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Octaveman

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Everything posted by Octaveman

  1. I fairly recently moved into a place and after doing some research it was discovered that my GE electric stove only cost $800 when new. Of course, that doesn't matter 'cause I HATE it. Ceramic top, "lite-brite" looking burners that cycle on and off and I can always tell because the food stops sizzling. Anyway, is there such thing as a really good electric stove? Which brands? What top is better than others? Special features to look for? Please let me know as I'd like to replace mine for a better one. Gas is not an option. Thanks for all the advice. Bob
  2. Post in the Canada/Montreal section of EG and see what they suggest. Ind doing my research when I bought my new fridge, I discovered that only a few companies actually make the units then they are marketed under many different brand names. This may be different in Canada.
  3. I was going to slam that entire article but I stopped myself. There is though this thing called Intended Use. If people are being killed by their ovens they are not using it for their intended use. Using an open stove door as a ladder to get to the back of the cupboard above your stove does not constitute intended use. I'm sure in the do's and dont's section of the operating manual, it clearly states DO NOT stand on oven door when open. Just like it clearly states in the manual DO NOT stick your finger into an electric pencil sharpener. Darwin was right.
  4. Octaveman

    Dinner! 2007

    My first attempt at making Char Siu and my first attempt at this soup. I got inspired to make this from a member of another forum I frequent. The soup contains chicken soup base, Shaoxing, fresh shitake's, baby bok choy, chopped green onions, hong kong style noodles, oyster sauce and of course the Char Siu. The soup was actually quite good and was pleased. The Char Siu though didn't come out quite like I thought it would even after marinating over 24 hours. Will make again. BBQ Pork Noodle Soup
  5. Octaveman

    Dinner! 2007

    I gotta get this cookbook. This looks great too. Great pic.
  6. Octaveman

    Dinner! 2007

    Excellent...thank you. I'm making a big batch of Shar Siu this weekend so I'll get some extra pork for this too. I've been thinking about getting a new Chinese cookbook so I'll take a look at this one as I do love flavor-packed foods.
  7. Octaveman

