Prawncrackers
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Posts posted by Prawncrackers
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Yup same here, my mother has put in an emergency call for me to pick up as much rice as i can fit in the back of my car!!!
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I would love to get my wok hot enough for that spontaneous combustion effect too but alas my cooker is not powerful enough and if it was then there is the very real possibility of igniting my cooker's filter thereby burning down my entire kitchen!!! Hotter is better though, as hot as you dare really. My advice is to have everything prepared and to hand. You don't want to leave the wok unattended to look for that bottle of oyster sauce at the back of the cupboard. Also try not to move the wok too much, keep it on the flame so that it stays hot. Practise makes perfect and I've had my fair share of burnt offerings.
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Love Murakami Peter, keep up the good work. I will be there soon enough.
ps great post today
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Immensely under-whelmed by this week's contestants, neither very British or modern. Let's see what the judges think, i'd be disappointed if they don't put the boot in
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Thanks that link is priceless and the ramen place sounds ideal.
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We're coming to Japan for short holiday in a few weeks time and staying at this hotel Mitsui Garden in Ginza. As we will be arriving pretty late on a Monday, probably get to the hotel at about 11pm, is there anywhere in the vicinity that you would recommend at that time of night? We probably won't be up for anything too extravagant after such a long flight but open to suggestions for this first meal. Need to start off on the right foot here
It's not the first time for us in Tokyo, we went three years ago for our honeymoon and stayed at the Park Hyatt in Shinjuku. It was the best holiday we've ever had, very memorable not least the first meal that we had then was fresh soba noodles with broth and grilled eel (for me)/ prawn tempura (for the wife). Hmmm, can't wait to go!
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There's a concurrent thread in the Chinese forum about pig ears if you've missed it. Kent Wang has done a wonderful job recreating a dish he once had.
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That's what i call marrow porn, it's almost surreal!! Did you have that between 2 or 4 of you? You know they freeze very well
This weekend's dinners:
Friday - Confit Duck Leg, Asparagus & Potato Rosti (kinda retro)
Sat - Mutton Rendang
and today French Chicken with 30 Cloves of Garlic (very retro but very tasty too!)
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I've bought these for many years, Prawncrackers. It's a matter of breed, not just elevage, and sadly even French battery birds are better than domestic organic ones, with the noble exception of the Label Anglais.
That's fantastic muichoi, i've just tried to order a Label Anglais bird from Fredericks website as sadly the closest stockist to me is in Derbyshire. But it seems the minimum order is 4 birds!! Even with my new found taste for chicken can i justify buying 4? Maybe my wife and i could eat two in a week, give one to my mother and the last one i could sell to on of my buddies...
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call me old fashioned but i liked the egg presentation, if it's good enough for 3* arpege and l'astrance....
Nothing wrong with old-fashioned old chap! Just thought it looked messy with the carefree scattering of strawberries, peppered honycomb and fried tarragon on the side. It look even messier when he tipped the custard over them. Now if he'd had made those ingredients into soldiers to dip into the burnt egg custard then that would have been a knockout presentation on multiple levels.
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For many years I’ve been pretty blasé about chicken. Both cooking and eating it. You know, I could take it or leave it. If it was on a restaurant menu I would normally skip over it in favour of something, well, tastier. Sometimes in the past I would buy chicken thighs for curries or for jerking. Every so often I would buy a whole one to poach Chinese style or to roast Western style. Don’t get me wrong I don’t hate chicken, in fact Jerk Chicken is one of my favourite dishes but the reason I love that dish has nothing to do with the chicken! Same with Chinese poached chicken (bak jam gai), been enjoying this all my life but it’s the ginger scallion oil that makes this dish for me. It’s just that in my mind chicken has just been a bland conductor for other flavours. I’ve always preferred the leg meat to the breast too. Is there a more insipid meat than chicken breast? I can honestly say that I have never bought chicken breast meat on it’s own (or ordered it eating out). It’s nothing to do with the quality of the chickens either as I always try to buy the best free-range slow grown chickens at the supermarkets or farm shops. There’s definitely a difference between those and the cheap battery ones, an improvement in both texture and flavour but only to make it slightly less bland. I’m definitely not a chicken snob either as I would happily eat the southern-fried broiler hens from my local chippy every day for a week if they weren’t so obviously unhealthy!! People always eulogise about simple roast chicken being the holy grail of roast dinners. What kind of chickens are they eating? Roast chicken is nice but it’s never compared to roast beef, pork, lamb/mutton or duck in my house. Was I alone here?
Right I’ve got that off my chest it’s now time for my chicken revelation! As the title of the topic suggests I’ve fallen for these lovely French birds!
