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Cooking with the Momofuku cookbook

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129 replies to this topic

#91 TheTInCook

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Posted 03 April 2012 - 10:55 PM

Guess I'm going to have to try the octo vin.

So the dough turned out very very nice to roll. I rolled it number 5, and then cut it on the spegetti cutter. It didn't need flour at all when rolling, and it cut beautifully. The noodles stayed separate, though a very few seemed to break.

Tomorrow I'm doing a ramen class at this place I volunteer at. We're going to do the Momofuku menma there, as well as go over some basic veggie cookery (Kholrabi, kabocha, and yu choy. I wanted them to taste some of the 'exotic' stuff while still learning how to make 'normal' veggies), and how to boil an egg. Not doing to the full momofuko broth. Instead, it's gonna be chicken stock and dashi, with mushroom stem. onion, and ginger. For the meats, I braised a beef shank in master sauce. That'll get either sliced or pulled ala Momofuku pork shoulder. Instead of pork belly, were doing some Chinese style char sui. I'm going to take a look at the book tommorrow to see if we have any easy pickles to make.

I forgot to add, that since I was frying stuff for dinner, I might as well give my noodle nest a fry and see if I can make my own instant ramen. I think my oil might have been too hot for that process, since it started coloring before it was tottally dry in the center. It's drying uncovered on my counter.

Edited by TheTInCook, 03 April 2012 - 10:58 PM.


#92 Shalmanese

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Posted 04 April 2012 - 01:39 AM

Just checked my dough. I left it out, wrapped in plastic, at room temp for ~1.5 hours. Its got a nice texture, feels like it will roll well in the machine, BUT it's already starting to turn grey/green. Good thing this is a test batch.


Odd, definitely shouldn't be green. When you first rolled it, was it yellow? What flour are you using?
PS: I am a guy.

#93 ChrisTaylor

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Posted 04 April 2012 - 02:12 AM

The fried chicken is good but, honestly, I don't know how good it'd be (and I used a good bird) without the octo vin. The octo vin really lifts it to the next level in the way I don't think a spiced brine/coating/etc could or would. Ever. I think next time, tho', I might not buy a whole chicken: maybe a bundle of legs would be better.
I've never met an animal I didn't enjoy with salt and pepper.

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#94 TheTInCook

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Posted 04 April 2012 - 08:19 AM

Odd, definitely shouldn't be green. When you first rolled it, was it yellow? What flour are you using?


The color change happened before I rolled it. It was a nice shade of yellow for while after I mixed it. The flour is ConAgra All Purpose.

While it was a bit disconcerting to see that grayish lump of dough, it didn't look so bad once I rolled and cut it. (Forgot to take a pic of the dough lump)

paratha and ramen 005.JPG

#95 TheTInCook

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Posted 04 April 2012 - 05:54 PM

The momofuku noodle dough turned out great. One of the students added extra water when I wasn't looking, but we sopped it up with extra flour. It was still a little moister then ideal, but with a little skill it was manageable. It was pretty cool teaching them how to use a pasta machine. Before trying to teach someone how to do it, I hadn't realized how much nuance there is to using one. Here's a pick of three of them doing their first solo run. The table had a weird little lip to it, so it made clamping it almost impossible and you needed an extra hand to hold it down. I either gotta bring a bigger clamp, or some spacer blocks.

ramen class 001cropped.jpg

They cooked fast, only took a minute or 2. Not the five in the book.

I was going to make the pickled shitake mushrooms, but I forgot to pack the vinegar, so we did them nimono style. Still good.

#96 Shalmanese

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Posted 04 April 2012 - 07:21 PM

I've found alkaline noodles to be pretty bulletproof. As a test, I boiled one batch for 20 minutes and it still have quite a bit of bite although nearly all the flavor had leached into the water. Try making a 2 minute batch and 5 minute batch side by side and comparing.
PS: I am a guy.

#97 Shalmanese

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Posted 06 April 2012 - 04:23 PM


Just checked my dough. I left it out, wrapped in plastic, at room temp for ~1.5 hours. Its got a nice texture, feels like it will roll well in the machine, BUT it's already starting to turn grey/green. Good thing this is a test batch.


Odd, definitely shouldn't be green. When you first rolled it, was it yellow? What flour are you using?


Just reading something on Udon production where it says:

Too low a protein level results in noodles with a poor cooking performance while too high results in undesirable brightness loss in both the raw and cooked noodle.

...

Starch damage during milling increases water uptake during mixing,decreases the breaking strength of the dried noodle and produces an undesirable darkening of the noodle.

.

Edited by Shalmanese, 06 April 2012 - 04:23 PM.

PS: I am a guy.

