loki
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Posts posted by loki
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Yeah, those are the ones. They are so easy to make! I looked into split soybeans and I think that they are mostly made that way to cook faster, be easier to process/use for animal feed, and to help separate out stones and other material (it either won't spit or disintegrates in the splitting process). . So - for this purpose I think whole ones would work.
I also think that other crunchy things would work in the salad. One of my favorites is roasted favas. Now I've never made these, probably because raw favas are not that easy to come by, and I'm having a challenging time growing them. But they are easy to find in Asian markets (chinese or taiwan made), in either plain or spicy. These are a cool-weather bean so would have to be grown in the mountains in Burma. There are also chick peas made this way, but I've only found them once in a Latin Market. But all sort of nuts could work too.
I will have to look into that book - I've always been interested in SE Asian and Indian food, and this would fill the gap. I do have one book by Copeland Marks and Aung Thien = The Burmese Kitchen: Recipes from the Golden Land. It's pretty good, but not very comprehensive (But boy is it expensive on Amazon now?). I make a dish from it with the leaves of Matrimony vine from my garden (It's now known mostly as Goji Berry, but this cultivar is shy to fruit and is grown for it's leaves, which are also supposed to be cure-alls). It's a simple beef soup with the leaves added at the end - very good!
I also found that you could fry them after soaking (but they have lots of oil and baking/roasting is much easier). I think that people without ovens (much of the world actually) would fry them
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I found this Storing Potatoes at Home which is a pdf from Idaho. It pretty much says what I said (I'm glad). The colder the potatoes are stored the less likely they will sprout. I've definitely seen great differences in cultivars too - some seem to sprout after a month, while others could go for several months before sprouting. I've probably grown and stored for seed about 50 different cultivars: heirloom, modern, and old commercial cultivars. Commercial potatoes are often treated to prevent sprouting - but I would not do this. Lastly - this is something I've found to sort of refresh sprouted potatoes - cut off the sprouts and soak the potatoes in water overnight - in the fridge. They will crisp up and then be a bit better for cooking. If you are boiling them for mashed potatoes or putting in soup or stew this is not really necessary, but for baked, or fried potatoes, this can help with the texture.
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Well, I still have a few issues with the book, BUT... I reread it last night - at least parts and I have changed my mind. I must have been in a bad mood - or expected something else at the time, but now I actually like the recipes. There are the examples of dishes that are in the prose - with no recipes to follow - which irritates me still. However I looked at the Duck a l'orange recipe and it was the real deal - old style - not updated (though the actual popularity of this dish is probably more of an English one - French cooking in England and then in the US, that is). And then looked before it and saw wild duck - with the breasts cooked rare. Many people have gotten this wrong - at least in my opinion - farm raised breeds of duck are not the ones you do rare breasts with - it's the wild ones (still often farm raised). At least those are the ones that benefit most from this. Also a recipe for Tarteflette! Wonderful.
I found a few other issues with the book - like explanations missing - slab bacon (smoked? - yes I think so) but nowadays it's not a given, except I would not think Mr. Bourdain would use the term for raw or cured (unsmoked) as they often do in European recipes, even though many French recipes do not use smoked bacon. And the Tarteflette recipe - no real verbage about what it really is - or about the cheese which really needs a bit as it's pretty unusual to put a half a cheese in a dish - without grating or slicing it. But I knew because this was a sort of kick for me for awhile. Escargots aux noix needs some explaining to me. I did a little research on it and not see what it is, but it strikes me strange to just plop the snails mixed with a sort of puree down and serve it (seems you do - but maybe eat it with bread? - but more info would really help). There are others too. I think I'm being a bit over critical because I am such a fan of his.
And I did think mentioning Glorious French Food, and Larousse Gastronomique was a bit strange as they really are not very comparable to this book. Both are very different books, the former sort of a compendium of as much French food and technique as the author could fit in, and the other an encyclopedia. However in both I have used the recipes extensively and used the information to create my own. They both have been invaluable to making great dishes.
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Not sure about spit soy beans but we used to make roasted ones when I was growing up. Just soak soybeans overnight, then drain well. Put on a cookie sheet in a 350 F oven and roast till crispy. Usually it takes about 30 minutes - but you have to check on them. You can add a little salt when wet if you like and this will adhere to them. Not sure if this is the end product you want for Burmese cooking? These are called soy nuts. You could chop them at this stage to get closer to split sized beans.