    Dinner! 2007

    This looks great. Share...the recipe, that is?
  8. Scargo, welcome to the discussion. I would like to see some of your rehandle jobs if you'd like to post some. A few members of a knife forum I frequent also make their own handles and they do an awesome job so I always like to see other people's work. Working with wood has always been something I wished I had the talent for. I'll just have to be satisfied with playing the trumpet as my only creative outlet as wood working has never been good to me.
  9. Ahem, well, my opnion of German knives are not that favorable. Not because they're garbage but because they are made to a different standard than Japanese knives. Basically, using the usual steels that have been used forever and making them to a lower hardness (HRC) levels. Because they're softer they need to be thicker and consequently heavier. They can be made very well but you'd still be working with inferior materials compared to Japanese knives. Even the mass produced Japanese knives starting at around $40 for a chef knfe are just plain better performers than pretty much any German knife. They use really good materials but their fit and finish is not always up to par with German knives. That's because the Japanese value function over form at this level. The higher you go in price the better craftsmanship you'll find. I'm not saying those $40 knives are crap, the handles are just not quite there quality wise. You may never notice anything out of the ordinary but if you're typically an anal person, then you will see things if you look hard enough. I'm not sure how to answer your second question. Anyone can use any Japanese knife and enjoy them. I'm a home cook (somewhat accomplished and very enthusiastic) and I have 5 gyuto's that cost, $48, $165, $185, $675 and $1,175. I know many cooks in restuarants use many different brands and styles...high tech powdered steel, carbon steel and/or combination steeled knives, traditional or western styled handled gyuto's, sizes from 210-270mm, Sujihiki's (slicer), parers, Honesuki's (boning), Deba's, gyuto's...it's all used. If you're looking for a chef knife or Gyuto, then which one you get is entirely up to you. I can recommend the vast array of brands I believe are great knives and all for different reasons and you choose the one you want based on what's important to you. You can't go wrong with any of the brands I recommend. Some of the brands I recommend come from what other people have said about them. If the reviewer of those knives knows what he's talking about I trust that opinion so I will pass it along. Most of the knives though I've personally tried over the years and I let you know which ones I've used and ones I haven't. Your budget will be the biggest factor in what you choose but if it's high enough you can have the pick of the litter and maybe get a few knives instead of just one. A few days ago I listed a few good brands to pick from based on a budget of about $100. If you're budget is higher, let me know and I'll recommend more in the $100 to $200 range. The knives under $100 are still quite good and do their job very well. You're just limited to styles in that price range. Knives over $100 will open up more options for you that you will not find in the lower priced knives. There is no Japanese knife I would recommend because it would slice her thumb off. I'd suggest buying her admission to a knife skills class and have her learn how to properly use them. Only after months of using what she learned would you even think about buying her a Japanese knife. There is a thread around here that asks this very question and gives plenty of options regarding knifes to get Mom but I wouldn't get her a Japanese knife until she starts to use the cutting board. Hope this answers your question. I haven't had any coffee yet and the mind is slow this morning so excuse the rambling and spelling errors please. Cheers, Bob p.s. Forgot to add that the only German brand I'd recommend is the Messermeister Meridian Elite. I've never used it but I've heard great things about it from known/respected users. The lack of bolster at the heel allows for sharpening the entire edge.
  10. I don't think so but it looks good enough to try. Looks better than the Texsport.
  11. It's easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission.
  12. http://fantes.com/woks.htm Found a 14" thick CI wok for $40.
  13. Nothing to say at this time.
  14. Less square? I think they are very square. In less rounded handles, the shape is the same but the corners are eased/smoother and way more comfortable to hold. The rounded handles are just as secure in my hand. The Tojiro DP pic below from JCK.com is really squared off to me. The top of the handle is a 90* angle and could use some smoothing out if it was me. If your used to sharper corners on the handles of your knives then the DP will be fine. Many people I know feel they are too sharp and uncomfortable and sand it down to be smoother.
  15. Jon, which side you cut depends on what you're working with. If a block of fish and you're making straight cuts like for sashimi, then the right side of the block is cut. If making longer/angled slices for nagiri then you make angled cuts from the left side of the block and tilt the knife to make wider pieces. When slicing from a filet you have the larger end to your right and you start making angled cuts starting from the smaller end working back. At least this is what I remember. Maybe someone here with real world experience will read this and correct me. You definately pull the knife toward you when you make a slice...starting at the heal and finishing at the tip or sooner depending on the length and sharpness of your knife. Basically the piece that's being cut is held in place with the left hand as you slice with the right. edited to resemble English.