One of the wholesalers here at the central wholesale market in Birmingham has been stocking them. I first tried them at my mothers place a few months ago now. She usually poaches a chicken for the weekly family meal and usually I’m happy to scoff it down as long as the condiments are present. However the first time she cooked one of these it was like tasting chicken for the first time. The meat was so firm & toothsome and the taste was so savoury. It reminds me of guinea fowl but sweeter and more succulent. Undoubtedly the best chicken I’ve ever eaten (with or without the condiments). We’ve had several since and they are consistently delicious, especially roasted. I finally get it! My mother also agrees and says that they like the ones you get in Hong Kong (praise indeed I think). Is this what older British folk talk about when they say chicken doesn’t taste like it used to?
As I understand it “Label Rouge” is standard of food production in France. But what is it that makes these chickens so good? From the look of them they’re obviously corn-fed with longer legs and breasts but are much thinner than any of the chickens you can get here – free-range/organic/or not. A torpedo rather than a bowling ball shape. The meat is also much darker. Looking at some of the French websites (I only have a modicum of the language learnt at school – google translate is handy though), it seems all their breeds look like this. Is it the same for you guys in N.America? Is this an English speaking conspiracy of flavourless chickens! Are the French holding out on us here, I’m pretty sure they’re not going to ship over the best they got, if I can get my hands only on this type of Label Rouge chicken here in Brum then are we actually missing out on some really good stuff!? I’ve seen Bresse chicken in Harrods but the mark-up was ridiculous. Anyone know of some other sources? There is only one delivery per week of these Label Rouge chickens at the wholesale market and they understandably they sell very quickly indeed. Now I’ve gotten the taste of them I need a more reliable dealer (it is just like drugs). I have that one pictured in the fridge ready for Sunday and I can’t wait to cook and eat it, i’ve been eating a lot of Hainanese chicken rice so thinking about some suitably French recipes for this one, any ideas out there?
I think a lot has already been said in this webpages about mass produced chickens and I don’t want to regurgitate all those arguments again here. Instead I just wanted to celebrate these French birds. In fact I don’t find myself writing such a lengthy post so that in itself is testament to how enthused I am about them. No wonder the cockerel is their national mascot, they are magnificent!
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he must wake up every day and say i'm so glad i don't have a newspaper column, own tv show and central london restaurant to look after
Ha, those could be your dreams too of course! Winning that show is like a fairytale
Just caught tonight's GBM on iplayer and thought it was another close one. Maybe Sat shading it because Glyn's presentation was awful. Those brown eggshells and silver eggcups just looked so out of place. I'm disappointed because the desserts at his restaurant are usually superb.
I score it a dead heat this week, Sat's fish and dessert, Glyn's starter and main. Depending on whether Oliver Peyton and Pru Leith will 'get' the sense of humour in Glyn's food then he may tip it for the judges.
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Yup, piece of cake.
Mmmm that looks perfect, bravo! How many ears can you fit in your terrine, how big was the mould and how many portions did you get out of it? Probably depends on the size of the ears of course but a benchmark would be handy. Looks so good might have to try one this meself.
What was that you were saying in the salty egg thread about them young 'uns Dejah?
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I was wondering what kind of texture those noodles were. They looked like fat Udon but the buckwheat flour suggests a Soba feel. It's remarkable the difference in the kitchen demeanour of the two chefs, Sat is just too cool for school whereas Glyn is constant nervous energy.
Glad to see last year's Masterchef winner as Sat's sous. Looks like he's actually pursuing his culinary dreams, rather than media celebdom....
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It's not so confusing really. You brine fresh duck eggs in a saturated salt solution for a couple of weeks. As they are still raw after the brining you have to then cook them before consuming.
I like them boiled for ten minutes so the yolk is just set and have it as an accompaniment with rice as part of a meal. Cut in half you have that golden oily yolk that is almost chewy and the salty whites are very appetising mixed in with your plain boiled rice.
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Thanks, Sony. I'll probably try a marinate and pan-sear method
I would cook shoulder slowly whether it's whole or as chops. It's nowhere near as tender as loin or leg. With your chops i would braise it Lancashire hotpot style. Whole shoulder is imo the best roasting joint there is. As long as you cook it low and slow for at least 3hrs it's absolutely foolproofly delicious.
Maggie, I feel your pain - even as I drizzle a little mint sauce on my leftovers.Ha, mint sauce with lamb. Definitely a British thing, the French laugh at us all they like, it just works.
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This is the man who for the past 6 years has said he doesnt know how to cook...
That's it Tracey the precedent has been set, you can persuade him to cook more often now. Though this is probably what he has feared for the past 6 years! For someone who claims not to know how to cook, that's a pretty accomplished dish.
