infernooo

OK, I bought a piece of "Skirt Steak" and have taken some pictures of it... Of course it had to happen that the piece I bought was thicker than usual on one end (to slightly negate my earlier description of it) - most of the time it is less thick so the uniformness is more apparent and it doesn't seem to taper off so much... Oh and I included a ruler and one dollar note (souvenir from my trip) for rough size comparisons. Here goes, included are thumbnails - click on each one for a larger version:

Haha they have a bit of a sweet tooth huh? :-) Thanks for the suggestions guys - keep 'em coming!

Hi everyone! I was wondering if anyone knew where I could purchase some Toro or Otoro (fatty and super fatty Tuna belly) for making sashimi ? The only place I can think of are the auctions at the fish markets, but I don't believe I have access to them. Getting "sashimi grade" tuna and salmon is easy (even though it is pretty easy to label them as such and get away with it), but I can't find the _REALLY_ good stuff :-(. Anyways if anyone knows where I can get my hands on these goodies in or around Sydney (preferably near Sydney city or Eastern suburbs) I would be very grateful ! Thanks!

Hi everyone! I am looking for recipes that you might consider as "home style" cooking that are common/popular in Shanghai (or around that area). Preferably things you grew up with that may or may not be widely known... I have a friend who was born and raised there and want to surprise them... (so asking them what their favourites or what they grew up eating is a NO-NO - they will see it coming a mile away). Any ideas? Thanks in advance!

Haha I just edited my post - I re-read it and it wasn't very clear and to be honest was a bit flippant - I must not have checked over it when I typed it ! That would be terrific ! Thank you for offering to do that :-). I'm with you on the cutting at an angle... I just don't want to cut at too much of an angle otherwise it might be chewy/less tender due to the distinct direction of the grain in this cut.

Hi fellowpeon! That is definately what I have been referring to as the "Australian version" of "skirt steak" (as it is called in supermarkets and asian butchers here). I can find that at supermarkets but I'm pretty sure it is not the same as the piece of meat I had in the US that they called flank steak ? (the one I am after). It's hard for other people to see in that picture, but its a thin piece of meat, and as I described before, the one I had in the US would have been around twice as thick if that is indeed as thin as the ones I get here. Furthermore, the texture was very different from what I remember (unless its a US beef vs Australian beef difference). To get a piece of the same dimensions as the slices I had in the US using that cut, I would have to slice it at an extreme angle, which would end up not being against the grain but almost running with it - less tender. Thanks for the picture! I will take some photos when I pick up a piece of "skirt steak" tomorrow so everyone can see the difference in dimensions I am speaking of and in the hope of clearing this up.

Hi there! All I can say is that I had it at 2 places and both had it on the menu as "Spice-rubbed flank steak".... Mizducky: Thanks for the info! I have read about the London Broil conflicts :-) That first photo on the page you linked looks pretty close, except I thought I remembered the meat being slightly wider than it is there. Also, it definately was not sliced in a paper thin manner - I would hazard a guess that it was cut into about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick slices. rooftop: It was in San Jose in California - just a small cafeteria ! Thanks again :-).

Hi all! I have a quick favour to ask some of you the next time you buy a piece of flank steak (the type you often see spice rubbed and grilled till rare then sliced). I am an Aussie, and when i was visiting the US for business, I had a beautiful piece of steak which was spice rubbed, grilled and sliced across the grain, but not thinly (it was actually a pretty thick slice).. served with a mango and chilli salsa. Anyways, I have been unable to find that exact cut of meat here in Australia. We have something that I thought would be the same called Skirt Steak (not the same as your skirt steak which doesn't seem to exist here), but it is VERY thin - it is rectangular shaped and the grain is completely visible and runs the length of the meat. However, it is a pain to cook because it is so thin (think minute-steak thinness), and doesn't come out nearly as tender as the one I had in the US (which was NOT pounded or mushy as though it had been tenderised). So my favour is this: The next time someone buys a piece of flank steak, could you please take some detailed photos (high resolution if possible) of all sides of it (perhaps even with a dollar bill or something of scale next to it so I can judge thickness and size) ? This will help me either finding the cut I am after or as information to use when asking a butcher if I can get this cut. In the mean time I will buy a piece of what we call Skirt Steak and post pictures of it to show you what I am talking about (i.e. similar yet different). p.s. Yes I have found pics on the net of flank steak but they are all low/medium-res shots and none are very detailed or indicate actual size + thickness. Anyways, I apologise for rambling but this difference in meat cuts really bugs me (don't get me started on availability of what you guys call "Brisket" over here! ). Thanks!

