Octaveman

Sam's post is right on all accounts. The glass smooth steel is a must. Use it lightly as not much pressure is needed. With a gyuto, I would recommend against using any kind of rod for "sharpening" except the C-14 he mentioned. I haven't tried it but I'd be mildly concerned that my edge would get a bit "toothy" after using it. That's not necessarily a bad thing as you can either have a smooth edge or a finely toothed edge. Just cuts differently. BTW, what gyuto did you get?

Yeah, full sun. Here's the link that got me started. http://www.yougrowgirl.com/grow/lemongrass.php

You are correct Larry, people think about it too much. If I have any bacon grease left over I put it in a coffee cup and throw it in the fridge. Great for Potatoes O'Brien and coating potatoes for baking. Rinse under hot water, using a wok brush to lightly scrub stuck on stuff and wipe dry with a paper towel. No big deal. I NEVER clean my CI pans as thoroughly as I do the others. Water beads up on all my skillets and wok. Another trick that someone told me to clean stuck on bits is to heat up the pan (after excess grease/oil taken out) real hot then add water as if your deglazing the pan. Use a wooden spoon to scrape the stuck stuff and you're good to go.

I don't know who wrote this but I want some. My grandmother made jam all the time. I miss not having home-made jam and envy those who can make it.

I asked the hired help at Home Depot and they never heard about using sand. They thought the idea was to get good drainage so we went with plain old potting soil avoiding those soils that help to retain water. It will grow pretty quick and it will probably need a bigger pot in no time so keep that in mind when you pot it/them. Did you get a Kaffir lime tree? I've been cooking a lot of Thai the past month and stripping the limbs quite a bit. I got a little worried that I was going to end up with a barren tree but I see new sprouting going on.

Um, that's the same place that Toliver started this thread for...

Wow, that wasn't very nice at all. I don't think it has anything to do with the collective reading comprehension of the members here. We don't know why you can't season the pan...or why the pan can't be seasoned however you choose to look at it. We gave suggestions and ideas that we thought would work based on our experiences. Sorry you didn't get the answer you were looking for. Yes, you are looking for a non-stick surface because without it your food would turn into a inedible mess. Maybe you'd be better off looking on the internet in places that are specific to cast iron care and usage. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seasoning_%28...on%29#Seasoning http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cast_iron_cookware "Bare cast iron cookware requires seasoning—impregnation of the cooking surface with oil—to prevent rusting, and to create a non-stick surface." "A new cast iron pan will not be 100% seasoned after a single treatment. It takes repeated use for the pan to develop a seasoned, non-stick surface". http://whatscookingamerica.net/Information/CastIronPans.htm http://whatscookingamerica.net/Information...ingCastIron.htm http://www.cyberbilly.com/meathenge/archives/001138.html Includes an email link at the bottom to ask directly what the problem is and how to fix it. http://www.panman.com/cleaning.html A forum specifically for cast iron pans http://www.griswoldandwagner.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl Please let us know what you find out to be the problem and how it's to be fixed. I'm sure we'd all like to know.

I'd go without hesitation. Looks like fun to me. Their single burger is no different than any other place that has 1/2 lb burgers. Fuddruckers is a prime example of a chain that has up to 1 lb burgers and nobody's complaining about them. Cracks me up how their dealing with the nurses association. I want a t-shirt.

Grave, you live with her so you should know which knives she uses the most. Just go get replacements for those same styles keeping in mind what she does with them. Cooking style goes a long way to determining what knives to get. If she bones chickens but doesn't have a boning knife, then get her one. I agree with most people that to get great knives would be wasteful. You can get good knives that she'd be thrilled with and save some money. My recommendation for some quality knives is the Messermeister Meridian Elite. Styles should be based on what she uses right now. It's my guess that she could get plenty of use out of the following: Meridian Elite 7" Santoku or 8" Chef $80 Meridian Elite Small parer (if she uses one) $40 Meridian Elite 6" utility $50 Generic Bread/Roast slicer $30 A block to hold them $40 Now I know that convenience and timing is an issue so if you didn't want to order online to get all this stuff then I suggest going down to a Bed Bath and Beyond type store that has a somewhat generous selection of choices and get a block set. Keep in mind the choices of knives in the set. You don't want to get a bunch of knives that will duplicate duties such as a 7" santoku and a 8" chef or a 5" petty and a 6" petty. The four knife styles I listed above are well rounded and can do pretty much anything a home cook would need them to do. You should be able to get 6-7 piece starter block sets for around $200. The Meridian Elite 7-piece basic set is right at $250 and has pretty much the same knives I listed above. Hope this helps Bob

