Soup

This morning (or should I say last night), I started on Alton Brown's recipe for slow cooked steel cut oats using a slow cooker. Recipe is simple. What I got this morning was less then ideal. Outer edges had become really dry and the part that wasn't dry simply did not taste good. The kids and the wife was great about it. They put in a ton of maple syrup and ate some but I couldn't choke it down. I was for once happy that I did not own a digital camera. I didn't know if I should post here or on the regrettible food thread.

I love grits but my attempts at it have failed. The food section of the post have gotten me to think about trying to make Grits again. What type/brand of grits should I buy? The paper suggested the "quick cooking" type. Once I make the grits, can it be store in the fridge/freezer and reheated (I'm the only one in the house that likes them).

I cannot wait to see the korean, indian and PR episodes!!! Hey AB do you need a korean english speaker who comes free of charge (i.e., me )?

I can answer my own question on this. They have not gotten the prepared hot food area ready yet but its any day now. I was there this weekend and I really think they have a great seafood dept. (better than lotte or super H).

They look great. One of my regrets was when my wife and I were in Athens, we went to a store that specializes in copper cookware (in the market area). We had actually gotten lost and we happen on this area. But they were selling a set up pots and pans for about $100 US. Only reason I didn't buy was that I didn't want to lug them around greece. A big regret because stuff we did end up mailing back to the us, including glass and stone all got here without breakage.

burger with a fried egg on it (sunny side up) from the White Spot in Chalottesville, VA.

Pictures look amazing. Tomorrow, I'm hosting Xmas lunch and I have a very large platter of sashimi being delivered. We go for the korean dipping sauce in addition to wasabi/soy. My mom is more partial to wasbi/soy where I and the rest of the family really go for the kochujang based sauce. You just can't go wrong with either as long as the fish and preperation is good. Yum.

Use to be a big Ichiban fan but I don't like it anymore. I go for top or Manchurian.

Last 3 morning its been cold. I had Kong Namul Guk (bean sprout soup) made with dashima stock. Add rice from night before, a great warm filling breakfast.

Basmati is definitely different. I had a bit more water then I would for white short grain rice. Salt as mentioned is important. I've also found basmati is a bit more forgiving on the exact amount of water (especially more water side). As for white short grain (korean and janpanese types), my mom thought me a trick for measure water. Wash rice as usual. Then lay your hand flat on top of the rice. Fill rice water water until the water come above your knuckles. Turn on rice cooker. It has worked pretty well for me. Questions? What is your favorite brand of short grained rice? I keep going back and forth from Kokuho and Nashiki.

Great topic!!! In the order most often used... 1. Egg 2. Rice 3. Duk(korean rice cake slices) 4. Kimchi 5. Scallions 6. O'Deang (the spam of fish) 7. Left over meat of many type from the fridge

I'm assuming NOVA means Northern VA, right? ← NOVA is Northern VA. $.49 is great price on the legs. I was just at Super H on Sunday but I didn't pick up any stock material. Actually I did pick up dried fish and Kombu and made excellent stock for bean sprout soup. Really turned out well (after a couple of tries). Does splitting the bone open give you a more gelatinous stock? Soup

i have an asko and we been pretty happy with it (I wanted Miele but couldn't justify 2x the cost). It is supposed (never took an actual thermometer to it) get the water hotter than most dish washers and we can put a lot of dishes without having to rinse. Pretty quite and it comes out clean and dry. We've had it for 6 years and it is still going strong. Not bad for a dishwasher.

There fish and veg. is outstanding. Parking, another story... I think its the only place I've seen selling live shrimp. Has anyone been lately. I was there a month ago and they had not fully set up their prepared food bar.

Mehak is really close but no buffet. I have had lunch there many times and the food is really good. Nirvana is a bit of walk. Polo Club, I got to get on a metro for and I really don't care for there food. So it looks like I have to widen my search. How about a couple of metro stops? Does that increase my options? I miss the many choice of good places (indian buffet wise) that I had in the burbs. There has to be some decent ones near by. Soup

I'm looking for an indian buffet place near chinatown area. Any suggestions?

Thanks for the comments. On the batter, I add oil. I also get the iron hottest possible then add oil and heat again until I see whisp of smoke. I then add the batter. But the first two are like "pulling teeth". On the third and subsequent ones, it comes out easier. I'm assuming that the non-stick is pretty much gone at this point since I need to liberally oil. So I could go either way. I could continue to stick with this one or get a new iron. I don't really want the ones that you manually use over the gas stove. Too much for me in the morning. Which waffle irons are good? Ease of cleaning being a huge consideration (other than it making great waffles). soup

I guess i have two question. My krup's belgian waffle maker is sticking. I guess the non-stick surface only goes so far. How can I get the waffle's not to stick (I apply oil liberally and heat to smoking before adding the batter)? Or, should I start looking for another waffle iron? Any recommendation on either the sticking problem or a new waffle iron? To be honest, I didn't like the krup because it was really difficult to clean. You really need "surgical tools" to get into all the slots and hinges.

fried dashima?

For beef/veal stock, I'm having a though time finding reasonably priced parts. Short Ribs, and oxtail are really good but expensive. oxtail here is $4.99/lb (sometime I can get it $3.99/lb). Veal I can't find at all. Chicken, it cheaper for me @ .69/lbs just to use the whole chicken and I get good stock. Pork parts are faily cheap and accessible.

congrats on the upcoming wedding. I love the capital grill (the one on PA ave). Start with seafood platter, great steak, dessert and cigars with a nice port. One of the better meals I've had. Have fun.

ChefZadi & Marco Polo, Thank you for the info. ChefZadi, On the Anchovy stock, I got the measurements fine off your website. Thanks. Any insight on the technique? Do you boil the Anchovies hard with the dashima or bring it just up to boil and basically let the dashima and anchovies soak? Marco Polo, Never had kongkuk without a stock based on anchovies. I got to try it just to see how it turns out. I'm just curious as to how a the soup will taste? Soup

egg, kochujang is really good. Lately for me though, I been trying right a soup called kong namul kuk. This is a soybean sprout soup. The base is clear should made from kelp and dried anchovies. My difficulting is getting a clear flavorful soup that doesn't over power too much. Any thougths?

Well I just ate at the Matchbox resturant again. It is quickly becoming one of my favorite restaurants in DC. I however, did not get the burger. Got the pizza and it was really good. If you are in DC chinatown area, try the matchbox. The burgers are still the best.

Went to the MatchBox Resturant in DC today. The mini burgers were particularly excellent. Fries were over salted. But the burgers there have never dissappoint. For dinner, wife made tofu stir fry and I grilled some korean Karbi (ribs). We had snow so I grilled in the car port. Both were real good. Soup