johnnyd
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Posts posted by johnnyd
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Yam Nua - everything but fish sauce and limes grown within five miles
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12 hours ago, liuzhou said:
I agree with the previous two posts. The best way to season a wok is to use it.
And don't worry about your gas ring not being hot enough. 1.4 billion home cooks in China manage just fine with a silmilar set up to yours. See here.Thank you liuzhou - I read that thread with great interest during my research last week - much appreciated.
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1 hour ago, TicTac said:
Cooking on a wok that has not been properly cleaned from manufacturing greases/coatings is not a wise move.
The salt/potatoe skin method mentioned above was instructed to me when I purchase my carbon steel pans from Matfer Bourgeat. You could see the grime coming off of the steel onto the mixture.
From there, it's up to you if you want to start cooking on it. Certainly you will not see the desired results you might expect form a wok - but that depends on how much time you want to invest in properly seasoning it.
Yes, thus this posted Topic.
Does one cook salt/potato mixture before the oil coat/baking time and after wash/scrubbing? Seems logical.
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Great thread!
I have no quarrel with the gas force for everyday lunch/snax/dinner duty. I plan to use it continuously and swirl more oil as I go. Should have decent patina of I keep it up!
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Yup. I just ordered "The Breath Of A Wok" today.
Andrea Nguyen of Viet World Kitchen .com writes of 'baking' the wok upside down in a coating of 2 teaspoon flaxseed or canola oil at 425°f for 30 minutes, allow to cool in oven for 15-30 minutes, then remove and let sit for 45 minutes. Then she cooks an onion in it for 10 minutes til charred. This is immensely better than range-top curing.
Splendid!
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Most helpful, Rotuts!
I don't mind removing the handle - I've already checked out if it's doable, now especially since you are recommending curing the wok in an oven. Flaxseed bottle is brand-new.
- At what temperature do I set my oven? I have a Café™ Gas 5-burner range and convection bake/roast oven, with a decent hood exhaust. If you say "hot, hot" maybe 450°f?
- How long at temperature does the wok stay in there before the next thin,thin coating? Do I let it cool a little first? Does it matter?
Also, no sanding or scratching the steel - bloody glad I asked! That was gleaned probably from a "Re-store Your Rusty Wok" page somewhere - it's been a blur, really.
To wit: this from Grace Young:
New woks have a thin factory coating that must be removed before the first use. To do this, wash the wok inside and out with a stainless-steel scrubber, dish soap, and hot water. Rinse and dry it over low heat.
Next, season the wok to protect against rust and start a patina. Turn on the exhaust fan, open the kitchen window (it’s difficult to remove all of the coating, so any that remains will give off a strong smell as the wok heats), and heat the wok over high heat until a drop of water evaporates on contact. Swirl in 2 Tbs. vegetable oil and add 1/2 cup sliced ginger and a bunch of scallions cut into 2-inch pieces. Lower the heat to medium and stir-fry with a metal wok spatula, smearing the ginger and scallions over the entire surface, for 20 minutes-the long stir-fry creates a good patina. Discard the solids, wash the wok with a soft sponge and hot water, and dry over low heat. The seasoning process may change the wok’s interior color-it can have a yellow, black, or blue hue. Every wok reacts differently.
See what I mean? Even the instructions that came with the wok said one, maybe two coats, but I want to turbo-charge the patina out of the gate. I guess we'll see what happens!
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I recently purchased a Craft carbon steel 14", round-bottomed wok.
I want to season it properly and there is a wealth of conflicting information about doing so. I've picked out among it all what I believe is a good plan of action but still have a couple questions I bet the eG hive mind can help me answer. I've dug around in our archives and if I've missed anything I'd welcome any links to previous discussions. Opinions, as usual, high and low, are warmly welcome.
Equipment:
Also on hand is a cast iron wok ring that fits my wide-format gas burner perfectly - this is high setting:
So no jet-powered high-output butane here.
Punch List:
- Scrub both sides with Scotch-Brite pad and Dawn soap until no trace of shipping coating remain. People say about a 1/2 hour should do it. True? False? Longer?
- Use 320-grit metal sandpaper on both sides - this apparently opens the pores so it absorbs the seasoning oil coats. Shall I use coarser/finer grit paper? Do it at all?