Don't confuse seasoning with burnt on "food". When the pan is heated up, the pores in the metal expand allowing for oil/bacon grease to be abosrbed. Over time, the pan becomes saturated with this burnt on "oil/grease" that it becomes slick and non-stick whenever the pan is reheated. Burnt on food will flake off but oil does not flake. I've never had a problem with flaking on any of my 5 cast iron pans/woks. Based on what you've said, the original seasoning is now gone due to it being sanded down. Seasoning a cast iron pan is a long process...not something that you do once or twice when you buy the pan and forget about it. Even the "pre-seasoned" pans by Lodge are nowhere near properly seasoned. It's just seasoned to get you started. To season a new pan I 1) use a lot of oil, 2) cook a lot of bacon or use plenty of leftover bacon grease and cook a pile of onions or Chinese chives, 3) let the pan get real hot before using, 4) lightly scrub with a bamboo wok brush under hot water when I'm done cooking, 5) put the pan back on the stove, heat it up, coat it with oil, cook some of the oil back into the pan, turn burner off and let it sit until cool. I do this every time I cook with it. Even the pans with water beading up on them. Eventually, that pan will work as you expect it to. Fat guy is right, the oven method is not that permanent. It might give you one or two uses without the oil being used up. Like I said, it's a long process to get a CI pan properly seasoned. Get a bamboo wok brush and use that to clean...don't use a sponge or the scrubby side of one. For the burnt on food spots in your pan, poor some kosher salt on it and lightly scrub the spot with a paper towel. Dry it and put it back on the stove to re-season and do so after every time you use it. It won't take long before you start to notice your progress. Make sure you let the pan heat up well enough as a hot pan helps with the non-stick issue too.

007Bond-JB, that steak looks awesome. No juice on the plate either. I wish I had some virtual goggles, I would put that pic in it. Nice job.

THIS is the bean sauce I used for the recipe. Koon Chun is a great brand for sauces. I know there are a lot of variations of "bean sauce" so not sure how to guide with this question as I'm not hip to the differences between them all. Even sauces labeled just Bean Sauce will taste different. If you like more heat to this dish you could substitute Kimlan Hot Bean Sauce instead of basic Bean Sauce. The more I think about it, I may have added 1 tbl of it but forgot when trying to recreate the recipe. No biggie though. Regarding the crushed red pepper flake substitution. This is something I think changes the dish. It will give you heat, yes, but you're not necessarily looking for that heat factor with the dried red peppers. The picture below shows you two basic types of dried peppers you might find at a grocery store. The peppers on the left were generically labeled Dried Red Peppers and are the ones I used for this dish. The peppers on the right are De Arbol peppers and are much much hotter. The generic Red Peppers have a somewhat smokey smell/flavor to them that you can't get with red pepper flakes. The generic red peppers are not all that hot and actually I was being conservative with only 6 in the recipe. I've read recipes where 30 or more were added to a dish. I will probably up the count to 10 next time. By adding them to the oil you brown them and impart the peppers own oil to the dish. You can add a few De Arbol peppers to the mix for more heat. Both have great flavor. The Sichuan Peppercorns I feel are also a must have (pictured below). I recently found them at 99 Ranch and can probably be found at local Asian stores but The Spice House online also has them. Their flavor can be put into the dish a couple of ways. Toast and grind them up like I mention in the recipe or put them into the oil by themselves (after the deepfry part of the recipe) on medium heat for a couple of minutes of sizzling (pictured below) and remove just about when they turn black. This too will impart their very unique flavor into the dish. If you've never used them before, these peppercorns are not hot but they will numb your mouth much like novacaine if used in large quantities. The flavor it imparts is one of a kind and I use them a lot. If you can find them in the store, I think I paid $1.50 for the 4 ounce package. I'm really glad people are liking this dish. Mongolian Beef has always been a favorite of mine and is almost always chosen when we go out for Chinese. I've been trying to recreate this dish at home for a long time with zero success so I'm also thrilled to have finally come up with a recipe that I think absolutely rocks. BTW, I posted this recipe in the RecipeGullet to make it more accessible. Cheers, Bob