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I made the recipe below for Hong Hweh ( AKA Hongeohoe muchim) marinated raw skate wing, but it did not turn out like I thought it should. First, I started with an eight inch wide whole skate wing, and let it thaw out. I did not want it go bad so I put the whole wing in a sealable plastic bag and added vinegar and salt. I could not cut up the frozen skate - so I could not really follow the instructions below very well. The recipe is missing salt, so I added it as I saw fit. Most Korean dishes are pretty salty, especially the pickled ones, so I though it was appropriate.
Everything went well, except for the skate. Removing it from the cartilaginous skeleton was very difficult and I ended up with scrapings, not really slices. I added it to the vegetables and thought the dish was a little flat so I ate it with some Gochujang - or Korean fermented soy-chilli paste. The taste was pretty good - still not very salty, but just fine with the other dishes - Kalbi tang (a beef soup), grilled salted mackerel, and an assortment of kimchee and namul. However....
The skate was a bit flat tasting. It tasted of the vinegar, and slightly fishy, but nothing special. And the texture was sort of like a wet towel!
What might I be doing wrong?
Interestingly, I had so much of the cartilage leftover that I put some soy sauce and sugar on it and grilled it. It was pretty good. Lots of the cartilage was even edible as it softened on the grill.
Hong Hweh recipe for Eunny-
Frozen skate (You must use frozen skate, if you use fresh the texture will be really weird).
Heinz white vinegar (buy the big jug at Costo)
Minari stems
Yang Pah ("Western onions" or to our "Western" egulleters plain ole onion)
Pah tips (scallions)
Julienned carrots
Julienned Mu (Daikon radish)
Optional
Cucumbers and bell peppers
Korean red pepper flakes
sesame oil
sugar
roasted sesame seeds
garlic, minced
I have no measurements.
My mother always hand cuts the frozen skate. I ask the butcher to do it for me. I just can't wield a big sharp knife to hack away at a big piece of frozen, bone in fish with an active and involved two year old. The restaurant cuts of hong hweh seem to average 1/2" thickness. The hand cut are about 1" thick. My mother soaks her 1" cuts in vinegar for 2-3 hours. For the 1/2" cuts I suggest to begin checking at about 1 hour.
Julienne the mu (it should be thicker than the carrots). According to mom it's very important to gently massage in some sesame oil "ha cham he". A long time can be about 5-10 minutes. Add the red pepper flakes, again massage it into the mu. Add the remaing vegetables, garlic and sugar. Add more red pepper flakes if needed. Mix the indgredients well. Taste, adjust seasoning. When the skate is "cooked" enough in the vinegar to suit your taste, drain and squeeze out excess vinegar. Combine well with the seasoned vegetables. Again taste and adjust seasoning. This is the easy part of Korean cooking you can keep adjusting the seasoning. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.
You can serve this as a banchan or with neng myun. Of course Eunny already knows this.
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They use those potato barns here too - Utah and especially nearby Idaho. Some are enormous. Most are not completely underground here, but mounded with 10 feet of soil on top or so. It's a huge root cellar.
I put them in a room that's unheated - with an outside wall made of uninsulated concrete. I put them in a large plastic container - about 25 lbs of them per container - so they are about 3 deep. The container is not air-tight - but keeps in a bit of humidity. They love cool storage with no light (this room had no windows); and relatively high humidity. I bought mine in Idaho - and they were 50 lbs for $10. They are growing Yukon Gem which are a great potato for my uses. I grow heirloom potatoes too, but had a crop failure this year. Before you store them, they need to be cured or dried a bit. Usually this is already done. You can tell easily by seeing how easily the skin rubs off. Rub the potatoes a bit and if the skin stays in place they are cured, if not keep them in a dark place for awhile and let them dry a little more. Oh - don't wash them either. This will introduce small breaks in the skin which will lead to rot. Maybe I'm too late with this one. If they are washed you may dry them a bit a recure in warmer dry temps so they produce a scab over any breaks in their skins.
