Wimpy

It's not just Le Creuset cookware, but while Singapore is fantastic in terms of the range of good available, the prices just stink compared to Stateside (no surprise really, but please let me gripe anyway). I wanted to add to my Le Creusent collection but the prices are about 20-30% higher than in the US (retail) and much higher above US outlet prices (like the Le Creuset i got in Gilmore i think 2.5-3 gallons size for something like $70). Unfortunately, it's just not practical to lug those things from the US- cast iron is almost as bad as carrying lead ingots in your check in luggage. PS,try Sia Huat in China Town (i think temple road) for restaurant grade cookware. You wont find the well known US prosumer ware, but they carry other high quality brands. Went shopping for turkey recently btw. SGD8 per kilo. Gawd help us. Goose costs SGD16 per kilo (of course this was at Tanglin Mall, a shopping center catering primarily to expats).

I remember my mom's kinpira-gobou comes with bits of tofu skin (i think similar to what is used in inari-zushi) in additiona to carrots and the distinct sesame oil flavor.

Hi Jackal10- Firstly, welcome to Singapore! Secondly, great baking lesson! It so happens that I've been obsessed with baking the Poilane sourdough recipe from Peter (?) Reinhardt's book, "The Baker's Apprentice". I thought the local Singapore weather would make things difficult for me, but guess what- room temperature here (80F or so) is apparently the ideal condition for fermentation. I suppose it also doesn't hurt that humidity here in the tropics is higher. I made my own natural yeast starter by faithfully following the book's instructions and it worked! Frankly, it's a bitch for a working stiff like me to go through that painstaking 5 day process (never again), so am making sure that the starter is kept alive in my fridge with occaisonal refreshing each time I bake a new loaf. Anyway, the recipe for the Poilane loaf is quite large (10 cups flour in total). The crust forms nicely, but I don't get very large holes in the bread. The real Poilane I had in France didn't have large holes either, but I was hoping to create that effect (and chewy texture) by using mostly white strong flour rather than wholewheat. What am I doing wrong? Here's basically what I do: 1) I refresh the starter with 1 cup starter, 3.5 cups strong flour, 1/2 cup water and mix into a batter 2) I leave in bedroom overnight (because I have airconditioner on, it is more like room temp in temperate climates) 3) by morning, it is nice and bubbly and alive 4) I take one cup, add 2 cups strong white flour to make firm starter, let it rise (4-6 hours) outside, then pop in fridge 5) I follow recipe etc, let it rise overnight in bedroom, form boule, then pop in fridge to retard 6) I take out of fridge 4 hours before baking to let rise, then bake If the dough is cold, it takes longer than the prescribed time for the internal temperature to reach 200F which is what the book says is the correct temperature. Problem is that the outside will tend to burn while inside still is shy of the 200F target (fahrenheit). By the way- to fellow amateurs- do NOT use Pyrex pans as your steam pans!! I found out the hard way with bread no. 3. I did not heat the 2 cups of water all the way to boiling, so when I poured it into the hot pyrex, it exploded! Glass shards (and all the water) fell into my dough, flattening it into a saucer shape. I baked it anyway, to see if I could learn something from the resulting product. Luckily, I didn't get hurt.

rotisserie chicken and linguine w pesto

I know they sell cheese starter kits in the US, but as I live in Singapore and travel most frequently to Oz, I wondered whether such things were available there. Rennet is on top of my list, preferably in dry form. Can you buy stuff like that in retail shops in Oz? Thanks!

A somewhat related question- I finally found some boudin noir in Singapore. Does anyone know how to cook it? What does it go with? I'm guessing braised sauerkraut and some bread.

Don't forget the humble tamago-zushi (the "omelette" sushi). It may be the cheapest on the menu, but it is hard to make them well. I like mine just a tad underdone, where the center of the egg is stil slight creamy/fluffy. Other favorites include negi-toro temaki (hand roll). For me, however, the king of sushis is the o-toro from the bluefin tuna (hon-maguro, aka the true tuna)!

goma-senbei (sesame studded rice crackers)

Hi guys- I have to make a day trip to Ipoh (via Penang) next week (am based in Spore). Will have time for lunch in Ipoh and dinner in Penang. Any suggestions? Thanks!