Marlene, looks great! Yeah, using red pepper flakes and white pepper will make it sneakily hot. The sechuan peppercorns have their own earthly flavor without the heat so definately use them the next time you make the dish. Also, using basic whole red peppers, not the de arbol kind which can be too hot, also add a nice roasted pepper flavor to the dish. These two ingredients definately make a difference. Looking at your dish makes me hungry for it again. Glad your family liked it.

Mongolian Beef Serves 4 as Main Dish. Mongolian beef has always been a favorite of my family for as long as I can remember. It's probably because of the rich, slightly sweet with a mild amount of heat, sauce combined with melt-in-your-mouth beef that has always won us over. Since learning how to cook with a wok it has been a goal of mine to make this dish and make it as my family likes it in the restaurants. I've tried so many versions of this dish that I've found and none of them came out the way I wanted. After making it the night before I decided to make it again except this time try something based on key ingredients that I felt contributed to the overall flavor I was looking for. This recipe has turned out to be exactly what I had hoped for all these years of trying and is without a doubt the best recipe for Mongolian Beef I've ever had. Hope you enjoy it. Main Ingredients: 1-1/2 lb Flank Steak 5 T Garlic, minced 2 tsp Ginger, grated 3 bunches of thin Green Onions 1 T Sechuan peppercorns, roasted 6 dried Red Peppers, whole 2 c oil 4 T oil Marinade: 2 Egg Whites 1/4 c Cornstarch 2 T Dark Soy Sauce 2 T Shaoxing Rice Wine Sauce: 5 T Hoisin Sauce 2 T Soy Sauce 2 T Bean Sauce 3 T Brown Sugar 1 T White Vinegar 1 T Sesame Oil 3 T Water Slice flank steak into thin slices about 1" to 2" long. Put into zip lock bag and throw in cornstarch. Shake bag and make sure each piece is lightly coated. Add more cornstarch if needed. Put meat into bowl and add egg whites, fold to coat trying not to remove the cornstarch coating. Then add other ingredients and fold to coat. Let set for about an hour. While meat is marinating, cut green onions into 2 inch pieces, mince garlic and grate ginger. Put Sechuan peppercorns in a small pan and toast over medium heat until frangrant. Let cool and grind to a powder using a mortar and pestle. Once meat is done marinating, add two cups of oil to wok and heat to 325-350 degrees. Add individual slices of beef to hot oil in batches. I had about 6-8 slices going at a time. Let it flash fry to 30 to 45 seconds until the edges get brown and crispy. Drain on paper towels. When all beef has been fried, remove oil from wok and wipe down. Put wok back on stove and heat to desired temp. Add oil and let it get hot. Add red peppers, garlic and ginger to wok and quickly stir for 10 seconds then add green onions. Continue to stir-try for about a minute then add fried beef back to wok. Before starting to mix, dust beef with ground Sechuan peppercorns. Give a quick stir to combine and heat ingredients then pour sauce over everything. Quickly stir to coat well and remove to plate. There should be very little to no sauce left over. The meat should be nicely coated. Serve with your favorite rice. Keywords: Beef, Chinese, Main Dish, Easy, Dinner ( RG1952 )

