berries, cheese) late, or saute them separately and stir them in after the risotto is off the heat.
Adobo tempeh for the veg, lengua if you're adventurous, chorizo and goat most def.
Lechon if you can find a whole pig to roast, I guess.
You may want to check local Asian/Pacific Islander grocery markets to see if they offer fresh cut lechon.
Also for those who enjoy some lechon, I recommend this sauce to add to it. It's a staple sauce for Pacific Islanders. Mang Tomas All Purpose Sauce. You can probably get it at your local grocery. I can get mine at WallyMart.
The differences between Spanish and Pacific Lechon are really interesting. They're fundamentally the same (delicious) dish, but the methods of preparation and serving are wildly different.
I bet. It's also funny when you mention adobo as well because I think of something different. Whenever I see adobo in the Hispanic section of grocery stores, I'm like "It's in the wrong place!" Even though it really isn't.
Yeah, I'm getting hungry thinking about Filipino food.
So I'm back in the bacon making business. I'm curing a pork tenderloin and a some beef steaks for an experiment. Yes I know these aren't bacon in the traditional sense, but i like really meaty bacon so it's what I want.
However, while on youtube I discovered how to make really unsanitary "bacon" from Great England land. I say "bacon" because the guy doesn't specify any curing salt.
Is anyone else still doing sous vide/immersion cooking? Cause I just made a killer pork tenderloin. Rare to medium rare, yet still completely safe to eat.
I've got a cooking question that maybe someone can help me with. Whenever I try to stirfry or panfry chicken or fish I always get a lot of water coming out. Last time I was stirfrying some chicken with vegetables it ended up looking like soup before I even added the sauce.
Same thing happened when I tried to panfry some tilapia. Water started apearing and the fish got all soggy when I wanted it to be crisp.
I use plenty of oil, I have the heat up and I always try to dry the meat with paper towels before I cook, what am I doing wrong?
I use plenty of oil, I have the heat up and I always try to dry the meat with paper towels before I cook, what am I doing wrong?
You've got everything right, but maybe you're crowding the pan? That could keep the water from evaporating. You also shouldn't be afraid to toss quite a bit. With stirfrying, tossing can help curb soupiness as well - think of wok-style cooking, where you're almost constantly tossing and stirring.
I'd recommend cooking your meat before everything else just to be sure it's cooked all the way. Other than that, personal preference.
I don't understand how cooking separately guarantees that it's cooked all the way other than to ensure you don't overcook your veggies if you can't time a meal properly.
Ah, that's also a pretty important step. I stirfy the meat first and take it out with a metal seive thing and sit it on the side, then stirfry the vegetables and add the meat back in at the end.
Typically things that have different cooking times can either be cooked at different times or cut down to the appropriate sizes so the heat distributes accordingly - ie: the longer the cooking time the smaller it should be.
Having some water in the stir fry is normal. It eventually turns into sauce as you're cooking. I believe that cornstarch helps with that.
Here's how I make stir fry. It's the way my mom taught me with some modifications. 1. Chop up the meat and veggies into bite size pieces. Make sure the veggies are cut proportionally to allow even cooking. For example, cut carrots smaller than squash because they take longer to cook. 2. Heat some oil and ginger in the wok/pan on high. 3. Season the meat with soy sauce and cornstarch. Eyeball the amount, you don't want to drown it, just add enough to cover all the meat. 4. Cook the meat to about 80% done. 5. Take out the meat. 6. Add in new oil and cook veggies in that oil. Add a little salt too. 7. Add the meat back in. Mix it all up. 8. Add in liquid, like sake or stock. 9. Add in any other seasonings.
Do you actually put it on high heat? As in the knob is actually pointing to high? What oil do you use? If I put oil in any pan on high it will asplode and get oil all splatter all over the place. I'd have to wear lots of protective equipment to safely cook like that.
Also, do you mix the soy and cornstarch together? If not, which one do you put on the meat first? Do you do the same thing for any kind of meat or do you treat chicken differently than beef or pork? What vegetables do you do? How long do you let the oil heat?
Yes, you mix the cornstarch, soy sauce and meat all together. It's important that you dissolve the cornstarch or else you get gelatin balls.