Menu planning, i.e. what goes with what.

You'd never guess from the way I eat today, but pater was Ambassador to Austria when I was growing up... Question: does etiquette dictate which way the fork should be positioning when in the act of forking? i.e., let's assume it is proper to hold fork in left hand, is there a further standard on whether fork should be held such that the tines curve concave or convex? Is it a function of holding the utensil "overhand" or "underhand"? Is it just dictated by common sense i.e. for piece of steak, stab in overhand fashion and bring to mouth and when its rice, fork underhand and bring to mouth? I recall it is definitely faux pas to put your knife in your mouth. I am less sure whether it is bad form to balance food on top of the fork (tines facing down) although I never do it as it requires more dexterity than I possess...

I usually put whatever cheese pleases and don't insist on mozzarella all the time. I usually mix low moisture mozarella (i.e. not the soft balls in water) with combination of "stinkier" cheeses such as raclette and havarti or esrom with the occaisonal fontina slice. I usually grate em up in my cuisinart using the appropriate grating wheel. Proportion wise, its half mozzarella, and half stinky cheeses. My general rule is to use milder cheeses (i.e. just mozzarella) if you want to accentuate the flavor of the other topping such as caramelized onions or anchovies. If you are using tomato sauce, then I figure it can stand up to stinkier cheeses. For white pizzas such as blue cheese pizzas, i still layer some mozzarella as a based and crumble blue cheese on top and the occaisonal crottin de chevres.

Pistachio creme brulee

To the Ozzie gulleteers! Greetings, am in Sydney again (come here once a month on business). I heard about a famous pie shop here that celebrities visit and all that. Can you tell me the name of the place and its location? What pie do you recommend I try? Am staying at the ANA Grand Harbour. Is it walking distance? Plan to go to GPO Cheese Shop later this week. Any cheeses I should try or bring back home with me? Cheers,

I just prepared a Beef Wellington last weekend and bunged it in the freezer for baking this coming saturday. Btw, it freezes darn well (I've done it a few times already). I follow the Cook's Illustrated Recipe which is pretty well written. It calls for both duxelles (mushrooms) and pate. In my case, I didn't have any pate on hand so I used fresh duck foie pieces I had left over in the freezer, let it reach near room temp, put between two sheets of plastic wraps and bashed it into a longish, flatish sheet which I peeled and put on top of the filet (before rolling the duxelle over it). The idea is that the fat will melt into the duxelle and crust during the baking process.

Just finished some charsiew mee (roast pork slices, egg noodles (thin type, with chili sauce ) which I picked up from a hawker food stall outside my office along with a small bag of chopped fresh fruits (kiwi, apple, pinepple, banana). ** burrpp**

Thankfully however, for those living in Japan (especially Tokyo), it has a wealth of great places offering very authentic western desserts (in general including pastries, etc.). In my experience, outside of the places of origin such as Vienna or Paris, Tokyo patisseries and other purveyors of western desserts really do a bang up job in taste & authenticity. In other words, you have the best of both worlds in Tokyo without having to suffer yet another bean confection...

Ok- prepare for a generalization: IMHO, as far as desserts are concerned, I posit that both Chinese and Japanese cuisine must bow to the superiority of desserts from the Western European continent. I mean, there is only so much you can do with sweet beans in its gazillion manifestations (and I find each type of Japanese dessert has a Chinese or Korean analog, no surprise there due to a shared cultural/genetic heritage which they are still loathe to admit). In my case, after an excellent Japanese dinner, I skip dessert and go find myself a western establishment for the last course.

While the Paella Valenciana known to most is a mixture of meats and seafood, my understanding is that purists abhor the idea (although I must say it tastes good) and that in fact the traditional Arroz a la Valenciana contains snails found in the rice fields, and possibly rabbit (dont' remember just now). Question: I alway season my paella indirectly, i.e. I make the broth well in advance (from shrimp shells if seafood, from chicken base if meat) and season it with salt and also once taken off the heat, throw in the saffron threads. I find that this way, the saffron flavor (and color) is distributed much more evenly than if I threw the threads into the pan during the actual cooking process. So am I breaking any tenets of good paella making? By the way, I find the squeezing of a bit of lemon over the finished dish to be quite essential to the taste. You?

