Prawncrackers

Just wanted to add, if the original poster is still reading and wondering what knife to get (conspicuous by his absence; probably scared-off by now)? If he does opt for a yanagi he might be surprised at how thick they are and doubt that it could slice well at all. Persevere and you’ll find that it’s the wonderful geometry that makes this kind of knife work. I’ve always wondered about and have been tempted to buy a fuguhiki - a thinner version of a yanagi. Surely they would be even better for slicing salmon after all they are used to slice fugu so thinly that the pattern on the serving plate can be seen clearly (not to mention that fugu is chewy so needs to be sliced very thinly). But in the end I’m very happy with my yanagi and couldn’t really justify buying another similar knife. As for takohiki, I always thought they were the same as a yanagi but without the pointed tip. The benefit being for mass-processors of octopus that there’s no tip to snag on all those awkward curling tentacles. I’m not sure that I’ve ever seen or heard of a sushi chef putting down his yanagi and picking up a takohiki just to slice one octopus tentacle down for some nigiri. I don’t think it would have any benefit over a yanagi in slicing fish. Btw, I'm not getting into the cullen debate because I have no experience of them. But I suppose there is a debate because no empirical evidence is out there conclusively for or against?

Nah you definitely don't eat the dried chillies in Sichuan food, they are for flavour only. Actually I can't think of any cuisines where you would eat dried chillies with out rehydrating them first. Anyway, have you guys tried the classic Sichuan Dry Fried Chicken pieces with Chilli & Peanuts in your travels? Now that dish uses a few chillies, here's crappy pic taken with my phone below. Note we'd already eaten all of the chicken and peanuts, this is what was leftover. Truly extravagant amount of chillies, we guessed that there must have been between 100-150:

From my copy of Japanese Cooking by Shizuo Tsuji, I thought that inside draw cut towards the hand is called usu-zukuri. Or is that term specifically for fish? I mentioned in the other thread about slicing salmon that I use this technique for gravlax. The first time I did it it's SCARY! Where does the salmon flesh end and my own finger flesh begin? With big sides of salmon you need the long knife strokes so you really do need a steady hand. Though as paulraphael has already said, you get best tactile feedback from your fingertips and once you get it yo never feel like you're going to cut yourself ever.

I swear by my Japanese sashimi knife (270mm yanagi) pictured in the foreground here, but i think any long thin knife will do the job. If you make a lot of gravlax is probably worth investing in a dedicated slicer. Technique is important with gravlax as it's quite soft and sticky, a single smooth draw of the blade is desirable over a sawing motion. To that end I find an inside draw cut gives the best results. I'm particularly impressed with the job done by Baron d'Apcher in his later post though his fish has been smoked so is probably a lot firmer. Not sure what his knife is but it's long and thin!

When you say chef's knife to me it means Chinese slicing cleaver, that is my #1 choice 60% of time for regular prep. I only have one at the moment a small Shun cleaver in VG10 steel and it's close to perfect for me because I have smallish hands. I'm able to touch the edge with my middle finger so I can peel stuff like onions and garlic without letting go of the cleaver. The first week I bought it I chipped it very badly on a chicken carcass so I had to reprofile it drastically. It has a very flat belly now which is much better than the factory standard. I thought about getting a small Sugimoto cleaver whilst in Tokyo recently but I talked myself out of it because I love this Shun so much. For the other 40% of regular prep work I use other these other knives to suit my mood: *160 mm Carter Funayuki - smaller utility knife for a small chopping board type quick meals *215mm Takeda Gyuto - my sharpest thinnest chef's knife, will obliterate all veggies in it's path. Is quite high sided so great for scooping. Fantastic cheesecake knife too. *240mm Itou Gyuto - my "sexiest" knife, special steel, damascus pattern, stag-horn handle. Sharp and beautifully balanced like a conventional western knife but I admit to babying it a little. Hardest to sharpen too. I also have a small Nenox paring that I bought after taking the photo below. It's always out when one of the main knives is in use. For those paring jobs like peeling shallots in the hand. Those are my main knives for regular prep stuff. I have these for more specialised work: *Medium heavy Chinese cleaver mainly for chopping poultry through the bone. Has to be sharp so the bones don't splinter when you present it neatly in the Chinese manner. It can handle pork bones too and is sharp enough to split lobsters cleanly. Just fantastic, the biggest yet cheapest knife in the photo. *270mm Masamoto Yanagi and Hiromoto Sujihiki. Want something sliced? You got it! The yanagi is just a dream knife for slicing gravlax at xmas. *180mm Korin/Suisin Deba, for breaking down fish of all sizes. *Flexible global filleting/boning knife. I mostly use this knife in conjunction with the sujihiki, a heavy chopper and a saw for breaking down pigs. But it is so versatile that I fillet delicate sole with it too. *Itou paring knife, pretty knife with the same damascus steel as it's big sister. Peculiar shape for a paring but I've found that it's wonderful for fruit. Destones mangos to give two perfect halves without wasting any of the precious flesh. *Bread knife and various small junk knives I use to pry open shellfish (not pictured) That's all, it's probably more than your average kitchen but less than your average knife-nut who are a very acquisitive breed indeed. I went through a phase four years ago of buying all these knives but got to the stage where I had a wonderful knife for every application I could conceive of; so I stopped. I don't consider myself a knife-nut otherwise I'd have carried on buying regardless. No really I don't need to see how the cowry-x in the Hattori performs against the special tool steel in the Yoshikane, I've got food to cook! As you can see I really don't see the point of having one knife to rule them all. Once you appreciate how precision tools can do certain things that general all-rounders can't, it'll change the way you prepare food for the better. It's a joy to use good tools and since knives are fundamental tools for cooking it should mean that the food is better too. Especially if you value how a dish looks. So in answer to which knife I would reach for first: all of them.