Today a Thai inspired Crab Salad:
The wife was out so made it extra fiery, in fact it's probably the hottest dish of the year so far - hit the spot nicely!
Plus i feel surprisingly healthy after eating it, bonus.
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Prawncrackers - that cod looked amazing. What great flavor combinations! I love the idea of a Serrano crisp - how'd you do that??
Really simple, just bake them between two trays weighting the top tray down a little. 15 mins in a moderate oven. It helps if you use non-stick surfaces or use baking paper. Hmm crispy ham is always a welcome addition to any savoury dish!!!
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Beautiful crabdjyee, though i'm glad it's not just me who thought this dish was spicy. I haven't been brave enough to try this recipe again as i can still recall the pepper burning the back of my throat!!
Now if anyone has a recipe for Chilli Crab... i would love to try this Singaporean speciality next.
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It doesn't just sadden me to have to pay those charges, it makes me sick!
JCK is the #1 option for us in the UK and you can buy directly from the makers in Japan too of course. I'm sure Bob (Octaveman) can direct you to a list of websites over on Knifeforums. Be warned though that place is a support service for addicts (don't deny it Bob) but is the first choice for info on this sort of thing. My advice, go in hard then get out quick!!!
Funny, i am going to Japan again in May. But i'm going to try and resist the temptation of knife buying. It's because I only have small kitchen and i've already reached critical mass with knives. I honestly think i have all the knife styles i will ever need, any more are just going to be for show or are just going to force the ones that i have into a rotation system. Doesn't mean i'm not going to have a look around Kappabashi and Tsuikiji though. Ok, maybe i could fit in another petty or two and if the nenohi or sugimoto cleavers feel really nice then maybe....
Here's pic of my stuff anyway to feed your urge
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Toufas, i've given up ordering from the US - seems most packages get stopped by customs
I've had stuff from most of the usual suspects over there and for me the only thing that ever got through unscathed was a stone from Epicurean Edge. Knives i always now buy from Japan as so far they never seem to get charged. It does my nut having to pay rip-off customs charges!!So... in future for sharpening equipment try these on-line vendors:
Dick Great German retailer - top notch stuff, loads of sharpening stones and really friendly staff - they even speak English!
Axminster some good stuff here too
Shop4less found this one by accident, very good prices but slow delivery. Got a DMT Diasharp from this place, very good communications. They also have some knives.
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There wouldn't be a program without Atul didn't you know. I thought the JSW chap's offerings looked good enough to go through.
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Why is lamb so elusive in the US, is it because you prize beef so highly above all other red meats?
Home grown lamb is readily available here in the UK and it seems that mutton is having a slight resurgence at the moment. I had a mutton revelation the other week, North Ronaldsay mutton is simply one of tastiest meats i've ever eaten. I don't think i could ever eat lamb again without thinking about the flavour of this exceptional meat. Unfortunately my butcher only has it available twice a year so whilst i wait till Sept for the next batch i will have to make do with other breeds of mutton! Lamb is tender and quicker to cook but bears no comparison flavour-wise to mutton.
Cheap frozen NZ lamb still packs out our supermarket freezers but again the flavour just doesn't do it for me.
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Very nice Prawncrackers!!
Did you simply crumble the Chorizo to make a crust or did you employ another technique?
My mum gave me that nice piece of cod, she bought it on Thursday and it still tasted very fresh the next day. Still, i wanted to try it with stronger flavours and as I had two small fresh (soft) chorizo left in the fridge - i thought bingo! I skinned one chorizo and blended it in a small processor with panko, s&p, parsley and evoo. It was a dry paste consistency and coated the fish very well. Baked at 180C for 12 minutes then finished under grill to crisp up. The other chorizo i fried with toms, garlic, butterbeans then finished with spinach, watercress & rocket. The fish was really nice and would cook again. The Butterbeans i've never tried before and thought they were a bit blah!
Bone Saws
in Kitchen Consumer
Posted
I'm acquiring half a Tamworth porker next week and my butcher says that he will cut it down to quarter primals. Now I'm assuming that I will need a bone-saw to break down these quarters into portions for freezing. My question is; what kind of saw(s) do I need for the job? I've had a browse and Wusthof seems to do a specific 12inch bone saw that seems ideal yet i can't find any source for them here in the UK. Does anybody know where i can get my hands on one here? If not it looks like i'm just going to have to buy a regular saw from the hardware shop, but what type of saw blade is best suited for bone?
Anybody have any ideas about this? I'm looking forward to breaking this pig down but would like to make sure i have the right equipment. Love butchery but this is a step-up from my usual level so would like to start off on the right foot.