Bruce, thanks. That version of M.B. turned out really really good. Yes, Dave will fix your blade, make it stronger and sharper than anything you've ever seen and will ever see again until you send it to him again. He's amazing. The stated HRC from various websites are questionable as it's likely that they really don't know. Korin has been known to have inconsistant info at times and the HRC is one of those things that vary from seller to seller. I've seen different ratings for the same knife before. Who do you believe? The bevels you put on the Hattori look fine to me. The knife is ground thinner than most to begin with so I see nothing wrong with that. One thing that you might want to do to strengthen your edge is to put a micro bevel on it. This is done by increasing the angle anywhere between 5-10 degrees and do 3 or 4 light swipes per side on your highest grit you finished your sharpening on. This will help support your actual cutting edge and help keep it from chipping. This micro-bevel is very small and does not remove the knife's ability to cut with your acute 10/15 bevels. I'm actually not sure of the exact angle I make my bevels as I use stones and have never bothered measuring. I go strictly by feel. It also depends on the knife. My Takeda Gyuto for instance gets an extremely acute angle as the AS blade can handle it. Last time I sharpened it, it was almost layed flat on the stone. I would guess that both front and back were around 7* each side. That sharpening session was in June 2006. It started to get dull in January and needs to be resharpened now. I'm not a sharpening expert so you'd get more detailed info/tips on the knife forums. Specially at KF.com where the sharpening guy, Dave in PA, posts all the time. He'd be the guy to ask all your questions. Hope this helped.

Bruce, nice well rounded selection of knives. Couldn't improve on anything you have. I've had problems with Hattori HD in the past too. Great knife but I feel it has to be babied more than the others. Your layered Ittosai, Hattori HD and the Ryusen damascus are all made by Ryusen and are the same blade so be careful with the Ittosai as well. Do you do your own sharpening? If not, I can suggest a great knife sharpener in PA to fix the Hattori and change the bevels so that they're stronger.

My pleasure. Forgot to add too that most if not all electric stove burners cycle on and off. That means your carbon steel or thin CI wok will also cycle through with the same temp changes. A thick CI wok will stay hot through those cycles. Another "pro" to a thick CI wok with a less-than-ideal electric stove. Just something to consider. Either the carbon or thin CI wok will do a fine job with beef really being the only issue. Yes, let us know what you decide. Actually, at $13 for the Texsport, why not try both? The Texsport has the long handle that makes it easy for grabbing and lifting versus, say, the Lodge that only has the two squared handles. Anyway, glad it helped. Bob

Hi Kim, I didn't think it was hot enough actually. If you wanted you could remove the dried red peppers but I'd keep the sechuan peppercorns in and reduce to 1/2 teaspoon before grinding (about 4-5). These peppercorns are not hot per se but do lend a nice flavor. With the recipe as is I didn't think the sechuan peppercorns were overpowering at all. YMMV. One thing you could try is instead of toasting/grinding/adding them, add them whole to the oil before you start the second phase of the process (after frying the beef). Let them cook at medium heat for about a minute to infuse the oil then remove the peppercorns. Don't want to burn...just get them to sizzle a little while stirring. This would give the dish some flavor without the peppercorns being added. These peppercorns actually have more of a numbing affect rather than adding heat. I love the flavor they impart in Chinese food and use them frequently. Please let me know how it turned out for you. Cheers

Sure. There were so many recipes on the net and with as many variations too that I tried over the years and made what I consider the best version to date. I actually made a version of M.B. the night before and not liking how it turned out I made it again with several modifications. Both my wife and I feel it was the best we've ever had. Hope you enjoy it. Mongolian Beef Main Ingredients: 1.5 lbs Flank steak, thinly sliced 4 Tbl Garlic, minced 2 tsp Ginger, grated 3 bunches thin Green Onions cut into 2" pieces 1.5 tsp Sechuan peppercorns, toasted and ground (or more to taste) 6 whole dried red peppers (or more to taste) 2 cups oil + 4 Tbl oil seperated Marinade: 2 egg whites 1/4 cup cornstarch 2 Tbl dark soy sauce 2 Tbl Shaoxing rice wine Sauce: 5 Tbl Hoisin sauce 2 Tbl soy sauce 2 Tbl Bean sauce 3 Tbl brown sugar 1 Tbl white vinegar 1 Tbl Sesame oil 3 Tbl water Slice flank steak into thin slices about 1" to 2" long. Put into zip lock bag and throw in cornstarch. Shake bag and make sure each piece is lightly coated. Add more cornstarch if needed. Put meat into bowl and add egg whites to coat. Then add other ingredients to coat. Let set for about an hour. While meat is marinating, cut onions, mince garlic and grate ginger. Put Sechuan peppercorns in a small pan and toast over medium heat until frangrant. Let cool and grind to a powder. Once meat is done marinating, add two cups of oil to wok and heat to 325-350*. Add individual slices of beef to hot oil in batches. I had about 6-8 slices going at a time. Let it flash fry to 30 second until the sides get brown and crispy. Drain on paper towels. When all beef has been fried, remove oil and wipe down the wok. Put wok back on stove and heat to desired temp. Add red peppers, garlic and ginger to wok and quickly stir for 10 seconds then add green onions. Continue to stir-try for about a minute then add fried beef back to wok. Before starting to mix, dust beef with ground Sechuan pepper. Give a quick stir to combine and heat ingredients in wok then pour sauce over everything. Quickly stir to coat and remove to plate. There should be very little to no sauce left over. The meat should be nicely coated just like the pic of the final dish.