The humidity thing is important. Here in Utah, we have very low humidity, but my room has relatively high humidity in the winter, but not quite enough hence the cover on the potatoes. Other places may vary - but you want it about 80 percent. The humidity in the container is probably more like 95 percent (which is what the Idaho Potato people recommend).
Cold temps will make the potatoes a bit sweet, which I don't mind and consider 'normal', as that's how potatoes taste in the winter. Others think it's wrong. Variety matters here, some don't do this nearly as much as others. Also, the colder the more this will happen. So if you don't want them this way - bring a stash out of the cold (but still in the dark) to return to normal non-sweet starchiness, and replenish this from your cold-stored ones. In a kitchen cupboard works. It usually takes a couple weeks. Always keep them out of the light. I think grocers are getting more and more cavalier with this and I've bought green skinned ones that are ruined - or need excessive peeling. The green parts are toxic and taste terrible (not usually toxic enough to really do damage - but who needs any toxins!).
Freezing them - you must first blanch them first to 'cook' a bit and also to breakdown the enzymes or you will have unappetizing gray mush. Otherwise they freeze really well! There are lots of resources on this out there. Drying also works - but again you must blanch them first.
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Well, maybe I am being picky, but I started reading the book immediately upon receiving it in the mail. I was anticipating a great cookbook with secrets of French cooking not available anywhere else. Instead I got Anthony's wit and 'snarkyness' (his own moniker) without much else. I already have recipes for every other dish in the book, and ones that I consider better! Also his commentary mentions dishes that are not in the book (especially some pasta dishes - perhaps not appropriate for the book, but then don't use them as examples in the text - not good editing if you ask me). I thought this book was thrown together quickly to get something out at the peak of his popularity and did not live up to a great cookbook. I much prefer Glorious French Food by James Peterson. I also love Larousse Gastronomique (the 80's version) - the recipes are sometimes lacking, but this book contains so much information it's overwhelming. Take note, some of the information is really opinion - but it's pretty easy to separate.
Oh - I love his shows! However I may take another look at Le Halles. It seems I'm in the great minority here and on Amazon!
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Yeah, I really think that's what happens. It works best with a true simmer, at least later in the process. Both albumen and the 'scum' are proteinaceous, so they likely collect the little bits of cloudy material in a similar manner. Gelatin is also used to clarify beer, at least by home brewers, and it acts in a similar way - though not when hot.
I recently found an article in Saveur about Pho - rereading an issue I read in one sitting. http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Pho-Bac It's pretty good. The only thing I am not so sure about is the addition of fish sauce later. I do it early. I don't mind additional later, but it definitely comes out as 'fishy' - which I don't mind, but others may. It may be that the early addition does nothing useful - I'm just not sure.
Oh and the author just uses beef bones for the broth... She also uses Black Cardomom or Elatchi in the broth. I recently - well about a year and a half ago found out that it's not the same species as what I knew as Cardamom. I thought it was yet another form - knowing that there were at least three - green, white (aged and processed a bit), and the seeds removed from the pod. Well NO, it's a different species of the same family - the Zingiberaceae (ginger) plant family. And it's a very different flavor with camphor and smokeyness (from what I gather from the processing - over fires?). And there is another twist, there are two species, one primarily used in India and it's surroundings, and another used in China and SE Asia. I don't have any! I need to visit my Vietnamese grocer (well they are actually Cambodian) again!
I actually like to make this a little differently each time - and work into it what's fresh out of the garden. Also - what I like in the heat of the summer (more delicate and accented with bright herbs and citrus) may be a bit different than in the cold depths of winter (spicier and richer).
I just made some pho and beef shank works really well for the well-cooked beef - it's so silky and rich with gelatin, and looks nice in slices too! I prefer the rare beef to be flank or near the short ribs - I like a little more bite and like the flavor better than tenderloin, which I think is too delicate for my tastes.
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I think that video and recipe are the quick method to make it. To really make it you need to ferment soybeans - into a miso-like product, Doenjang.
I have the book:Traditional Korean Cooking, by Noh Chin-Hwa which has a sort of roundabout description - it's missing parts and poorly translated in places. However, I really like the three books in this series - They are much more thorough than those in my other books - and have photos (so if you can't understand the instructions you can see it and maybe figure it out).