  16. No problem at all. It does take a lot but it does help if a little research was done already by the questioner. The gyuto SHOULD be the most expensive non-electrical item in your kitchen since other than the stove, it gets used the most. For a budget of <$100 you can consider a few options. All prices are for 240mm unless noted otherwise. Kanetsugu Pro-M: Very good fit and finish, stainless, nicely rounded handles for comfort, good steel, very sharper than most out of the box. $85 Tojiro DP: Best bang for the buck in a stainless knife. Handles are more squared off which might present a comfort issue but can be solved with some sand paper. Fit and finish is hit and miss. You could get a perfect handle but you could also get one that has very minor flaws. These "flaws" may not even be noticable to you but just keep in mind this is an inexpensive knife that is made inexpensively but performs very well. You don't cut your food with your handle anyway. $60 Hiromoto HC: Carbon steel knife that is the best bang for the buck in a carbon knife. Good fit and finish, rounded handle for comfort, carbon steel performance (meaning it sharpens up great and stays sharper longer than stainless knives) I have this knife and think very highly of it. $50 Hiromoto AS: This one is beyond your budget but if you could possibly come up with the extra $30, it would be well worth it. This has a super blue carbon steel core and is clad or surrounded by stainless steel. I've had this knife...awesome. The AS is not the same as the G3. I have no experience with the G3 nor have I heard anyone who has. I can guarantee the AS is superior to any other knife listed in this post. $131 MAC Mighty: No personal experience but have heard good things about it. $115 Kiyotsuna: No personal experience with this but have heard it's a very good knife. $98 Kikuichi Elite: I've had this knife and it is a great carbon steel knife. Light and very well made. Kikuichi has a 700 year history of sword making and were the official supplier of swords to the Imperial Army. Thus bears the Emperor's emblem...the chrysanthemum. $90 This should keep you busy for a while. Cheers, Bob
  17. The only thing I do is wait for the water for pasta to come to a rolling boil before adding a little salt.
  18. You're paying for looks on a damacus knife. It serves no actual function other than beauty. There are the damascus knives like the Hattori HD or Ryusen Damascus where it's pretty much just clad in a pre-made damascus steel and then there are the damascus blades like the Hattori KD, Shigafusa and Carter to name a few where the damascus is hand made and adds that something special to your knife other than looks. The latter names are more functional works of art than just a knife to cut a potato with. If you tell me what your budget is I can recommend a few knives for you beyond the DP as there are plenty out there to choose from.
  19. Phatj, think of the knives this way... Euro = Ford Aerostar van Japanese = Ferrari A 210mm or a 240mm are both light and very manueverable. Because of this they are the opposite of unwieldy. I prefer 270 for pretty much everything I do...even mincing garlic and shallots. Sure, a 210 would give me more control on the smaller stuff but I hate to change knives in mid stream so I've learned to choke up on the blade when I need to. Then I still have the extra length when I need it for the bigger stuff. If you don't think you need to go that big then that's completely up to you. If you use a pinch grip, I would HIGHLY recommend the 240 over the 210 as the grip itself would remove 30-40mm of usable edge. Nobody I know likes to cut stuff up right under their fingers. Just keep that in mind. The difference in weight of a 210 to a 240 is very minor and most likely difficult to feel in actual usage since both knives are light to begin with. Unless you have a space issue, I'd stick with the 240. Better to have it and not need it than the reverse. What's an inch or so anyway? Seriously, draw an inch on a piece of paper. Not much of a difference but your fingers on the back of the blade will take up that space.
  20. You won't find a 14" thick CI for cheap. The Lodge with the two loop handles is the only one in this size. There is a super cheap thick CI wok under the brand name of Texsport but it's only 12". They have a long handle on one end. I acutally had this one but for me it was too small so I gave it to a friend. Great little wok though. The one that is lighter and cheaper is NOT rounded on the inside. It is flat and will not retain heat on an electric stove when food is added. It performs exactly like a carbon steel wok. HERE is the lodge for $51. HERE is the Texsport for $12.97 and is where I got mine. The level of finish on the texsport is very basic and rough. The level of finishing on the Lodge is very nice and much smoother than the Texsport. This in addition to the size is probably what makes the price difference. I've owned both and I can say the Lodge is worth the money. It will outlast you so I'd suggest start saving up. Keep an eye out on ebay too. The Texsport is also sold there through various sellers. I got my Texsport wok shipped for about $6.
  21. Not 100% sure what composite wood is but it's probably just stablized wood of some kind that is impregnated with stablizing material and pressed at high pressure to make the block of wood. Pakka, stamina are both used in western style knives. Magnolia and Ho are used for traditional Japanese style handles. I think the most obvious benefit of the western style handle is that it's what is universally used around the world so the user has no issues with "feel". Traditional handles do feel different but you'll get used to it quickly. It also changes the balance point on longer knives (>270mm) since the wood is lighter and the tang on these knives is smaller (called Rat-tail tang). The benefit of traditional handles is that they can be easily replaced. A range of 61-63 is a good range for Japanese knives with 60 being the lowest I would go. I say get the best quality gyuto you can with 61-63 hardness and keep it away from bones. Just that simple. Use it for daily veggie prep and meat slicing all you want. The knife will not need to be babied, just don't abuse it. No need to be afraid of them. It only takes using them one time to see how good of a knife they are. If they chip, so what. Sharpen it up and remove those chips. I have a 270mm Hattori KD that has a BIG chip in it (stupidity took over one night). I just left it alone. No need to remove all that metal just to take the chip out. Through regular sharpenings it will eventually go away.