I completely agree that flexibility is lost but as I pointed out one can modify the cooking style to accomodate. Slurry? No problem. Make it weaker with less cornstarch and you won't need to spend a lot of time waiting for the sauce to thicken. The high heat already in the pan will cook/thicken your sauce with very little cornstarch needed. Cooking with the thick CI pan is a LOT quicker than with the thin CI or carbon steel. Need to move the pan off the heat? Instead remove the food, put it back in or add veggies, add the meat back, add sauce, stir for 10 seconds and remove the food to serving plate. I'm tellin ya...it's fast, retains heat for awesome searing/frying of meats and veggies and meals come out great. I personally would rather modify my learned cooking style than have meat boil in it's own juices in the bottom of my wok because the temp dropped too much. You can't get wok-hei with your food cooking like that. I used to be one that said carbon steel or thin CI woks are best and even convinced others the same thing. After actually USING this pan my recommendation has changed after many years of stir frying in a wok. For people who have electric this wok is great, it has a round bottom on the inside while flat on the outside. Best of both worlds IMHO. The pan is only 8 lbs. Not so heavy that it can't be easily lifted and without seeking medical attention. If it is, then get the thin CI or carbon and start going to the gym. Then after a couple of months, get a thick CI wok.

I've been searching for a drop dead delicious version of Mongolian Beef and I think I've found it.

Funny that this thread came up because on another forum, there has been extensive discussions as to what constitutes an ideal wok. With over 115 replies to the original post I guess you can say it's been thoroughly dragged through the mud a few times. First thing to know is what kind of stove do you have. If gas, the I can recommend either a simple carbon steel or thin cast iron wok. Don't go with stainless. Don't go with non-stick. Don't go with copper. Why? Because none of them can be seasoned producing ideal stir-fry. Regarding the non-stick, it just doesn't do the same quality high-heat job of cooking the food. I personally have the thin Iron wok. This wok is as thin as carbon steel and is backed with enamel. From a performance standpoint, it's hard to beat. Very responsive to heat fluctuations and is flat bottomed. If electric, I wholeheartedly recommend a thick cast iron wok. Thick as in the type of cast iron Lodge makes. Why? Let me tell you. I was a skeptic about the thick cast iron until that forum's thread I mentioned above had people posting all the pics of their thick cast iron woks and how they feel it's a great medium for making stir-fry. They said that the wok retains heat to a such a significant degree that when you put food in the temp doesn't drop. On a typical home stove, this is huge! Beef was the biggest culprit of stewing in my wok no matter how hot I got it. It was such a problem that I rarely stir-fried beef because of the inherant problems with temp reduction. One of the members of that forum recommended getting the wok by Texsport for $13, $19 delivered. I got it and made a few dishes in it. The first one was beef. I got the wok good and hot and threw in the beef. I was totally thrilled. The beef kept on sizzling and was done frying up in less than a minute. I was giggling like a 10 year old schoolgirl I was so thrilled at what just happened. I threw in the veggies and the sauce and be damned if I wasn't doen in a few minutes. It took a few minutes longer for the wok to get up to temp over the other wok I have but I am a convert to the point that I don't think I'll ever go back to thin carbon steel or thin cast iron. Even if I had a gas stove. Yes, the thick cast iron wok is less responsive to heat changes but all you have to do is modify your cooking style a little to accomodate the inherant properties of cooking with it. Oh, another thing. This thick cast iron wok is round on the inside but has a flat surface that comes into contact with the stove. It has the benefits of a round bottomed wok and can be used without a wok ring and on an electric stove. Even the ceramic top electric stoves. Cast iron can be used on those types of surfaces but just not dragged across them as it will get damaged. I've been cooking with my CI frying pans for years on my ceramic stove top with no problems. Just got to be careful. No need to move the pan around, the wok spatula moves the food around. I'm totally serious here. I have been converted. If you want to get a standard carbon or thin cast iron wok I'd suggest getting it from http://www.wokshop.com/. If you want to give the thick CI a try then the brand to get is called Texsport and sells for $13. HERE'S where I got mine. For the price, can't go wrong. If they're out of stock other places sell it. Just do a search on google to find out where else they're sold. This one is 12.5" wide and Lodge has one for $60 that is 14" wide. The Lodge is finished much nicer than the texsport but does the job beautifully. Here's a pic of my thin cast iron/enameled wok from the wok shop. And here's a pic of the newly acquired Texsport thick CI wok. Seasoning's coming along real nice after using it only three times.