I found this in the Egullet forums - but through the internet, not in a forum search: http://forums.egulle...ere-to-find-it/
This link goes to a site that really describes the process well. http://www.mykoreand...e-doenjang.html
The book then describes how to make Meju (fermented soybean cakes), Toenjang, and Gochujang (spelled Koch' ujang there).
Toenjang is just the Doenjang spelled differently. It is the sediment from soaking the meju and making Korean soy sauce. The sediment is then salted and chiles added and allowed to mature, while the Gochujang uses the malt and glutinous rice method (like that in the video). I actually think you could make Gochujang by just adding ingredients to it (like the glutinous rice and malt mixture, but I'm not sure, I'm getting this from my beer-making, fermented food making, and Internet Korean food history reading experience)
From what I gather the Doenjang is made from Meju - blocks of the fermented soybeans. The recipes for Gochujang call for fermented soybean powder, and I am not sure if you use the Meju or the dried sediment from the next step (sort of pre-Doenjang). It sounds like from the above posts that Meju is used - I would have thought my book would say it that way, but like I said it's a bit scattered.
I would love it if someone could clarify this even more. I am not sure I'm going to attempt any of this. I do have lots of chiles from my garden to make into something though!
Oh and the straw is likely rice straw - hard to come by here in the US (except in a few areas like CA, AR, SC, parts of TX, etc.). I would use clean tall grass that I gathered from non-sprayed areas. A wheatgrass or rygrass relative should work well (there are lots of weeds in this category that are common around the US). Commercial barley, wheat, rye, or oats could work, but are often sprayed. It should have the same microflora. If you can't find large enough parts to use, just crush some and sprinkle it on the cakes.
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The two parts in a can are NOT coconut cream and milk! It separates differently than that. The top part is more fatty and bottom part is really the watery part, but is NOT coconut milk. Coconut milk and cream are just different concentrations of the same thing - the cream having more of the coconut solids and fats per unit measure and less water - that comes from the first pressing of the coconut milk making process. The two components in the cans are something completely different and are simply a result of them sitting around on the shelves. Having said that, the solid part of the canned version can be used as a substitution for coconut cream.
I think the whole thing with the David Thompson book is rather silly and way over imagined. Most thai people use canned versions here, as the coconuts available are expensive and usually stale or even rotten. They fry the curry pastes in a little vegetable oil first, then add the canned coconut milk later. They taste wonderful!
Look for canned coconut milk that doe not contain anything but coconuts and water.
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I'm a soup fanatic - from when I was a kid. For pho - it IS the broth.However I disagree with some of the posts above.
Skimming is not necessary. This 'scum' looks strange, but is nothing more than proteins that cook out and float up. There are still lots of this in the meat and a little in the broth. These will come out later. Many cultures associate these with bad spirits or karma, etc. because it's from cooking an animal. It's superstitious, and has no bearing on flavor or look. I know because I used to strain all this off, now I don't bother. I even think that leaving these in actually help clear the soup later (like a clarifier when making beer). If you cook a broth for only a short time, however this effect does not work, and skimming may be necessary. I have a trick with chicken soup though too - but it'll have to be another post. Upon long slow simmering these proteins will coagulate and completely sink out and be strained away later. My broth comes out quite clear in the end. You can argue back on this one, but I'm not going to change my mind.
I use left-over meats, bones, and scraps for the broth mostly. Oxtails have become ridiculously expensive. I do use them occasionally, for the meat, which I cook less than the broth ingredients. Soup bones, shin/shank is wonderful, and I use ribs (which are sneaking up in price now too!). It's not that important - but do include bones! DON'T trim the fat either, it adds lots of flavor (there is lots of non fatty water-soluble goodness in what looks like pure fat!), and will be nearly completely removed later! Not sure about the neck bone thing - they really aren't avaiable here. And the post about frozen bones adding darkness - I've never seen this happen. I save up bones and freeze them to make the broth later, and it is quite light (I have to roast the meats to get it a little darker).Beef feet can add lots of sumptuous gelatin to the broth. These are quite inexpensive and available at Latin markets in the US as well as Asian ones. They are a good source of tendons too!
I don't soak the meat or clean it with salt. It is good to rinse well though. I suspect that these other methods are also due to superstitions, and possibly when getting meat from less sanitary sources. Maybe home butchered meats too that might pick up a bit more of the gamy or livery flavors from the process.