#98 TheTInCook

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Posted 06 April 2012 - 04:46 PM

Interesting, nice find. I'd never connected starch damage to dough color before. I know that millers have a certain target for starch damage since it makes doughs hydrate faster, and provides easy food for yeast. Maybe the flours in the US have a higher level of starch damage then Japanese flours.

#99 ChrisTaylor

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Posted 10 April 2012 - 02:07 AM

Steak saam tonight with one significant difference. When I poked around the shops the lettuce was all very sad-looking. I opted to forgo the lettuce in favour of some homemade flour tortillas, playing with Chang's constant comparisons between the early days of saam bar and a buritto bar.
I've never met an animal I didn't enjoy with salt and pepper.

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Harare, Victoria Falls and some places in between

#100 Simon_S

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Posted 10 April 2012 - 03:01 AM

I think I may have to order this book. Quick question: is the recipe for the Momofuku Ssam Bar sprouts dish included? I've been telling people about that dish since I first sampled it, and I'd love to be able to show them what I'm talking about.

#101 ChrisTaylor

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Posted 11 April 2012 - 12:18 AM

Today it's the chicken wings. I don't have a cold smoker, so I parked them in my gas-powered hot smoker for about 30 minutes (as opposed to the prescribed 45).
I've never met an animal I didn't enjoy with salt and pepper.

Melbourne
Harare, Victoria Falls and some places in between

#102 ChrisTaylor

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Posted 11 April 2012 - 02:28 AM

The chicken wings are my favourite recipe so far. Tempted to cook either the pork buns or bo ssam tomorrow.
I've never met an animal I didn't enjoy with salt and pepper.

Melbourne
Harare, Victoria Falls and some places in between

#103 &roid

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Posted 11 April 2012 - 05:06 AM

The chicken wings are my favourite recipe so far. Tempted to cook either the pork buns or bo ssam tomorrow.


The wings are great aren't they. The Bo Ssam though is on a different level - easily one of the nicest things I've ever cooked, and so easy too.

Quick tip: the recipe leaves this out, but you definitely need to rinse the salt/sugar mix off the meat when it's finished the overnight rest.

#104 MikeHartnett

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Posted 11 April 2012 - 06:31 AM

I think I may have to order this book. Quick question: is the recipe for the Momofuku Ssam Bar sprouts dish included? I've been telling people about that dish since I first sampled it, and I'd love to be able to show them what I'm talking about.


If you're referring to the dish with kimchi puree and bacon, yes, that's in there.

#105 Simon_S

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Posted 11 April 2012 - 07:40 AM

Thanks Mike. I don't remember kimchi puree and bacon (they were crispy and spicy but I can't remember specifics) but in any case I think I should just go ahead and buy the book.

#106 MikeHartnett

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Posted 11 April 2012 - 08:00 AM

It's a good book. I don't think you'll regret it.

#107 bigkoiguy

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Posted 11 April 2012 - 03:46 PM

I've really enjoyed cooking from this book. In some ways, it's a great "back to Asian basics" cookbook with some twists and turns. For me, the recipes have always turned out great - particularly the beef short ribs and the ramen.

In thinking about traditional ways of cooking, it occurred to me that ramen has been made for some time - which got me to thinking, where did people 100 years ago get potassium and sodium carbonate??? This got me looking into the chemistry of these two chemicals.

If you look at potassium carbonate, it appears that it was originally manufactured from potash. Potash was obtained by soaking plant ashes in water and then, after filtering charcoal and silica, drying the resulting solution. This left a slurry of silica (fine sand) in a potassium carbonate solution. Similarly, sodium carbonatewas obtained from ashes from certain plants.

It seems that ramen would have originally been made with potash? Thoughts?

#108 ChrisTaylor

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Posted 11 April 2012 - 03:53 PM

It's very good. I've played around with it every so often, but to be honest if I'd only been using it these past couple weeks I'd still feel that I've got my money's worth.
I've never met an animal I didn't enjoy with salt and pepper.

Melbourne
Harare, Victoria Falls and some places in between

#109 TheTInCook

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Posted 11 April 2012 - 04:29 PM

It seems that ramen would have originally been made with potash? Thoughts?


IIRC, those kind of noodles were originally prepared with water from alkali springs.


You can also get sodium carbonate from mineral deposits, like trona or natron.

#110 ChrisTaylor

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Posted 11 April 2012 - 06:29 PM

Today it's prawn and grits, altho' I'll be using polenta instead of grits.
I've never met an animal I didn't enjoy with salt and pepper.

Melbourne
Harare, Victoria Falls and some places in between

#111 ChrisTaylor

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Posted 06 May 2012 - 02:12 AM

Another weekend, another Momofuku recipe. This time I prepared the pork buns. Or, rather, I roasted the pork belly, tipped some hoi sin sauce into a bowl and steamed some store-bought buns. Oddly, I found the grocer stocked buns in damn near every shape and size other than what the ones in the picture. I could've travelled further afield and maybe found some, but the idea of getting in the car and messing around when I could just buy ... different ones didn't appeal to me. The ones I bought were more like football-shaped dinner rolls. I sliced them in half, pretty much as you would with a normal roll when making a hot dog.