Yes, when I say high heat, I mean max. This heat is used to sear meat and keep veggies crisp. You can put in the oil when the pan is cold or hot. You just have to make sure that the pan is bone dry. If there's a drop of water in the oil while it's heating up, there will be exploding oil. Also when you cook the meat and veggies, there will be a little splattering, you just have to deal with it.
Comments
Lechon if you can find a whole pig to roast, I guess.
I made risotto for the first time last night. My mom always messes it up; she's a bit afraid of it. I used some Knorr stock concentrate, and then amped it up with the soak water from my porcinis. It was incredible. It got a bit sticky when it cooled, but it was just creamy enough and perfectly cooked. I've got the basics pretty much down pat, so now I can play with it a bit. I'm going to do a Risotto Milanesa (the paella of risottos--flavored with saffron) with shrimp and rabbit next, and merge the Spanish and Italian disciplines.
Risotto tips for people who are scared of it:
-Add stock the moment the wine evaporates.
-Once there's stock in the pan, the rice is cooking; stir constantly.
-Add stock a ladle at a time. Add more stock when the bubbling slows and you feel the risotto thicken.
-Use all the stock. I used seven cups for two cups of Arborio rice.
-This is arguably the most important detail: taste the rice every time the stock cooks off and you add more. It'll start chalky and raw. When finished, it'll be creamy and soft, but with the "snap" that properly cooked rice has. If you're on medium-low heat, this should happen around the same time that you run out of stock. If not, don't panic. Just take the pan off the heat and let the risotto thicken. Keep stirring until any sizzling stops and the risotto thickens up slightly.
Rules of thumb: Chalky grain centres are undercooked. If the grains are really soft and the dish behaves like stodgy porridge, you've gone too far. Add things with long cooktimes (squash, seafood, meat) early on so they cook through. Add things with short cooktimes (creminis, berries, cheese) late, or saute them separately and stir them in after the risotto is off the heat.
Also for those who enjoy some lechon, I recommend this sauce to add to it. It's a staple sauce for Pacific Islanders. Mang Tomas All Purpose Sauce. You can probably get it at your local grocery. I can get mine at WallyMart.
Shit. I want some Lechon.
Yeah, I'm getting hungry thinking about Filipino food.
However, while on youtube I discovered how to make really unsanitary "bacon" from Great England land. I say "bacon" because the guy doesn't specify any curing salt.
This guy is gonna give someone botulism.
Well, it's cured meat at least.
Same thing happened when I tried to panfry some tilapia. Water started apearing and the fish got all soggy when I wanted it to be crisp.
I use plenty of oil, I have the heat up and I always try to dry the meat with paper towels before I cook, what am I doing wrong?
Typically things that have different cooking times can either be cooked at different times or cut down to the appropriate sizes so the heat distributes accordingly - ie: the longer the cooking time the smaller it should be.
Here's how I make stir fry. It's the way my mom taught me with some modifications.
1. Chop up the meat and veggies into bite size pieces. Make sure the veggies are cut proportionally to allow even cooking. For example, cut carrots smaller than squash because they take longer to cook.
2. Heat some oil and ginger in the wok/pan on high.
3. Season the meat with soy sauce and cornstarch. Eyeball the amount, you don't want to drown it, just add enough to cover all the meat.
4. Cook the meat to about 80% done.
5. Take out the meat.
6. Add in new oil and cook veggies in that oil. Add a little salt too.
7. Add the meat back in. Mix it all up.
8. Add in liquid, like sake or stock.
9. Add in any other seasonings.
I hope this helps.
2. Heat oil with crushed garlic instead of ginger.
Also, do you mix the soy and cornstarch together? If not, which one do you put on the meat first? Do you do the same thing for any kind of meat or do you treat chicken differently than beef or pork? What vegetables do you do? How long do you let the oil heat?
Yes, when I say high heat, I mean max. This heat is used to sear meat and keep veggies crisp. You can put in the oil when the pan is cold or hot. You just have to make sure that the pan is bone dry. If there's a drop of water in the oil while it's heating up, there will be exploding oil. Also when you cook the meat and veggies, there will be a little splattering, you just have to deal with it.