My Japanese grandmother usually made me the following bfast when in Tokyo (she is now unfortunately bed ridden, in final stages of Parkinson's, bless her generous soul): 1) rice 2) natto with one raw quail's egg 3) grilled lightly salted fish (buri or sanma) or shio-jake 4) home made pickles (cucumber usually) 5) miso shiru (with wakame and those tiny slimly brown mushrooms) My grandparents of course favored the super thick cuts of toast bread with Hokkaido butter and jam. I guess they kept up with the times, and my bfast was an anachronism!

Calpis!

Drumroll please! (All Edo-mae style) # 3: Anago sushi # 2: Uni (murasaki uni) # 1: Chu-toro (hon maguro only)

Filipino Chicken Adobo Here's my version of Chicken Adobo, a Filipino staple dish and not to be confused with any sort of Mexican adobo. 12 chicken thighs with skin intact (one US size giant pack is good) 4 whole garlic heads, separated into cloves & peeled 1 c vinegar (malt, apple, white is OK, although orig. is made from sugar cane) 10 black peppercorns 5 bay leaf (dried) 1/2 c soy sauce (kikkoman or other japanese type is more refined) salt Preparation: 1) wash thighs, pat dry with paper towel 2) peel all the garlic cloves (yes, it's a lot), and bang them abit with flat of knife blade to release the oils/juices (but don't mush), leave a few whole (not bashed) 3) salt the chickens rather generously on each side 4) in large (Rubbermaid) plastic container, line up the thighs and throw in all the garlic, you can layer the thighs, 2 or 3 levels deep 5) pour in vinegar, about 1 -1.5 cups 6) pour soy sauce, about 1/2 cup 7) pour in cold tap water until thighs are submerged 8) throw in bay leaves and peppercorns 9) snap on the lid for container, carefully give it a nice shake so the marinade mixes well 10) bung into refrigerator overnight or up to three days (like i do) To Cook: 1) Dump entire content into large stainless steel pot (avoid aluminum coz of the vinegar) 2) Bring contents to a boil, then reduce to a gentle boil, a bit above a simmer. I'd say up 30-40 minutes. There is not much finesse required, thighs should be cooked through, but skin should not be too shriveled up or separated from the meat. Quite a lot of fat is rendered from the skin, skim from surface and set aside. 3) Take pot off flames, and separate out the chicken thighs and the garlic. Reduce the sauce down a bit more (maybe to about half the depth, but not too much else becomes too salty). 4) Meanwhile, using a non stick frying pan, fry the thighs skin side down with some of the rendered chicken fat (or use corn oil). Until skin gets crisp. Turn over and fry briefly on other side. Do this for all of thighs and set aside. 5) Take the garlic cloves (which were cooked along with the thighs) and fry them until crunchy on outside. They are kinda mushy at this stage but it should fry (watch out for oil splatter). Set aside. 6) In bowl, place chicken thighs, pour reduced sauce and put fried garlic on top. Serving Suggestions: 1) Filipinos will eat this with plain steamed rice (not long grain, but the Asian stickier type) accompanied by some green vegetable dish. 2) Pour sauce (which should NOT be thick like demi glace or anything) over the rice. 3) Adobo tastes great even as a leftover (i.e. flavor matures in fridge). It also keeps for quite a long time, as it is confit-like (with fat sealing the chicken in container and the sauce gelatinizing) There are gazillion variations to this, some mix it with pork. Many do not take the extra step to separate out and fry, but this is what my dish is known for and lends it an added texture which the traditional one does not have. Caveat: I always wing measurements (eg. the vinegar and water and salt)- one reason I suck at baking. So the measurements above are estimates. The vinegar taste is definitely there but should not overwhelm. It should be mellowed out by the dilution with water and interaction with salt and soy and a kind of sweetness (umami?) lent by the cooked garlic. Why both salt and soy? I find the saltiness of salt and that of soy are different in character. Also, the soy lends an appetizing golden tint to the thighs, but careful not to overdo both or it becomes way too salty. Keywords: Chicken, Main Dish, Easy, Filipino ( RG321 )

