C. sapidus

Rona: I am so glad that you found the recipe useful. It looks like you got a wonderful juicy coating on your char siu. Making the marinade into a sauce is a great idea – I need to try that.

Lovely, joyous foodblog, very nicely done, and over far too quickly. Also lovely to see some of the old-timers (in internet terms, anyway ) come out of the woodwork. Great job!

Tonight we ate dum aloo (Indian potato curry), leftover from a pot luck lunch at work. Fried Yukon Gold potatoes cooked in a sauce of brown-fried onions, ginger, tomatoes, fageh yogurt, heavy cream, and much of the spice cabinet. We have a small but dedicated spicy-food-eating contingent at work, but they left enough for dinner. Fortunately, this is one of those dishes that gets better with reheating. Eternal cucumbers and leftover turkey from Mrs. C’s holiday pot luck, so we didn’t have to cook a thing tonight. Dum aloo, etc.

Bruce, can you talk a little bit about your experience with the CS and CI woks? What exactly did you like better about the CI? I think that I've got the same cooktop as you do (36" BS with power burners up front). Yup, same cooktop, except we have the factory configuration (one power burner front left, one back right). Did you have your burners moved at the factory, or did you move them yourself? Caveat: my evaluation is based on a grand total of two woks, so the conclusions are hardly universal. That said, here are the differences I have noticed between our cast iron and carbon steel woks. Seasoning: The cast iron wok developed bulletproof seasoning very quickly. In contrast, the seasoning on the carbon steel wok has always been a bit delicate, especially up the sides. Obviously, millions of folks in China manage to season carbon steel woks successfully, so I probably did something wrong 20 years ago when I first seasoned the carbon steel wok. Texture and shape: Our cast iron wok has a wider flare and rougher surface than the carbon steel wok. At first, I was horrified when I saw the rough surface of the cast iron wok. It seemed that it would be difficult to clean, but that has not been a problem. The rougher surface and wider flare does make it easier to slide food up the sides of the wok without the food sliding back down. Thermal characteristics: The cast iron wok is a bit thicker and heavier than the carbon steel wok. It seems to retain heat better, giving me more wiggle room if I overload the wok with cold ingredients. Surprisingly, the cast iron wok also seems to heat up at least as quickly as the carbon steel wok, perhaps because cast iron has nearly double the thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity compared with carbon steel (reference: eGCI Course: Understanding Stovetop Cookware). Whether one prefers cast iron or carbon steel is mostly a matter of personal preference, so you probably aren’t missing anything. If you are curious and have the storage space, woks are cheap and a second wok is nice to have. The main reason that we replaced our carbon steel wok is that one of the handles is dangerously loose. I decided to invest $15 USD rather than risk anointing myself with smoking oil. I will be interested to hear what you decide to do.

eskay: Your chicken sounds delicious, blue garlic and all. Are you taking or administering exams? Tonight’s dinner: slow-braised beef with potatoes; and and fennel braised with thyme and black olives. Click the links for details and pictures.

Another braised vegetable – this time fennel, braised with thyme and black olives. Mrs. C loved the oil-cured olives. Anchovies, garlic, fennel seed, dry vermouth, and chicken stock made a delicious sauce. The fennel itself – eh, it was OK.

I appreciate all of the bitter melon advice. It definitely sounds like I need to cook it longer next time. Tonight we made slow-braised beef with potatoes, from Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook. We reduced the oven temperature to 275F and the chuck roast turned out juicy and falling-apart tender. The sauce developed a remarkably complex flavor given the relatively short list of ingredients – dou ban jian, cinnamon, star anise, dried chiles, dark soy, light soy, and rice vinegar. No leftovers. tu dou wei niu rou

Thanks for the suggestions. I picked up the bitter melon on a whim, so stir-frying was easy. I could see it adding a nice something to scrambled eggs or a slow-cooked brothy concoction.Host Note: for the continuation of this topic please see Part 3 here

Ce’nedra: Nice shrimp – did you eat the shells? I tried this for the first time: Man, that is one bitter, um, y'know, melon. I cut it into sections, sliced it thinly, salted for 30 minutes, rinsed, and stir-fried it with chiles and scallions, finishing with sesame oil. Nice texture, but very bitter. After taking the picture, I added hoisin sauce for a little sweetness. That seemed to improve things. I could see bitter melon being a nice accent in with other stuff, but by itself,

I like the seed, it adds a nice nutty flavor. We just slice it up with the rest of the chayote. Tonight we made another variation of chayotes al vapor, this time with roasted Poblano chile rajas and cilantro. We sprinkled feta cheese on top because that is what we had. I have also seen recipes for chayotes al mojo de ajo, with brown-fried garlic and lime juice. The rest of the family prefers to steal the raw chayote after it has been peeled and julienned. Chayotes al vapor with Poblano chile rajas

Ah Leung: Two of the many dishes that particularly jumped out at me: Snails in hot spicy wine sauce - you got my attention. Any idea how they made that one? That looks both beautiful and delicious. I will add my thanks to the chorus. Posting all those lovely pictures while catching up with family is definitely above and beyond the strict call of duty. Safe travels, and of course we will look forward to any more that you care to share upon your return.