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I roast half the meats till browned. I usually get a broth, slightly brown, but not like the photo above this way.
I add salt at the beginning of the cooking, but add the spice and vegetable later
I use star anise, cassia cinnamon, and black pepper. Sometimes I add celery seed. I only put a little in an 8 quart pot - maybe an inch of cinnamon, two star anise, and 1 TBS of whole peppercorns. You can add more if you like it more spiced. When I started getting pho years ago, the versions I preferred were lightly spiced.
I add two onions - charred on a grill (or on a gas burner). I usually don't add any other vegetables, except sometimes celery, or Asian celery because I like it. I would not add parsnips to this broth - they are not used in Vietnam that I know of - more from the UK? I think daikon adds too much cabbagy flavor, which I like in other soups, but not this one. You could add various mushrooms for umami, but they will add mushroom flavor - which is not typical in pho - but it might be OK?
I then put it in a large pot, and completely cover with water. Cook for a few hours, covered, on a simmer.Then I add the spices and onions, etc. and cook for a few more hours.
Cool, and strain into a clean container (don't cool too much before straining as it may congeal from the gelatin)
Now cool completely and remove the fat off the top. You can really remove all you can. A little will remain, or will come in with the meats in the bowl.
Before using in pho, you heat up what you need, and add water if it's too concentrated. Add sugar (rock or palm if you like), fish sauce (umami is in this!), a few scallions (I like to anyway), parsley (I sometimes add this - probably no Vietnamese, but I like it). You can even add commercial beef broth flavorings if you like. I won't tell. Many restaurants do this! I like the Korean brands as they taste like beef. I don't usually add any however. MSG might be added now too. Cook for awhile until melded. Taste to make sure it's perfect (a little on the salty side will work, as it weakens in the bowl - but the bowl can be modified too). A little salt and freshly ground pepper can be added too. White pepper is sometimes added, but mostly to non-beef pho. It's completely different than black pepper. Then I strain this and use for the pho.
Noodles are an important consideration too. Not all rice noodles are the same. I've bought hand-made dried rice noodles that fell apart upon pre-cooking! They were perfect put in soaked with the hot broth put on top. You have to know the brand. However, most are best soaked for awhile in cool water, then cooked for 2 minutes in highly salted boiling water, then strained and added to the pho bowl (I will rinse a bit too). Fresh rice noodles are even better, but again beware as I've found ones loaded with preservatives that taste awful!
The other ingredients are all up to you. I like book tripe sometimes (available at the Mexican grocery nearby) - blanched in salted water and cut very thin (it's supposed to be a little crunchy). The time of blanching varies so you have to test till it's just like you desire. Tendon - I usually get these out of the bones I cook instead of buying them. Meatballs (commercial ones), rare beef (not tenderloin as I think it's tasteless), and well cooked beef (I like short rib, shank, and/or oxtails).
I grow lots of herbs so I will mix this one up a lot. Basil (thai, lemon, lime, italian, etc.). holy basil (it's not the best in pho), mint, cilantro, Vietnamese coriander (the aquatic smartweed plant), rice paddy herb. I've also used arugula, dill, and other non-tradional herbs occasionally. Dill is used in Vietnamese cuisine, though I've never had it in pho at a restaurant. It's pretty good in it though.
Bean sprouts seem ubiquitous, but sometimes I don't have any - julienned summer squash works well. Blanched green beans would probably work.
Greens - like lettuce, endive, etc. are great. Water spinach works very well in pho - and I grow that too!
I don't like Hoisin or any sauce in my broth - or hot chiles either. I dip some of my meats in this on the side when I eat it. I'm a little particular with this. I do add lime, but not all the time. There is a sort of non-refined soybean sauce that I think is really good, but it's difficult to find. I really like it instead of Hoisin. I also like sa-te sauce too - a Thai version, but I've seen it at a few Vietnamese restaurants too (not the peanut satay sauce, it's mostly chilies).
I like some thinly sliced onions, maybe some scallions, and sometimes other veges that are in-season. I've tried really ripe tomatoes once and they worked very well! You really mix it up here.
Most of the time I think my pho is better than that available at restaurants!
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Biko is really good! It's just glutinous rice topped with caramel (well a little more complicated, but not much). I like the various flans too.