You know I had to really think about this one. What really is shameful? Is it what you think other people would think of you if they knew what you enjoy eating? To me that doesn't count; we've seen with a lot of the responses already that there is a common enjoyment of processed foods - tater tots (whatever they are) and processed cheese being common, so it's not really that shameful is it? It's only because we're all part of this "foodie" organisation and as a collective we like to think that we wouldn't stoop below minimum gastronomic standards lest we be deemed unworthy by our peers. Nonsense, enjoy what you enjoy already, don't think of anyone else! Me, I don't have them often but when I do I love a McD's filetofish, quarter pounder and fries, in that order. I love the crappy free coffee from the vending machines here at work. Like Chufi I have no problem using liquid bouillon for stock when I can't be arsed to make it. I feel no shame at all about any of those things. However then there is the real shame. The personal shame that you feel that has nothing to do with what other people think. The self-hate* that you feel when you’re actually eating that item of food (usually alone/out of sight) and you are enjoying so much but you know you definitely shouldn’t be! For me that is duck crackling, you know the crispy stuff that remains when you’re rendering a load of trimmings to make pure duck fat. I do it maybe two or three times a year depending on how much confit I’ve been eating. I just can’t resist it, i’ve drained off all that golden fat and I start to nibble. Then before you know it I’ve seasoned it with salt and pepper and it’s all been devoured. It is just so delicious yet at the same time I’m thinking I should have binned this, think of the cholesterol man, I’ll have a heart attack before I’m 40! One time I did bin it, I found myself rescuing a couple of morsels. The shame. The real shame. * I just wanted to add that there are a lot of real illnesses out there, but I’m not qualified or experienced to go any deeper and besides this is a light-hearted topic, right?

Has anyone been yet? The last I read about this place was this blog here in early Dec 2009 . I'm in North London this weekend and wanted to pop into check out the Japanese pottery shop and bakery. But what I really want to know is whether to eat before hand or save myself for the food court. I say food court but if anyone fondly remembers the bustle of the old Oriental City food court then you will know what I mean when I say two stalls really won't cut mustard. You need at least four to create the illusion, maybe, one on each side! The Pacific Plaza website doesn't give much away either. I'm hoping that they succeed and recreate some of the buzz and quality of the old place.

Seems to me that if you did everything exactly the same then it must be your piece of meat. Maybe try a more aged fillet next time.

This is also something i would dearly love to know, particularly the Larousse des Desserts. What is the current French version like anyway, do any French speakers have this tome?

Aw thanks folks for your such kind words I'm just glad to give back to the Dinner thread what I get from it. It's always so motivational and inspirational to see what other people are cooking. The last few meals were particularly colourful and photogenic. They don't always turn out as I hope but then you know I wouldn't subject you to anything but my best efforts! robirdstx, for the salt and pepper spare ribs there are a number of steps but it's fairly easy once you've learnt it: - Marinate ribs with a little soy and shaosing wine - Steam them gently for 45-60 mins till cooked and tender. Cool a little before dredging them in potato or corn starch and deep frying till crispy. - Prepare the salt and pepper mix. Toast a tsp of Sichaun pepper and a tsp of salt till the pepper is smoking a little then grind into a fine powder. Do this as late as possible because the pepper will lose it's pungency quickly. - Chop up the chillies, i used sharp tasting thin green chillies and hot red birds eye, a lot, about a dozen in total. Finely mince 4 fat cloves of garlic too. Important that you mince the garlic so that they are tiny pieces and not a paste. - Fry the garlic and chillies gently in some oil, be careful as they will burn very quickly. Keep stirring, then add the ribs and the salt and pepper mix. Toss them all together and plate up this extravagantly aromatic dish.