- Remove wooden handle. Set on ring and heat at high setting until (very) hot. ...or just "hot", not "very hot", how about "smoking hot"?
- Have quarter sheet pan with about 1/4" of good oil - I have flax and grapeseed - Which is better?
- Using kitchen tongs, wipe balled-up paper towel in sheet-pan oil and apply thinly - and quickly - over entire inside surface. Smoking occurs...
- When smoking stops, re-apply oil in the same manner - slide wok around ring so the outer edges get heat consistent with the inner bowl.
- Repeat a bajillion times. No, really, six? Twelve? Twenty times? A set of six, then let cool, then repeat?
More questions:
- When is it safe to apply thin oil layers to the bottom? How many coatings go there? Same as the inside bowl?
- I'm told the carbon steel changes color, the best being a bluish tint - unlikely owing to the weak gas flame output. What color am I looking for and is it a sign it's ready for a test stir-fry?
I've made what I see now are rookie mistakes in the past, like put in peanut oil and leave over night; fry up a pound of bacon, all of which leaves a gross sticky surface. Some YouTube videos have dudes burning the handles, causing oil fires... all more interested in seeing themselves on YouTube rather than seasoning a wok.
Intriguing Alternative:
Charm the Vietnamese kitchen staff at the Thai place down the street to do it for me....
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Bit of Satay tonight. Marinated overnight with a recipe from a Malaysian fellow that I can't find now, but quite memorable.
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More Bluefin Tuna, loin and belly, Poke style.
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Tuna Salad!
Seared Bluefin Tuna, local cukes, red onion, sweet peppers, radish, heirloom carrot, red-leaf lettuce, Japanese pickles, furikake, togarashi and house-made ponzu
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Some inventive plates here, and they look just great. I want to know what kicked that halibut/snapper ceviche into high gear. I see ribbons of pepper and tomato, but the key for me is how long to marinate? When I do scallops, they are ready in an hour in 4:1, lime:pineapple juices, minced red onion, cilantro stem and thai bird peppers (when I can get them). Beyond fresh bluefin tuna poke, I've never tried any other fish. Both halibut and snapper have a firmer, denser flesh profile. I will have to try making some...
A sandled foot or two adds character to your compositions 🙂
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Agreed: Cheese has no business even being near fish...
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On 8/20/2021 at 9:43 AM, weinoo said:
I've had both good ones and bad ones, and when I started investigating about making them at home, decided they were too much of a pain in the ass to pull off properly.
I hear you. I've had excellent ones in Portugal so I was nostalgic for them one day. Took two days to soak the bacalhau and carefully folded in potato/onion, then went to my friend's restaurant on an off-hour and used his frialator. They came out great. Tried it at home in a couple quarts of Wesson and they sucked. Haven't made 'em since.
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1 hour ago, Anna N said:
Trust us!
Absolutely!
Good bunyols de bacalla depend on the oil temperature they are fried in. I've struggled to find the right range however tight because when they are done properly they are the tastiest thing on the planet; if the oil temp is too low they become little sponges of oil that mess up your stomach. We might even have a thread somewhere...
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Another level indeed, Herr Duvel
My parents visited Portugal often when I was growing up. They brought me there one summer and we toured all over the country - it was magical. When my Dad retired they moved there and built a little 'fazenda' in the Algarve and lived there for 20 years (70's & 80's). We had water delivered for our cisterne, fired up the gas generator for four hours every night, the fridge ran on propane. They didn't get a phone line until 12 years had passed.
They planted vegetables and grapevines but there already was a 100 year old fig tree next to the front patio. I slept in a hammock affixed to that tree when I was home from boarding school. There was a famous chicken piri-piri place in the hills of Monchique that looks exactly like Tres Turons. The busier beaches had open grills where you could get your fill of grilled sardines caught that morning. The Wine was excellent.
I'm on Coast of Northern New England now because my time in Europe shaped my preferences. If I don't have some sort of seafood every 3 days I get pretty cranky, and it's really good here. But I miss our place in Portugal, but it's not at all the same. The Algarve is built up now. Google satellite shows a tennis court where our vineyard used to be and the acres and acres of olive and almond trees I remember are all villas.
Your trip to Catalonia is wonderful and shain's trip to Greece too. I know there are some nooks and crannies on the Spanish coast that are still hidden. We should stay in touch...!