Ginataang Halo Halo is another I really like! It's a sort of sweet soup with taro, purple yams, coconut milk, and tapioca (that was my version anyway) that nobody but me liked when I brought it to a get-together (snobs! and they were pretty full as we made 12 dishes of other Philippine food!). I think this is on the same track as the Halu-halo above but is a bit simpler and I did not serve it parfait-style.
I've just been having tapioca with pineapple and purple yam jam (yum!). These 'parfait'-like Asian desserts (well they are sort of snacks too), have so many ingredients I prefer to buy them. I like the Vietnamese 'parfaits' very much too. Philippine restaurants are rare here, while Vietnamese (Cambodian and Lao) are common; so maybe that's it. The Vietnamese ones use nearly the same ingredients (though no purple yam or ice cream), and they often have agar-agar or tapioca/sago threads or ribbons in them as well. Salted plums are common too (though I don't really like them in these sweet dishes).
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There are a lot of things like this in Asian cuisine, and probably all cuisines, that have gone mostly to industrial manufacture. I would not mind a recipe from industry either - though these are rarely given out. I did have some home-made chile sauce once that was very similar, so I know it's possible. They were not very helpful and said they just threw it together! I guess it's sort of asking for a recipe for ketchup here in the US... (well there are old recipes for ketchup - but it's not that common, maybe more like Tabasco) I already did a quite extensive internet search, so that's why I'm posting it here. If I come up with a good recipe - I'll post it! My inclinations are to use a sort of hot chile oil recipe, with some added lemongrass (I think there is a little in this after I really TASTED it again yesterday), garlic (also lots from the garden here), and then maybe some sort of bean paste (instead of MSG). That recipe prasantrin posted above looks very promising - though again I think I would leave out the shrimp and ham - and go with a fermented bean product. Saying it's Chinese helps a bit - it's an adapted Chinese recipe made Thai with lemongrass (maybe they use this in China somewhere too?). This condiment is mostly used for dishes that are adapted Chinese dishes (from what I've been told anyway) like noodle soups, etc. I've tried a few Chinese products from the markets and they are just not the same, and either have too few ingredients or too many. XO sauce is similar, but has many other ingredients, and I want it to be nearly all chilies. XO is a recent invention from what I gather...
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I really love the Thai sa-te sauce made with chiles. It's imported by Anhing out of California and the container also says "Caravelle". The market where I found it no longer has any, and can't remember what it was! I've looked at several other markets too - to no avail.
I have an abundance of chiles from the garden, so I would love to make it. Ingredients listed are chili pepper, soybean oil, garlic, and "spices."
I think the spices are the key! There is a certain umami flavor in this that I just can't figure out (may be MSG, but I think that would have to be listed).
Any ideas?
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I bought some 'Tapioca Pearl' from an Asian market a while back - it's so inexpensive. Went to make some today. Well, the old standard way is to soak the large pearls for a long time then cook them slowly. Not for these from CTF - Combine Thai Foods. They break apart upon soaking. I think this may be true with all the Asian tapioca pearls except perhaps for the quick-cooking boba tea types, which don't really do anything if you soak them. These are partly cooked (or are chemically altered) and only take 5 minutes to get to boba consistency. It looks like the other type can be used for boba too - just in a different way - well I assume these were the first boba!
So for this type of pearl tapioca you have to add it to hot boiling water, as this seals the pearl and it will not break up. Then it cooks. Takes about 30 minutes of boiling, plus some resting to get to the fully cooked stage. This is much shorter than the pearl tapioca made for the US market - which takes much longer (and benefits from the soaking). I think the main difference is the density of the pearls.
I can't really tell the difference from appearance or ingredients between these two types - and maybe there are intermediate ones too? The quick boba types - are quite distinct though - are sort of soft from the start (well a little harder than a pencil eraser anyway) - and have lots of other ingredients besides tapioca/Casava and water...
I'm not making boba anyway, but a tapioca desert with purple yam - should be good!