Great stuff to start the new year off folks, in particular the pastrami and homemade spaghetti. Yum yum, i should put pastrami on my 2010 recipe challenge. I've mostly been cooking comfort dishes in the past week. Easing myself in with some familiar recipes that are fairly simple to put together. Salt & Pepper Pork Ribs with Instant Noodles (yes!) Paella. We've been frozen for weeks in the UK, the longest cold snap for generation. I had a need for a summer dish - thank goodness for frozen seafood: Crab Linguine Thai Green Curry with Beef & Aubergines Claypot Rice with Lap Cheung, Yuun Ceung, Lap Yuk, Lap Ap & Gai Lan (aka the works!)

I wanted to see how fame has changed Lasan so have just tried to book a table for two for dinner. Nothing at all till March 21st. Wow, two and half month waiting list; for a Brummie curry house, in fact for any curry house that must be a record?! Do you think GRH takes a cut?

Amy D, I have that book already! The lamb pilau from Lucknow will be first I cook when I get round to it...

So is everyone still happy with their NT/Grizzly 5lb vertical stuffers? Seems like it was a bit of a love in while ago! My all in one mincer and stuffer packed in recently and I think i'm going to pull the trigger on one from Northern Tools UK here But then i've noticed this horizontol beauty from Germany for the same price on Ebay UK. It looks very well made, 5 nozzles, clamps and creamy mass too! Anyone have any experience on these horizontal types, can't decide whether to do it standing up or lying down.

1.Curry 2.Curry 3.Curry 4.Curry 5.Curry! In particular Indian subcontinent curries. Thai and other SE Asian curries in the main I can make at home better than I can eat out. But I've been putting off teaching myself all those wonderful Indian curries for so many years. In my whole entire life I've only made two, a murgh makhani and a duck madras about 5 years ago, both were disppointing. It's not like I can't get the ingredients either, I can and in abundance, Birmingham having an enormous Asian population and being as you all know the curry capital of the Western world. This is the year, mark my words.

Heidi, yup our meal was served with plain steamed jasmine rice. If i was cooking the meal at home I might have made chicken rice but it was a big hit nonetheless. In fact, we've been ordered to cook the same meal for Chinese New Year which is on Valentine's day this year. I'm holding out for an invitation to Peter's house next NYE. Peter, if you need a commis/extra-mouth you know how to get in touch with me!

Snap! We had four lobsters too for New Years Eve. I helped to cook a Cantonese/Malaysian feast for 8 people, we had: 4 Assam Lobster (grilled split lobsters smeared with sweetened tamarind paste) 2 Steamed Wild Sea Bass - ginger and scallion in the Cantonese manner 1 Poached Chicken with Dipping Sauce 1 Cantonese Roast Duck Ox Cheek Rendang Braised Beef Brisket Brocolli and Chinese Leaf For dessert there was Apple Crumble with Custard and Black Forest Gateau! We were mightily full. Sorry no photos of the meal this time, my relatives are impatient so I couldn't get the shots off.

Sounds like boar taint (or p!ssy pork) to me too, there is some more information on an earlier topic I started here

1. My own homemade pasta, why it's taken me so long I don't know. Such a simple thing to do. 2. Ox cheeks eaten for the first time at Purnells restaurant here in Brum. Then in the past few weeks cooking with them. The best "cheap cut" of beef there is. 3. Norwegian sea urchin roe scooped straight out of their shells - the best yet that I've tasted. 4. The last Badami mango of the season blew me away. Better than the Alphonso and Kesar this year, have they always been this good? I only started to buy them because the other two were past their peak. Then all of a sudden it was gone too. Can't wait to try them again in 2010. 5. Dessert wines - sauternes and jurancon. I've been pretty apathetic and sometimes downright dismissive of wines and in particular wine-bores all my life. But, you know, er, I quite like, these dessert wines.