Haha same with me, I have skinny milk but full fat yoghurt... even just a few spoonfuls of my fave yogurt is plenty and infinitely more satisfying than all the 0% yogurt in the world

I like Chris' better. ← Yeah Chris' is damn good but it has a fatty aftertaste/feeling on the palate which I don't appreciate. 10% fat content is just a touch too much for me for yogurt I think ! (not that I eat it by the tub at a time )

Well I'll be the first to say it... but Fage yogurt isn't all that. I'm an Aussie, and we don't get Fage yogurt here. We do however get fage feta cheese - but it is blown away by the Dodoni brand (another greek originating feta cheese). I recently visited the US, and as part of my food nerdiness I bought pretty much every yogurt I could find to test. One of the brands was Fage. I bought every type available (0% fat, 2%, classic, lite, full fat etc). and I must say, it is NOT that good, you guys must be used to seriously crappy yogurt :-). Before you start yelling at me, yes I admit it is very nice, but here in Australia we make some yogurt that absolutely blows the fage stuff away... now I know taste is subjective and this is just one opinion, but I guess it must speak volumes of the quality of some of our yogurts. P.s. if you are an aussie and wondering which one I am talking about - it is Dairy Farmers European Yogurt - it has been awarded the winner of the Grand Dairy Awards Grand Champion Dairy Product a few years in a row. http://www.dairyfarmers.com.au/internet/im...opeanyogurt.jpg

IMO the absolute best way to eat salmon: Buy the freshest, best quality salmon you can (sashimi grade). Buy yourself a razor sharp yanagiba (sashimi knife) Trim the salmon Using proper technique, with a single stroke applying no pressure, slice the salmon properly into neat slices Enjoy dipped into some sashimi soy sauce and a touch of wasabe and lemon juice... Ever since I have started making salmon sashimi myself, I haven't eaten it cooked - it is THAT GOOD. I feel that if the salmon is of great quality, spanking fresh, has a nice amount of fat, there is no better way to eat it than raw.

Thanks for the suggestions Russ! I have been looking at a way to have eggplant for some time where it is not fried... when you think about it, eggplant when cooked 99% of the time is slathered in oil and that is all you end up tasting - the "fried taste" (besides baba ganoush). (or if you grill it you have to brush it with so much oil to stop it drying out looking like a piece of cardboard that you pretty much end up grill-frying it).

Sorry I meant when boiling them, roasting they are great either way. However having said that, I never boil them, I feel they are best when roasted (whether its in a salad, accompanying a dish, or pureed with thick creamy yoghurt for a dip).

I forgot to mention the conflicting temperatures... The BBQ'ers say "75C/175F", the sous vide thread says the conversion/breakdown starts at 130F (very slowly) but also mentions 140F as the magic number...

Agreed :-) One will give you a beautiful purple/pink vegetable, the other a pot full of purple/pink water and a pale/white lump in the pot.