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I was shopping at the local K-mart where I get a few items no one else carries here and saw a chopper - Hamilton Beach Coffee Grinder - with removable grinding chamber - 80365. It was quite inexpensive - about 20 bucks. It is not for liquids as the cup is not water-tight. But it has worked for fresh ginger. It works well for all the other spices I've used as well. It operates the same as other types of coffee grinders, but has an automatic turn-off system - and you set the grind type and amount of coffee you want to make. This is moot with spices, but I figure maybe it won't burn out from over-use as easily. Also you don't have to hold down the button - you press and let it go. For a mix of cloves, cinnamon sticks, peppercorns, and coriander seeds, it worked very well - and took only two cycles - each about 30 seconds. I've also ground roasted, cooled spices in one cycle and added garlic, and it ground these together well. This is a nice option for small batches of dry or just slightly moist items. The grinding chamber holds about 3/4 cup at most. It's easy to clean too. I don't expect this one to be really long lasting - but it's cheap! I will likely still look into a much more heavy-duty grinder soon as well - like the Surya Mixer Grinder.
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I am thinking of purchasing the Innomix Surya Mixer Grinder innoconcepts.com. I want it for grinding spices mainly, and it is very important that it has the ability to make quite small quantities (though I will use a mortar and pestle for really small amounts!). I have a Vitamix (older stainless model) that can make excellent and quick work out of a large quantity - two cups minimum - but will not work for small amounts. I make fresh masala's, curry pastes, and herb/vegetable/spice blends all the time - nearly twice a week, sometimes much more. I've burnt out ones made by Cuisinart and Revel (in another post I described this). So I need a really sturdy model. I like the concept of the stone grinders like the Ultra mix grinder, but these seem a little over the top for this use - though I may get one for making larger batches and for making masas and dosa/idli batters and such.
I saw on post saying the Surya Mixer was great - but it looked like it was a promotional post - from someone who sold them.
Let me know if you have one of these - or have other suggestions.
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I think after looking around I'm going to get an Innomix Surya Mixer Grinder innoconcepts.com - I found it looking at related threads in this forum for nuts (cocoa beans specifically) - it's the same model as the cocoa pregrinder. We shall see... If anyone has one please let me know how you like it. The people using it for cocoa seem to like it. These are the same folks that distribute the ultra wet grinder, which is highly thought of.
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I have two revels. They have worked very well - each for a couple years with use about once a week. Neither burned out. However there is a major flaw in that the actuator, the part that starts the motor, is in a groove that is susceptible to liquids coming in from the bowl above. My first one failed because this mechanism became fouled. The second one started giving me shocks! The second one has now failed due to the parts wearing out - the parts that move the blades - sort of the gears. This is mentioned on Amazon and it may be a recent cheapening of the product? I think I'm giving up on them, but really don't know what a good alternative would be. There seems to be a market out there for a higher quality spice grinder - both wet and dry. I bought the Cuisinart SG-10 spice and nut grinder, and it burned out after two uses. It's design is better but it seems to be way underpowered for grinding spices. It burned out on garlic and chiles - probably because I used it for a couple minutes - these units are best used in pulses for only the briefest instances. You can let them cool, and pulse again. This is of course a real pain. I may try to 'fix' the Cuisinart, as it may not be burned out, but a circuit breaker may have failed. However, it is not what I expected it to be... The revel is put together with screws that require a tool that I don't have (maybe not even available), but the Cuisinart has phillips heads. Both of these are quite cheap. There is a 'commercial' Waring model out there - but it seems not to be for wet ingredients at all. I use this half the time to grind wet spice and herb pastes so it would not be a real solution. I have an old bamix and the grinder is not up to the tasks of grinding the items I grind as items become lodged in the blades quite easily - but the motor IS powerful enough not to burn out. It may be that the newer models are better?
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And peach are not 'low acid'. They are in the 'acid' category. I don't think they've even been a problem. Who knows where these people get this stuff. I just heard on a newer PBS show that excluding oxygen is all you need to do to prevent spoilage, when it's actually the opposite for botulism. Must have taken a little information about keeping out O2 to prevent mold and such and basic human biology and come to an erroneous conclusion.