Jamie Lee: Self-deprecation aside, that’s a beautiful picture. Tonight’s dinner: pescado a la Veracruzana; shiitake and oyster mushroom soup with bacon and pasilla chiles; and butter-glazed radishes. The tilapia turned out nicely – I love the combination of tomatoes, olives, capers, and pickled jalapenos, and this version included bay leaves, thyme, Mexican oregano, flat-leaf parsley, cloves, and soft-stick cinnamon. Mrs. C braised the radishes in butter and chicken stock, transforming them into tender caramelized nuggets as the last of the water evaporated. The pasilla chiles were unexpectedly spicy and overwhelmed the otherwise delicious soup. Next time I will add the chile puree in stages, tasting as I go.

Marcia: Thanks, I have noticed that you shared an affection for chile-sauced pork. Grilled eggplant moussaka sounds like a great idea, too. Peter the eater: I have never tried winkles before, but holy crap, that looks so good. Tonight we made garlicky stir-fried shrimp (camarones al ajillo), braised scallions, and jasmine rice. The shrimp included a whole head of garlic (note the large golden-brown cloves), further enriched with garlic butter. Ya can’t have too much garlic. Driving elder son back from basketball practice in freezing weather, he preferred an open window to garlic fumes. Eh, it was so worth it. Edited to add: Mrs. C made the braised scallions, from All About Braising, and they were delicious. Camarones al ajillo, braised scallions, jasmine rice

Wow, y’all have made some beautiful ceviche. I missed this thread when we made our first ceviche last month, a Mexican ceviche with swordfish. Pickled jalapenos, green olives, tomatoes, red onion, black pepper, and Mexican oregano, provided a lovely mix of flavors. We mixed in cubed avocado and cilantro just before serving. Swordfish and avocado ceviche

The evening’s schedule looked crazy, so this morning I set up the crock pot with cubed pork butt, fingerling potatoes, and a guajillo chile sauce. As it turned out, snow cancelled all evening activities. No matter, the pork was a big hit with the family. Elder son probably “sampled” half of it before dinner. The potatoes didn’t add much, though, so I will probably leave them out next time. I made corn tortillas, again confirming smoke detector function. Mrs. C improvised garlic smashed potatoes, and elder son cut up the cucumbers. Younger son just ate – a lot. Puerco y papas al guajillo

Thanks, Doddie. The apple eggplant is sliced thinly and mixed with the cooked ingredients just before serving. The eggplant softens a bit, but retains most of its crunch. Thicker slices would remain crunchier; thinner slices would soften more. We like this salad a lot.

How about a daiquiri or other lime-soured drink?

Rainbow trout with garlic, lime, and parsley (pescado al mojo de ajo); green beans with bacon and tomatoes (ejotes con tocino); jasmine rice.

Is Maranatha almond butter the same thing as almond butter? If so, it is one of many ingredients in badaami murgh (post #21082). Edit: Oops, never mind - I didn't realize this was Ready to Eat.

According to this web site, electricity in India is 240 volts, 50 cycles per second. Reportedly, the motors that Sumeet uses in the U.S. (120 volts, 60 cycles per second) have had problems. Since standard electricity in India is similar to that in the U.K., perhaps you could use the Indian Sumeet motor, which is supposed to be more reliable. If you want to try contacting the manufacturer directly, here are the web sites for Sumeet and Preethi. Unfortunately, neither lists a distributor in the U.K. Surprising, with the large Indian population. The forums on Another Subcontinent are another possible source of information. Good luck!

rarerollingobject: Humble? Pah! That looks delicious. We have Into the Vietnamese Kitchen and Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table. Both books have spawned many family favorites, but I would probably pick the former if forced to choose.

Nina: I’m a little hazy on when your foodblog ends, but I will not be at all upset if it continues for a while (you may feel differently, of course). I visit NYC now and again, and you have provided lots of ideas for exploring your borough beyond the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens. Thanks persevering in the face of adversity and providing a week filled with charm and lovely food (especially the beautiful market montages). Nicely done!

Shelby: Thanks! Hey, up until this morning I would have been jealous, too. Rick Bayless suggested having two cast-iron pans, one heated to medium and one heated to medium-high. Put the tortilla on the medium pan for 30 seconds; flip onto the hot pan for 30 seconds until lightly browned; and then flip again on the hot pan for another 30 seconds. After the last flip, if you press the tortilla with the spatula it should puff up. If it doesn’t puff, try making the pan a bit hotter. Good luck, I hope that works for you. Heck, I hope it works again for me.

Second try at corn tortillas, first time producing a tortilla-like result. Heck, most of the tortillas even puffed! The cast-iron skillet must not have been hot enough before. This time, I set off the smoke detector and the tortillas turned out nicely. Started with masa harina, not corn masa, which doesn’t exist around here. We don’t have a tortilla press, but our bread board has pads on the bottom that happen to produce tortillas of just the right thickness. Score one for serendipity. Enjoyed with Mexican scrambled eggs jazzed up with chipotles in adobo.

Susan: Good suggestion about mangos. My problem with putting things in the freezer is that I can never find them again. Tonight we made the “world’s best braised green cabbage.” I don’t know about “world’s best” – there is a Sichuan recipe I prefer – but it disappeared very quickly. The olive oil/chicken stock-infused onions were particularly nice.