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Tres Turons was stunning. Thanks for the pics. I would freaking move there for that place...
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Whoa!
So I googled that monkfish with clams dish because I'd never heard of that kind of preparation and found three or four recipe pages in Catalan, including this elaborate version that starts with making a fish stock that eventually morphs into a sauce (containing almond milk and honey!) in which monkfish and gambas are added. Served with fried potatos and clams poached in white wine. Not the same as Duvel's fascinating plate but this is the opening for a serious experiment ahead!
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Outstanding pictures, Master Duvel! Seeing what's popular there is most intriguing. Thank you. My family had a little spread in Portugal for 20 years so much of these are familiar. Saudades...
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On 7/30/2021 at 3:56 PM, Katie Meadow said:
You moved so you could eat more of an endangered species? I'm not trying to be catty here, but as far as I know Atlantic Bluefin has been on the critically endangered list for the last ten years. I know there are limits on the catch, etc, but can you clarify the status of Atlantic bluefin (or all bluefin)? There are very few restaurants or shops that sell bluefin here on the west coast, and I've always been encouraged to avoid it. I do know that Pacific bluefin is a different species, but they are overfished as well. The Monterey Bay Aquarium seafood watch still has both Atlantic and Pacific bluefin on their Avoid List. This is all about the ecological impact. There is also a lot of corruption in commercial fishing, since these fish can command sky high prices.
And then there's this:
"This summer’s amazing story about a record, 873-pound bluefin tuna caught off the coast of Delaware by a recreational angler took an unfortunate twist Tuesday, when international ocean conservation group Oceana reported that toxic mercury in its flesh tested at 2.5 parts per million, making it two and a half times higher than the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Action Level for commercial fish. This amount is also nearly twice the highest level of mercury ever found by the FDA in any fresh or frozen tuna steaks."
So, stay healthy. Yes, I have no doubt it is delicious.
Katie. You are indeed trying to be catty. You automatically surmise that I - a person you know little about - has aimed to, and executed a life-decision to commit ecological crimes by moving to a place that harvests ocean species for the purpose of personally consuming them. I almost didn't dignify your post with a response because you are clearly committed to a pre-loaded judgement of what constitutes politically "correct "and morally "responsible" behaviour towards the planets' animal species. Is that wrong? Of course not, but you are accusing me of reprehensible behaviour in a public forum, and clearly without bothering to research your accusations. In short, because I posted a picture you thought was offensive, I must be offensive too, right?
In fact, NOAA removed North Atlantic Blue Fin Tuna from the endangered species list in 2011. The Mediterranean biomass is not seeing the rebound in Blue Fin biomass so their harvest is much more restricted. Licenses for commercial harvest of Blue Fin Tuna were allowed to increase this year and last as the most recent stock assessment showed a rebound. Without cluttering up the OP's thread I'll encourage you to look into the facts at your own pace. Start with a simple Wikipedia search.
I moved to Maine to become a commercial fisherman. We used SCUBA to harvest sea urchin which we sent overnight to Tokyo's Tsukiji Market. I spent seven Maine Winters in a dry-suit and wool sweaters. Before that I spent five years BOH in Vermont restaurants. I made it my business to know all about where food is going and where it's coming from. I understand it's fashionable to swipe at commercial interests and flows but guess what? Commercial interests will still flow after you and I are on the wrong side of the grass. You can hold up as many signs and go to as many protest marches as you want but if you don't learn to help change the way things are exploited and deployed from within it's circuitry you're just blowing smoke.
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Guys are pulling 400lb bluefin tuna off-shore everyday in Maine this Summer. I just came back from the fishmonger who cut a 1lb slab from a huge loin brought in yesterday. It's part of the reason I moved here.
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Betcha two drachma that's sumac on your chickpea dish.
I'm with Heidih: mezze style is informing my menu all week now. Beautiful blog!
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That's an olive grove with some really old trees.
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Yellowfin poke with Hijiki, sukemono, Edamame and house-made ponzu.
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With a bottle this old, it's curious that the contents hasn't seemed to age, like turn a gold color.
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Breakfast 2021
in Cooking
Posted
Take out Congee from Cong Tu Bot, Portland Maine (among the NYT top 50) featuring mung bean, pickled mustard greens, egg, chili oil. Delightful!