Powdered steel is actually not a type of steel but a process for making the steel. I'm not a metalurgist so I'm not hip to all the processes for making steel nor am I hip to what elements do what but I beleive the molten metal is blown through a nozzle at high speed in the form of tiny droplets and these droplets form the steel. This process makes for a more uniform distribution of the elements in the steel making it stronger than the standard process of making the steel. I guess in the standard process there is a possibility of weak spots due to non-uniform construction. I tried to find some info on the net but couldn't find anything definative.

Franz Güde has a standard 12" bread knife that I hear is really really good but sells for about $160. I would love to be able to justify this much money on a bread knife. This would be the one I get if I could. Franz Güde If you don't want to spend that much then there are two knives virtually identical that I'd recommend but they're 10.5 inches. Price is right. First one is the MAC Bread/Roast slicer and the other is Wusthof Super Slicer. I personally have the MAC. I did find this Misono serrated too when looking around (scroll down). I know nothing about it but it's definately long enough. Send Koki an email to see how stiff it is. Could be another viable option.

Uh oh, you're calling me out? j/k. No problem at all as I seem to be on a mission as of late to talk about Japanese kitchen knives. Don't know why either. Probably subconciously wanting to dispell myths surrounding these knives that people take hold of and never let go. There are several things that make me feel the forum knives will be that much better than Blazen. First, the element of being virtually hand made. The handle is the most comfortable thing I've ever held. It's made with high a quality material that will not shrink or swell with humidity and it's hand contoured my the maker. Blazen's handle is a factory standard with a few additional minutes applied to finishing over some other brands. It is made of wood and can shrink/swell given the right environement. Second, the blade is VG10, yes, but it's some mutant VG10 that Hattori applies some special method for heat treating that makes for an awesome blade. The Nenox uses VG1 and until now, that VG1 was the best blade on the market for it's price point making it much better than any VG10 out there. But with the advent of this steel coupled with Hattori's own magic it just cannot be beat. SRS15 powdered steel was requested for these knives but Hattori wanted to use this VG10. Not intending to argue with a master, we agreed. So if Hattori himself would rather use this VG10 over a powdered steel like Blazen there's something to be said for that. Third, the actual design of the Hattori knives were done in such a way as to take all things we knife nuts desire and design it into one knife. So from a design aspect: the profile, geometry, balance, taper, overall weight, materials, etc. were all considered and applied to these knives. Essentially making these a line of knives that are perfect in the eyes of their designers and represent what many that contributed ideas to their design feel are ideal in every way. I had the prototypes for a week before shipping them off to others to review. They are awesome to sharpen, held their edge extremely well, have impecable balance and "feel", high quality craftsmanship and finishing. I have a Blazen Honesuki and comapring the Hattori to it was night and day. The Hattori did a better job of hugging the bone and the slightly rounded profile helped with getting what I wanted from the bird. The Blazen is a tough knife but the superior design has to go to the Hattori knives. BTW, these knives are expected to be available mid March or so depending on Hattori's current backlog of orders. They will only be available at JCK.com intially then the idea is to distribute them out of Japan for resale. Anyway, I hope this answered your question because now I'm exausted. Cheers