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"EGGABUTTER" sic
Thanks for all the info. I was looking for Balkenbrij recipes - and found them! I am also looking for something called eggabutter, at least that's what a friend calls it. No one in his family remember exactly what it was called or how it was spelled. Half their family came to the Midwest from the Netherlands and became dairy farmers. This dish was a farmers breakfast served as a 'second' large breakfast after early chores such as milking were completed. My friend does not know exactly how it was made (his grandmother made it, but mother from the other side of the family no longer does, and did not like it. His dad had no idea as he is not much of a cook.). It consists of side pork (slices of pork belly), and it was fried and then served in a gravy, possibly with eggs, alongside bread. From his description, the pork belly may have been cooked in liquid for awhile to achieve the consistency he remembers.
Any ideas?
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Thanks - so far so good. The Kokum may be valid - but these items are not just dried kokum. I actually bought some of these too - to go into some dishes that call for them. I was never able to obtain them where I live. But these fruits do grow in the area where the little pellets are found (the state of Gujarat)...
CHOORUN - YES! but... I found the term spelled Churan more commonly. Means - like you said a school-time snack - that is not a sweet. However this term is not just for these pellets, but for all sorts of snacks.
I found this term - daleem. Seems to mean a rock salt (black salt) and sour fruit ball - with some spices like asofoetida and ajwain, etc. But this term may be only a slang term?
But then - I searched for this term and came upon:
http://2.imimg.com/data2/BN/BU/IMFCP-2409569/52-250x250.jpg
This seems very close in 'look' to the ones I found, but there is little description of them.
The Harde refers to the plant Terminalia Chebula - and it's the fruits that are used.
I think this may be close to the answer. I don't think that this fruit is all that is used as it seems not to be sour or particularly tasty - but may provide the nearly black color. Pomegranate is a likely candidate for the sourness.
Now to confuse things more - the term Goli or Golli has come up - which as I interpret it - refers to a sort of pill made rather primitively from ground herbs, spices, sugary substances, and/or salts. These are for various ailments or digestion, but are also a sort of snack (like cough drops were for my generation of kids in the US).
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I bought these at an Indian Grocery store. They were not named or described, except with the brand or maker - Jay Andeshwar. They are salty - like they are made with black salt - Kala Namak as they are sulphury too. They also may have sour plums (or any other sour fruit like tamarind) and a few spices. Each pellet is about 1/2- 3/4 inch long and about 1/4 inch in diameter. Most of us thought they were horrible. I sort of liked them in a strange way.
I want to know what they are (what are they called?), what's in them, and why would people eat them (are they medicinal for instance)? Thanks!
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I once had roasted halibut cheeks with red wine sauce (put on the side and drizzled on top). It was actually one of the most memorable dishes I've had so I would not discount the grape sauce with seafood entirely.
We used to collect small wild grapes and make jelly in the Midwest. Those you found are likely Vitis californica, California wild grape. Muscodines are only found in the South and Southeast, and are look different, and tend to have larger fruits, and less deeply dissected leave. Though muscadines may be raised there in gardens...
We would make jelly, much the way you made your sauce, but then we would add sugar and cook to the gel stage. It was really intense! I also used to collect the leaves in the spring and use them for dolmades. I was into food and cooking even as a kid, especially with wild foods!
Smoked herring - AKA Blind Robins, Kippers, etc.
in Cooking
Posted
I bought two containers of what I thought were kippers. However, I did not really know how to serve them. I've found them before labelled as such - years ago in Moab, Utah of all places. When I got them home they were sort of mistreated on tranit and I never really put them to use. I love English breakfasts and enjoyed them when I was in the UK (really had them more in Scotland). There were kippers and I seem to remember them warmed up and pretty tasty. When I do a search now, however what I find is that kipppers are a specific kind of smoked herring - split and smoked and pretty much ready to eat. What I bought were mostly skinned and sort of filleted (lots of little bones remain - so really they are just one side of the fish, without most of the skin). They are also extremely salty. They look like what are called "blind robins" when I do a search for images. I can't really imagine anyone eating them as a snack as is though. I can eat anchovies - canned ones in oil, not the ones packed in salt - so I know about eating salty fish. These are much more extreme. They also don't seem dry enough for this use. I soaked a few in milk, and they got soft and seem much more edible, though not just soaked in milk... I'm still wondering what to do next with them. Here are my questions:
How to use these?
I bought these in an Asian market. How would they be used in Asian cuisine (most of the clientèle are originally Laotian, Cambodian, or Vietnamese)?
Can I get real Kippers (not kipper snacks) - in a small city in the US, not near any coast?