  22. I'm assuming you mean clad when you say sheathed. The term clad means the knife is clad or sandwiched with a softer metal to add strength to the blade. The outer layer is called the Jigane with the core being called the Hagane. The process of making these knives is called Warikomi. The Mizuno Hontanren is an awesome knife. The wa-gyuto is an indredible piece of craftsmanship and is highly recommended by the few people I know own one. it's a very tough knife and can consequently be a bitch to sharpen. BTW, if you buy this or any other Japanese knife I'de suggest learning how to sharpen yourself or send it out to specialized sharpeners. I would NEVER trust this knife with the local knife shop. I've owned the Hiromoto AS and it too is an awesome knife. You can't go wrong with either of these. There is a big price difference and one has an iron Jigane and the other has a SS Jigane. If you get the Mizuno, make sure you wash and dry after each use. Don't let it sit around to clean until after dinner. It deserves more respect than that. Same with the Hiromoto really but you have the advantage of it looking nice and shiny for a long time. Only the edge will form the patina. If it were me and I had the budget, the Mizuno would be in my hands already. The Hiromoto is a worthy 2nd choice. It's completely up to you but regarding the size...I would suggest 270mm. If you use a pinch grip on your knives it removes about 30-40mm of usable edge at the heal because your fingers are there and nobody I know likes to cut stuff directly under their fingers. So if you get a 240mm, you end up with about 200-210mm of usable edge. With the 270mm you end up with 230-240 of usable edge. That extra inch really makes a difference IMHO. Be sure to post pics of your new baby when you get it. Cheers, Bob
  23. Performance advantage, yes & no, durability advantage, no. A single bevel allows the user to get more accurate and thinner cuts/slices than with a double beveled blade. Plus it can get sharper and it's easier to keep sharp. In a western kitchen there's not much advantage to having a single bevel unless you're making a lot of sushi or Japanese food. The Usuba is used for veggie prep but for daily western style chopping and/or slicing the Nakiri (double beveled Usuba) would be a better choice. Even then you could get away with just using a standard chef knife unless you're a knife nut and want that kind of specialization and accuracy. So, yes and no depending on what your cooking style is and what you're making. All my knives are Japanese but I only have two single beveled knives...a yanagiba and the deba I just bought above. The yanagiba is used for sushi and I wanted to try out a deba for chicken. Since single bevel knives are more fragile I had to find one that was softer than most so the edge could stand up to bones and joints. Your typical deba hardened to 63-64 HRC (rockwell scale) would chip pretty easily on a chicken because they are made to handle fish and their softer/smaller bones. The one I got is 60 HRC and so far has held up very well. Because the edge is so thin and not as strong as a double bevel knife it becomes less durable. The metals the Japanese use are very strong to begin with and can withstand a high amount of abuse but the thin edges that they can achieve make them fairly weak. I have a gyuto from Shosui Takeda and the edge is extremely thin and gets screaming sharp but holds it's edge very very well. I can go 4 months on a fresh sharpening before I notice it getting dull. Not all are created equal though so it depends on who the maker is and the steel used. Of course the user can make any knife stronger by making the bevel more obtuse themselves. Does the side of the bevel matter? That's a good question and one I'm not so sure I can answer completely or even correctly. That's because intuitively as a right-hander (RH) I would think that having the bevel on the left as I hold the knife out in front of me would be ideal because the bevel would make the slices of fish fall away from the block or filet. In reality though the bevel for a RH is on the right side and the slices of fish fall from the flat side of the knife. Since I've never used a LH single bevel knife I cannot make a direct comparison but the Japanese have made the knives the way they are out of hundreds if not thousands of years of developing/perfecting the design so who am I to argue with their logic. It's just the way it is and the user must just accept the correct way of doing things. Of course, if you're a RH and you want to get a LH knife, plan on spending 50-100% more for it. Many people I know use a yanagiba as a slicer for meats such as roasts or turkey for example and they say it works great. This knife (or any other single beveled knife) will have a tendancy to rotate slightly to the right for a RH making for uneven slices. So it will take some practice to control this natural rotation. Hope this answers your questions a bit, Bob
  24. Um, yeah, do not spend that much money for a wok. If you buy a stainless wok there will be no difference to any other SS pan. The food WILL stick and you will NEVER develope a seasoning which makes a carbon/cast iron vertually non-stick. Stir fry techniques are not compatable with wok cooking in a stainless steel wok. PLEASE do not spend more than $50 and buy either a carbon steel or cast iron wok. I have two woks: THIS one from the wok shop and the Lodge CI wok. The thin CI wok from the wok shop was highly recommended to me by the owner Tane Chan. People I know did a direct comparison of cooking with carbon versus cooking with the thin CI from the Wok Shop. It was determined that they cook equally as well. I think it works very well, is very lightweight and is becoming well seasoned. It is flat bottomed for electric stoves. The Lodge wok is abut 8 lbs and has a unique shape in that it is flat on the outside bottom for electric stoves and is round on the inside to be able to do a good job of cooking the food. I actually now prefer the Lodge to the thin CI because when I put food in it the temp doesn't drop so much and the food keeps on searing like it should. The meat would just stew in the thin CI because the temp dropped so much. Anyway, check out THIS THREAD on pros and cons to thin/thick CI. Keep in mind that whenever I mention thin CI I'm also referring to the carbon steel wok since they perform the same.
  25. Cool Jon. The DP is the best bang for the buck in a stainless knife. Glad to hear you like it. If you think it's sharp now, wait until you put your own edge on it.
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