Hope this helps! "Here's the one I like, someone posted it on the old CH (thank you friend!). To me it most closely replicates the Sara Lee Cake I grew up loving (so flame me) and can't find anymore, though I use a simple butter, not cream cheese, icing. I am making it today in fact, it is a great way to use up a bunch of frozen overripe bananas and a quantity of buttermilk. I love the freezer trick (goes directly from oven to freezer)." "I used to love Sara Lee Banana Cake when I was growing up. This recipe, from the Fannie Farmer Baking Book, is just like it...but fresher and lighter. Yum!" http://www.project-insomnia.com/colleen/ki...bananacake.html

Hi folks, I have read many conflicting accounts of what is the "proper" temperature that collagen is converted into gelatin when cooking tough cuts of meat... can someone enlighten me on this? I have read numerous sous vide and barbecue threads all stating different temperatures. As an example of this, lets say I want to slow roast a leg or shoulder of lamb and want it VERY tender but don't want it cooked past well done as you would a pulled pork shoulder - what temp would I set my oven/sous vide device at? (I can maintain pretty much any temperature between 40c (~100f) and 270c (~520f) in my oven with very good accuracy) I assume it would have to be at the temperature that the collagen converts to gelatin (which hopefully is somewhere between rare and medium doneness!) Thanks!

How did it turn out?

Nah the evaporated milk has a cooked, long life, nasty flavour IMO. Yoghurt should be fresh tasting I think!

Excellent - thanks! I will be trying this out tomorrow night, can't wait!

My favourites include (in no particular order): * Souvlaki (Greek) * Chicken Yakitori (Japanese) * Chicken/beef/pork satay (Malaysian) Here is my recipe for Chicken Yakitori, it works every time! Chicken Yakitori: Chicken thighs (or breasts if no other choice) cubed Spring/green onions Glaze/Sauce: 1/2 cup Shoyu (Soy Sauce) 1/2 cup Mirin 1/2 cup Sake 1/4 cup Sugar 1.) Alternate chicken pieces and pieces of spring/green onion on skewers. 2.) Simmer Glaze/Sauce until reduced by at least half and almost syrupy. 3.) Brush chicken/onion skewers with oil, Grill or pan fry until well browned on both sides 4.) Brush on glaze and cook until heavily glazed. 5.) Serve with sushi rice (sushi rice made as usual - i.e. with sugar, salt and rice vinegar added after cooking). 6.) Sprinkle on chopped Spring/green onions. For souvlaki, I usually use lamb or chicken and make it as follows: * Marinate chicken/lamb in Extra virgin olive oil, salt, lemon juice and dried greek oregano for at least a few hours * Thread onto skewers and grill until browned and cooked to the desired degree (chicken just cooked, lamb still medium-rare). Just before taking off the grill, squeeze with lemon juice to get a sizzling-caramelised-lemon-juice-flavour. * Serve with rice or pita bread and wedges of lemon Oh and the type of skewers doesn't really matter IMO... bamboo will give a slightly charred smokey flavour (on top of that smokey flavour you get from the grill or a hot grill pan), metal skewers will help cook the inside of the meat (perhaps less suited to lamb or other meats you may cook to just medium-rare). I either cook in a grill pan, in a fry pan or under the broiler (least preferred method).

Can't wait to hear how it goes! Some of Neil Perry's recipes are insanely good... he doesn't seem to be one of those chefs who write cookbooks without testing the results in a home kitchen.

Hi Folks! Well I made a liver version of yakitori and it was great! However being "guts", I was eating solo :-). This cartilage has got me interested... how do you eat it? I assume you grill it and then eat it like you would bones that have been roasted until they are brittle and crunchy?

OK folks, for those of you who may be interested as to the international differences of Heinz Ketchup, here is the ingredients and nutritional information for Heinz Australian ketchup: Per 100ml: Energy: 500kJ (125 calories) Protein: 1.4g Fat: 0.2g Carbohydrate: 26.1g Sugars: 24.8g Sodium: 1270mg Lycopene: 14.0mg Contains 67% concentrated tomatoes Ingredients: Concentrated tomatoes (contains 195g tomatoes per 100ml), sugar, vinegar, salt, natural flavours, spice. If someone would be kind enough to post the same information from a USA bottle, that would be great!