Monica- here's my version of Chicken Adobo, a Filipino staple dish and not to be confused with any sort of Mexican adobo. Ingredients 1) chicken thighs (one US size giant pack is good) about 12+thighs with skin intact 2) 3-4 whole garlic heads, separated into cloves & peeled 3) vinegar (malt, apple, white is OK, although orig. is made from sugar cane) 4) black peppercorn- I'd say 10-12 5) bay leaf (dried) I'd say 4-5 6) soy sauce (kikkoman or other japanese type is more refined) 7) salt Preparation 1) wash thighs, pat dry with paper towel 2) peel all the garlic cloves (yes, it's a lot), and bang them abit with flat of knife blade to release the oils/juices (but don't mush), leave a few whole (not bashed) 3) salt the chickens rather generously on each side 4) in large (Rubbermaid) plastic container, line up the thighs and throw in all the garlic, you can layer the thighs, 2 or 3 levels deep 5) pour in vinegar, about 1 -1.5 cups 6) pour soy sauce, about 1/2 cup 7) pour in cold tap water until thighs are submerged 8) throw in bay leaves and peppercorns 9) snap on the lid for container, carefully give it a nice shake so the marinade mixes well 10) bung into refrigerator overnight or up to three days (like i do) To Cook: 1) Dump entire content into large stainless steel pot (avoid aluminum coz of the vinegar) 2) Bring contents to a boil, then reduce to a gentle boil, a bit above a simmer. I'd say up 30-40 minutes. There is not much finesse required, thighs should be cooked through, but skin should not be too shriveled up or separated from the meat. Quite a lot of fat is rendered from the skin, skim from surface and set aside. 3) Take pot off flames, and separate out the chicken thighs and the garlic. Reduce the sauce down a bit more (maybe to about half the depth, but not too much else becomes too salty). 4) Meanwhile, using a non stick frying pan, fry the thighs skin side down with some of the rendered chicken fat (or use corn oil). Until skin gets crisp. Turn over and fry briefly on other side. Do this for all of thighs and set aside. 5) Take the garlic cloves (which were cooked along with the thighs) and fry them until crunchy on outside. They are kinda mushy at this stage but it should fry (watch out for oil splatter). Set aside. 6) In bowl, place chicken thighs, pour reduced sauce and put fried garlic on top. Serving Suggestions: 1) Filipinos will eat this with plain steamed rice (not long grain, but the Asian stickier type) accompanied by some green vegetable dish. 2) Pour sauce (which should NOT be thick like demi glace or anything) over the rice. 3) Adobo tastes great even as a leftover (i.e. flavor matures in fridge). It also keeps for quite a long time, as it is confit-like (with fat sealing the chicken in container and the sauce gelatinizing) There are gazillion variations to this, some mix it with pork. Many do not take the extra step to separate out and fry, but this is what my dish is known for and lends it an added texture which the traditional one does not have. Caveat: I always wing measurements (eg. the vinegar and water and salt)- one reason I suck at baking. So the measurements above are estimates. The vinegar taste is definitely there but should not overwhelm. It should be mellowed out by the dilution with water and interaction with salt and soy and a kind of sweetness (umami?) lent by the cooked garlic. Why both salt and soy? I find the saltiness of salt and that of soy are different in character. Also, the soy lends an appetizing golden tint to the thighs, but careful not to overdo both or it becomes way too salty.

A couple o questions: 1) Is it just me or do most people prefer Rubbermaid storage stuff to Tupperware? To be precise, I liked Rubbermaid's older containers which were simple, square/rectangle and efficient. Tupper has too many colors going on for my taste and lots or rounded edges which to me doesn't stack (literally) as well. The newer Rubbermaids are getting a little too Tupperware-like, I'm afraid. 2) Are storage boxes a guy thing? My wife can't understand why I get storage attacks like Mamster's, go buy tons of little containers, and attempt to create a new world order. It extends to things like tipping over my toolbox and rearranging everything (like Amelie's dad). Another anal thing of mine is that I hate mixing colors. So if I have a set of blue Rubbermaids, I will not buy a green or white one, even if it is otherwise of the desired size and shape.