Jinmyo

Yup. But I think your proportions are a bit off. For three eggs, use about a half cup of dashi. You can add a bit of shoyu too but not so much as to discolour. Mix well, place shrimp or crab meat or such in a ramekin or bowl, pour mixture overtop. You can float some shitake slices on top. Steam for about 12 to 15 minutes.

I've seen finishing a steamed dish with a final lash of hot oil done many many times in Chinese restaurants. Ed?

Anna, just take some dried chiles that you like, smash them up and buzz them in a spice grinder or a coffee grinder dedicated to the purpose.

LML, grill it. The exterior gets toasted and the interior puffs up.

nsm, do you ever add a dusting of bonito flakes to your okonomiyaki as a final garnish? The heat makes them tremble and wave. Very interesting.

Careful, Steve. That's information some would pay for.

Every New Year elderly Japanese, usually men, succumb to mochi, the rice cake of death. Mochi is rice pounded into a paste that is then grilled or served in soup. It is very sticky and difficult to chew but a beloved treat. By taking too big a bite, one winds up with a ball of goo that sticks in the throat. Hm. Drunken old fart husband, New Year's treat, portion size matters...

Anna, if it was clear it sounds like osuimono, a very light miso shiru. Yes, it contains dashi. You can also make osuimono without miso. edit: Recipe? Hm. Make dashi. About three or four parts dashi to one half part white miso paste. I put the paste in a strainer, lower it into the soup, and whisk it in. The dashi should never boil.

Sure. As a base for miso shiru, most Japanese soups. The bonito and kombu can be re-used for a less subtle soup. You can even freeze for later use. Bring it to a boil, if you want. It doesn't matter. This can be used in Chinese style soups or in sauces that have a lot of flavours. You can also poach fish in it.

Lukewarm water. Few handfuls of bonito shavings. Kombu. Let soak for an hour. Strain. Or: Water, few handfuls of bonto, kombu. Bring to simmer. Remove from heat. Strain.

I think that it might be useful to consider "education" as something that can also take place outside of such institutions as CIA, Cordon Bleu and so on. Many cooks and chefs, whether graduates of university or culinary programs or not, study Larousse Gastronomic, Escoffier, and other classical sources. They read voraciously. Others do not. So I think that speaking of "formal" or "advanced" education, if understood as merely being a matter of having attended an institution, is not the point and could mislead the discussion.

I blanch them, remove the skins, and sear in EVOO. Then do with them as I will in terms of roasting or braising or whatever.

Ben, once rendered it is strained and then cooled and stored in the refrigerator. Keeps for weeks.

Maggie, if I haven't any duck or goose fat, I'll use it mixed with butter for roast potatoes. It's great for sauteeing wild mushrooms as well.

Infidel. There are many ways to the Bacon God.

Robert, I notice that the negatives that you list pertain to the experience of restaurant clientele while the positives pertain to home cooks and people in their "real lives."

Emma, that's interesting. In general I am rabidly malevolent to the idea of getting meat wet with water. But a bit of water in the pan helps in rendering bacon. Bacon is so flavourful that a bit of a rinse would not harm it and in its cooking off would help the bacon to stay uncurled. I might try this. Thanks.

No, it's not really about bacon.

Yes.

In Ottawa here, there is always the choice of several dozens of different slab bacons available from various butcher shops. Does anyone really buy meat anywhere else? I mean, it's meat. Sliced bacon is like minced beef or pork; best used that day because it is more exposed. Sliced bacon is also like plastic wrapped cheese: waxy and nasty. Of course pre-sliced bacon is great compared to anything that is not bacon. But compared to slab bacon, it shows what it is not. tommy, sliced bacon in the microwave makesas much sense as any other way of doing it. Or more. Fast, convenient, easy clean-up. But slab bacon sliced into quater inch thick, three inch long slices done in a cast iron pan are fast, easy, and clean-up is pouring off rendering bacon sacrament to bless other foods. Amen. Ta, now. Sleepies.

Jaymes, a few slices? A few slices? How many pounds are we talking about?

Heh. Just say "bacon" and see how many people post in how short a time. Further proof of how much good the Bacon God bestows and how grateful his congregation is.

Oh brig, hie thee hence to a butchery. Sliced bacon are the scales on the divil's back compared to slab bacon which is the sacrament of the Bacon God. Truly though, awbrig. Slab bacon is superb. Any sliced bacon is just so watery and decomposed by comparison.

Aham.

The best way to cook strip bacon is on a baking sheet in an oven on medium high heat with a weight to press it down to prevent curling. Pour off the fat and reserve. But pre-sliced bacon is an abomination before the eyes of the Bacon God. The best bacon is slab bacon, cut a quarter inch thick or more, in pieces about three inches long, done in by bringing up to medium heat in a cast iron skillet. This brings joy to the countenance of the Bacon God and all are blessed and ever so. Ta.