I made gravlax again last week as it's now part of the holiday routine. The extended family expects to down two sides of salmon before they even sit down to the main xmas dinner! So I ordered up the usual 3kg whole Scottish salmon but when I went to collect there was a mix up and I ended up with a 5kg monster - about 12lbs in old money. It was easily the biggest fish I've ever handled but being the fearless egulleter you know me to be, I went to it with gusto. I'm glad now because the end product was the best yet, the extra fattiness took this year's gravlax to another level. Here is the beast: Still need to work on my filleting, a bit scraggly: After 3 days curing: Then sliced with a fresh sprinkling of dill:

I made fettucine too Blether though it was part of a very luxurious meal. Fed up with eating the freezer down I wanted to cook some fresh seafood so I went to the wholesale market before dawn this morning to see what was good. I was thinking some Dover sole would be nice and maybe some of those Norweigan Sea Urchin that I picked up last time. But the fish today wasn't that great so when in doubt buy a lobster! For something a little different I shared a small lobe of foie gras between my friend and I. Neither of us have ever cooked with the stuff before but fancied trying something new. Plus it was surprisingly cheap, half a lobe £7 for about 250g, the lobster was £7.50, i went home a happy shopper and had a good think about how to cook them. The foie was easy, just fried, a little fleur de sel, toasted spelt bread, and accompanied with pears and rocket: In the end I "Thermidored" the lobster and had that with some simple buttered & parmesaned fettucine. I say simple but i did make it with duck eggs and saffron, a lovely xmas present for my wife and for myself of course

Fantastic Chris, we've both got started with our preparations at the same time - except all i've done is take the goose out of the freezer Have you given anymore thought on your dumplings? You know gau ji will always take longer to make than you anticipate. If I had to cook your meal I seriously would be tempted to make them today and freeze them. What is red oil chicken, is it poached chicken dressed with Sichuan flavourings? Personally I like to poach a really good chicken and eat it as is. Of course the chicken stock would be great for your veggie stir fries too. You could even stretch it a little and make chicken rice. I still think you're missing some roasted meat, nothing says l love you as much as roasted meat, especially at xmas! Still not to late to prep that pork belly...

Ha ha you guys are crazy, but i like it! Xmas is the only day of the year that my extended Chinese family insist on traditional Western food, no Chinese dishes at all. I love the way you are turning that around. Chris, sheetz is right it looks like you are doing a Chinese New Year type feast. Let's go through it: The dumplings are like sui mai or more like gau ji? Or would that be a selection of dumplings, that'd be wonderful - imagine tickling your guests tastebuds with several textures and fillings. The peanuts will be perfect chopstick warm-up exercise too. The whole steamed fish is a must and i like the idea of a hearty braise. The steamed noodles with char siu, is that like cheong fun? If so then it's a little out of place, if you're determined to make it then maybe have as another starter? S&P shrimp i can imagine everyone getting stuck into that. The scallop and clam (razors?) dishes are too similar i think, have one or the other. The big question for me is you need a roasted meat dish. Now if i were cooking for CNY i would just buy a suckling pig or a couple of roast ducks and not worry about roasting them on the day. If it's not convenient to buy on the day then maybe cook a big slab of siu yuk? It's the easiest of all the meats to reproduce at home. Yes hopefully you can get some fresh gai lan, always go down well. How are you going to make the lor mei fan? With some cured meats would be a treat.

Aw thanks guys, you're both very welcome to pop round and get something to eat. Just across the pond over Ireland, stop before you get to France!

Thanks menu, the very special rendang dish is based on the one found in Cradle of Flavour, a cookbook which I know I share a love for with a lot of board members. Of course after many iterations the recipe has evolved a little but it still has the essential familial traits. The recipe can usually be done all on the stove but ox cheeks need at least three hours cooking so half way through the whole lot went into the oven before the final magic browning back on the stove. That was the best dish of the meal with the pork and prawns following closely by. The lamb ribs were tasty but could have been more tender, crispy and a little chewy rather than crispy and succulent. It's been quite a full week of cooking for me as I'm running the freezer down because I've had to make room for the xmas goose. I was going to save the following classic Chinese dishes for another thread but the Dinner thread is always very amenable. Chinese air-dried duck leg before steaming over rice. It was made by a family friend and was spot on, I need to get the recipe and try this for myself. Incredibly salty and moreish: Sweet and sour pork, simply that, just had a rare hankering for it: One of the best things to eat in Hong Kong is Sha Tin Roast Pigeon. It's so rare in the UK, I think I've only eaten it once here about 15 years ago at a wedding banquet. I'm sure the pigeon over there are specially bred for the dish but in my recreation I used the beautiful local wood pigeon. You marinate and poach them in soy based liquor for 30 mins, then deep fry them. It was good but the skin on this pigeon didn't crisp up like the ones in HK, it didn't seem fat enoough for that. Tasty all the same with the salt & sichuan pepper dip, oh and those lamb ribs again: