infernooo

Hi Mike! If you don't mind my asking, how do you make your grits? They look teriffic!

Thank you Ah Leung! I recently bought some fermented tofu (I will take a photo of the jar, I believe it is just tofu, salt, chilli and perhaps some rice wine or water), and spread it on bread. WOW is all I can say! I will never be going back to vegemite. Some people wonder how the hell us aussies like vegemite, and I could say exactly the same thing about foo yu, but after having tried it, I can tell you this, it has the most amazing flavour and it is my new favourite spread on plain bread and biscuits ("crackers" as you yanks call them ). I imagine it would go very nicely with some plain rice or congee.

Sorry, I included 3 incase one of them was easier to read than the others. Wow, sounds a bit over due, new years 5 1/2 months too late! Thanks for the translation, at least now I know!

Hi everyone, I was hoping someone could help me out. I had parked my car in the city during the week, and when I came back to the car, I found a flyer on my windscreen. Since I can't read or speak Japanese, I was quite interested and thought it looked like an advertisement for eggs or food of some kind. Could someone please translate or tell me what it is? Any help would be greatly appreciated, it's got me stumped! Here are photos of the flyer: 1.) 2.) 3.)

I cook my chicken stock for ~ 12 hours... when I pull it out of the fridge the next day its like a rubber hockey puck it's so gelled :-). I say cook it longer, and when you want it to finish in an hours time, stop adding water and let it reduce slightly, then strain & refrigerate.

PCL is correct... I wish I could say otherwise, but Flower Drum in Melbourne is without a doubt the best Chinese restaurant in Australia (not only as rated by individuals, but our main eating out food guides). The Chinese restaurants in Sydney are very good at best (whereas Flower Drum is outstanding). The best in Sydney would be Kam Fook (Shark Fin restaurant - best known for yumcha, but be prepared to wait in line for a loooong time), Golden Century (for the Seafood), Marigold and The Regal. While my friends parents own Golden Century, I still have to honestly say that Flower Drum in Melbourne is better. The majority and the best of Sydney's Chinese restaurants are Cantonese (thanks to immigration). I would say Sydney is best for world class restaurants (Tetsuyas, Rockpool etc), Indian, perhaps Turkish/Lebanese, Vietnamese and Thai (Longrain and Sailors Thai). Anyways, once again just my opinion .

In Sydney: Thai: Sailor's Thai or Longrain Indian: Oh Calcutta! Italian: Buon Ricordo Expensive but to-die-for restaurants: Tetsuya's, Rockpool In Melbourne: Chinese: Flowerdrum

Thank you, that is exactly what I was looking for! It seems that it is just pureed tomatoes with a bit of salt and sugar added, easy to buy at the local supermarket. It doesn't appear to be sweetened very much either (pureed tomatoes naturally have about 4% sugar from memory, so that is pretty close to normal canned raw pureed tomatoes). Thanks again!

Bear in mind that this statement is made by someone named "infernooo"! ← LOLOLOL! You are sharp, xiao leung! I never made the connection! ← Haha nice! well said

Hi there, In my experience, electric stoves are hopeless for getting that high heat required for a good wok sear, especially when the wok maybe a bit too overcrowded. Also, don't forget that with an electric stove, you must use a flat bottomed wok, and you won't have flames wrapping around the side of it. This means that the bottom will be the hottest part by far, and you can't swirl/toss the meat and ingredients on the side and get nice searing on all parts of the wok. I understand that electric and induction cooktops can get VERY hot very quickly, but I just personally feel they are a bit limited as to what they are capable of. I much prefer being able to see how large and blue the flames are to gauge temperature and output abilities. Just a few thoughts, hope that helps!

You can use ketchup instead of tomato sauce. Hopefully their ketchup is not odd tasting? Any way for you to get Heinz ketchup where you are? If you do use ketchup, adjust for it and put a bit less salt and vinegar in the dish. You could make your own tomato sauce, but it seems to take a lot of efforts. ← Hi hzrt8w, If you have the chance, could you please list the ingredients of the Del Monte Tomato Sauce that you used? Also, the amount of sugar per serving and the serving size (listed on the nutritional panel on the back). That way we can find something that would be very similar where we live... . If it's a pain or you don't have a spare can lying around, don't worry about it. Thanks!

Thank you Daves, that is exactly the kind of reply I was looking for! I will give it a go with this newfound knowledge and report on my experiences. Thanks again.

hzrt8w, I think you should try and find the output rating for the two wok burners in the top picture... don't disregard the top one, it may have less rings, but it may have much higher pressure and thus put out more heat than the one with more rings. But then again, you said the gas outlet holes were tiny... so its hard to say without being able to see it firsthand. I think if you can find the output ratings, then that will give you your answer... most of the time it is a requirement to have them listed on the unit itself (either a sticker or in the accompanying box). Anyways, just a thought .

Maybe everyone doesn't know about the book... I certainly have never heard of it.

Several people, including me, have already told you that you have to do it by feel. Temperature probes give an approximation, but only that. Why do you have a problem with a physical test? Jim ← I think we are getting our wires crossed, you are saying do it by feel, and I misunderstood that to mean by instinct, when in fact you are talking about physically feeling it... sorry I know what you mean now . I have no problems whatsoever poking & pulling it!

OK I understand the "it's done when it's done" train of thought, but when do you pull it off? how can you tell if you are just saying it's done when it's done? Also, even though you are trying to cook them the "MOST", you don't want to get the internal temperature too high do you? because there is a stage past pulled which is called TOUGH is there not? (This isn't an attack, I'm just trying to understand the concepts/methodology and thoughts behind them better). Thanks!

So how about all the pitmasters out there? I don't hear much about them using temperature probes (which I keep in the meat the whole time)... I know they have been doing it for years and would get a feel for it, but surely they must have some other indicator than by feel? (I'm not talking physical feel, more like knowing it's done without touching it).

Thanks for the replies so far everyone. I think I am more interested in internal temperatures when cooking barbecue style (low & slow smoking, as in this thread) as opposed to roasting/baking, so does this change anything? Thanks!

Hi everyone, I have a quick question about cooking cuts of meat to certain internal temperatures. The question is more about cooking long and slow such as when doing barbecue or cooking a brisket long & slow. I see a lot of talk of cooking it until it reaches an internal temperature (for example, 180-200F), but how does it work? do you take it away from the heat source as soon as it hits that temperature, or do you keep it at that temperature? The reason I ask is that I thought that by getting the internal temp to a certain level (e.g. 180-200F), you are breaking down the tough parts of the meat (melting the gelatin/collagen etc). So wouldn't it make sense to hold the meat at this temperature for a certain amount of time? or should you just take it off as soon as it hits this magic number/range? For example, lets say I cook a big tough piece of beef or pork slowly all day and I want it to be pullable (fork tender, melt in the mouth, whatever you want to call it ). Whether it be barbecue style cooking or in an oven (or even covered in foil in an oven), should I cook it very slowly (225-250F cooking temperature) until the termometer beeps at 180-200F internal? or once it hits that temperature, should I modify the heat to keep it at that temperature for a while to allow the magic to happen? Anyways, thanks for any ideas/advice/clarifications anyone can give!

Nice find hzrt8w! It looks great... you know we will be expecting even more great meal ideas from you now? I believe a lot of chinese chefs use the "double-eared" handles, but hold a cloth in one hand that covers the handle, and then shake/toss the wok using one handle (they have quite strong forearms methinks). But I agree with you, I personally prefer the single handle ones too. If possible, try find a restaurant supply store (or a BIG asian supermarket), they should have wok sizes from tiny to enormous (and all sizes inbetween). Near us, a shop sells woks in every size in increments of about 2cm diameter - hopefully you can find somewhere like this. I found that the best wok for my personal tastes, was either the double eared ones entirely constructed out of carbon steel, or a BIG single handled one (with the handle made out of wood, but with a metal spacer inbetween the wok and the wood to stop the flame licking at the wood). Anyways, it's great to hear you are looking for a sweet new setup! I look forward to final decision and the meals thereafter . p.s. my previous wok burner was almost exactly like that... as long as you can adjust the air intake to get the flame nice and blue, you will have no problems getting & keeping the wok blazing hot!

I vote for Joseph's Cold Pressed Extra Virgin Olive Oil (http://www.primoestate.com.au/Oils/ColdPressed.htm). It is the main EVOO used in Rockpool (Neil Perry's restaurant) and would be one of the highest rated olive oils to Australian chefs & foodies. It's expensive (obviously), especially the first run bottles, but it's worth it!

Thanks for the replies! Wow, I didn't know jasmine rice would be a cantonese thing to use... I figured if I used long grain rice, it would be plain old long grain (not fragrant like jasmine).

Hi everyone, I am sorry to bother you all like this... but I wanted to ask a quick question about making congee.... After reading the Fermented bean curd thread, I decided that I want to try make some congee with a little Fermented Bean Curd/Preserved Bean Curd spooned on top or mixed in at the end. When making congee, approximately what ratio of water to rice to I use? Also, what type of rice do I use? Short grain, medium grain, long grain... ? Finally, assuming I dont have a slow cooker, what do you think is the best way to cook it and how do you know when it is done? Thanks!

Hi everyone, Just curious - are we talking about the red preserved tofu in a glass jar? If not, which type? I wouldn't mind some pictures so I could pick some up and try out some of these ideas.... Thanks!

Hi there, I posted this some time ago, but since I have been back, I still stand by my recommendations. http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...1entry1009151