It was nice and all, altho' true to form the steamed bread left me cold. Maybe it'd help next time if I just caved and made the buns, which seem to be a whole lot thinner than the ones I used. A higher pig-to-dough ratio sounds like a plan.
I've never met an animal I didn't enjoy with salt and pepper.

Melbourne
Harare, Victoria Falls and some places in between

#112 Tim Dolan

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Posted 11 May 2012 - 07:57 AM

I made my own wings with the Octo Vin last night. I didn't have time to marinate the wings and I don't have a steamer, so I used the cooking method for Korean fried chicken found here: http://www.saveur.co...n-Fried-Chicken. The batter was easy to make and the double frying method produced a super crispy wing. My only gripe is that I wished that the Octo Vin had adhered to the wings a little bit better, and I would've preferred it a little spicer. Regardless, now that I've made it once and know how easy it is, the options are endless.
I would kill everyone in this room for a drop of sweet beer...
Homer Simpson

#113 FrogPrincesse

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Posted 23 May 2012 - 12:27 PM

I don't own the momofuku cookbook, but I got a craving for roasted pork belly after reading Kerry and Anna's fooblog. So I bought a 4-lb pork belly and made a batch this weekend. I realize that the online recipe that I used (from epicurious) differs from the book in several respects. First, in the online recipe the belly is brined for 12 hours (instead of being dry-cured). It is roasted at low temperature first, and high temperature at the end. Despite these differences, I got an outstanding result.

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I did not attempt making the buns so I used high-quality dinner rolls from a local bakery. I served them with the quick-pickled cucumber from the book, chives (I did not have scallions), and hoisin sauce.
Absolutely delightful :smile:


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This is a great recipe because it can be prepared in advance and reheated as needed.

#114 Tim Dolan

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Posted 26 May 2012 - 08:50 AM

I just popped a 3-4 lb. pork shoulder in the oven for a nice 6 hour roast at 300 degrees. Because this pork shoulder is smaller than the normal 8-10 pounder that I usually get, should I reduce the temp or cook time at all?

P.S. since I posted about the wings two weeks ago I've been putting the Octo Vin on pretty much everything. It's addictive and so simple to make.
I would kill everyone in this room for a drop of sweet beer...
Homer Simpson

#115 Tim Dolan

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Posted 26 May 2012 - 02:51 PM

Left it in for 5.5 hours and it was perfect. This was my 3rd attempt and by far the best. I rinsed the pork off before roasting this time, which definitely helped. Topped the pork and rice with some Octo Vin and sriracha, it was fantastic.
I would kill everyone in this room for a drop of sweet beer...
Homer Simpson

#116 ChrisTaylor

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Posted 21 July 2012 - 01:27 AM

Made the short ribs. Very good. Easily the best short ribs I've had, altho' my loyalty, rib-wise, is still with the pig. Nice way to try out my new toy (SV@Home), tho'.
I've never met an animal I didn't enjoy with salt and pepper.

Melbourne
Harare, Victoria Falls and some places in between

#117 Broken English

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Posted 21 July 2012 - 10:57 PM

I've only made the red eye mayo so far. It's quite good, but it was a little bitter for my taste, so I added a little honey into it.

I've been doing a lobster canape with the red eye mayo, pickled ramps and duck prosciutto, which I really like.
James.

#118 ChrisTaylor

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Posted 21 July 2012 - 11:44 PM

I highly recommend the chicken wings as your next move.
I've never met an animal I didn't enjoy with salt and pepper.

Melbourne
Harare, Victoria Falls and some places in between

#119 Broken English

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Posted 22 July 2012 - 12:09 AM

Smoked, confited in pork fat and then fried? How could that be anything but glorious?
James.

#120 Merkinz

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Posted 11 August 2012 - 10:09 PM

Hey All,

Long time listener first time caller :D Here is as good a place as any to start I guess.

I've had this book for a while and although I don't cook out of it often (fiance is a vego :unsure: ) there are a couple of thing I couldn't live without from this book - mainly the pickles! (and the shiitake pickles to be precise). However the other week I was home alone so I decided to crack out the ghetto sous vide (chilli bin and digital thermometer, too broke to buy the real thing) and have a crack at the marinated hanger steak ssam ... although I couldn't find myself a hangersteak in the land down under :(

Turned out great! I'm still warming to Kimchi ... but I'll warm to anything tho after a few tries :laugh:

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Grabbed the biggest cast iron pan I had and got it slightly hotter than the surface of the sun...
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The results: EXACTLY how I like my steak...
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