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KennethT

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Everything posted by KennethT

  1. Is the Long Jing tea called Dragon Well there as it is here and in HK (Lung Ching in HK)? I believe it's from Hangzhou...
  2. I am sad to report that I just found out that (Old) Lai Huat closed as of November 26, 2023. The owner wanted to retire and had no one to pass the business to, which is becoming a trend in Singapore. Yes, some of the younger generation get an MBA and then expand their parents businesses to become a mini chain around Singapore, but many more just close for good. I plan to make my sambal fish soon in their memory....
  3. I may also ask a woman I know online - she has written a couple Indonesian Fusion cookbooks and also has a YouTube channel.
  4. Yeah, I could figure out the Bahasa to ask, but I'd have no idea about the answer. My Bahasa is ok for basic stuff but a complicated explanation is not one of them. I could probably use the Google Translate on my phone - I have tried it in "conversation mode" yet but it supposedly works well. Ideally I'd find someone who speaks some English themselves which may not be that hard on this trip since we'll be in places that see lots of international tourists - Lombok and Jakarta.
  5. Thanks for this. While I use the Lee Kum Kee "premium" chicken powder, it's not because it's so great but really it's the best of what I can get. It's certainly better than western brands like Knorr. Interesting (at least to me) in parts of SE Asia - most notably Indonesia, but possibly elsewhere - not only do they use chicken powder, but they also use chicken granules. I'm not exactly sure what they are or how they differ from the standard powder but I've even seen recipes that use both so I'm assuming that there is some kind of difference. If possible, I'll try to investigate further when I'm in Indonesia in July but I doubt I'll get far, my Bahasa isn't nearly good enough for those kinds of conversations!
  6. KennethT

    Dinner 2024

    You definitely want the "premium" in the green can. The one on the red can is super salty. I have some - I found it unusable.
  7. KennethT

    Dinner 2024

    This is the best one that is easily available to me: https://usa.lkk.com/en/products/premium-bouillon-powder-flavored-with-chicken-no-msg-added It's not very salty - in fact, I usually add MSG and salt when using it.
  8. @BonVivantThanks so much for taking us along - I always enjoy the photos and your discussion of your trips. I'm sorry to hear about your ear infection. When we travel, we always bring tons of medication with us - several types of antibiotics, nausea, diarrhea, sinus, congestion, etc. - basically we're a traveling pharmacy. Ear infections are usually easily treated (especially if caught early) with an antibiotic called amoxicillin. Many upper respiratory infections are easily handled with azithromycin - which, coincidentally - is the drug of choice in SE Asia for most food poisoning bacteria.
  9. KennethT

    Lunch 2024

    Mapo tofu made with the remainder of elk meat from last night.
  10. This looks a little (but not exactly) like the Viet rau ram (laksa leaf in Malaysia). Are the stems tender enough to eat or is it just the leaves?
  11. KennethT

    Dinner 2024

    Dai style elk with herbs - 6 different herbs (4 from the garden)
  12. KennethT

    Lunch 2024

    Peranakan chicken curry with black nut meat - ayam buah keluak. Gigantic chicken thigh! Stir fried baby bok choy with garlic and Asia's secret weapon.
  13. KennethT

    Dinner 2024

    Sorry, I meant this one...
  14. KennethT

    Dinner 2024

    What a feast! The bottom one looks like pigs ear. What's in the red sauce?
  15. Considering that I have one and I use it every day, I am happy providing my opinion regardless of the wording in the advert. Take it for what you will. I don't need to run it through a watt meter because I can tell empirically, which at the end of the day, is what matters most - the results. When I simmer anything, thick or thin liquids - it is a steady constant simmer at whatever amount I choose. Hard simmer, barely simmering, it matters not. If there was any noticeable duty cycle, you would see a hard boil, then nothing, then hard boil, etc. I see this when I use my Chinese made 3300W unit - it is VERY obvious. It's even more obvious when stir frying or sauteing - it's an easy way to burn things like when making something with doubanjiang, which burns easily. However, with the Vollrath, I can set it so it barely sizzles - it is constant and unvarying. No meter required. However, feel free to use one if you wish. Also, without measuring the magnetic flux of the induction field, I can also empirically report that when I saute or tilt the pan to baste something, it performs as advertised. Granted, I try not to saute things 3 inches off the surface of the unit - it would be really uncomfortable to hold a pan like that for any period of time.
  16. From what I am to understand, most units change the amount of power to the pan via duty cycle - aka short pulses. So, for example, if your cooker is 1000W and you set it for 500W (50% power), most units will turn put all 1000W to the coil for, say, 2 seconds, then off for 2 seconds, then 1000W for 2 seconds, etc. Depending on the cycle time, it may not even be noticeable that their using a duty cycle - for instance, if they use 0.5 seconds as a duty cycle, you probably wouldn't realize if it was providing 1000W for 0.25 seconds and off for 0.25 seconds. The problem comes when the total cycle time is several seconds long - then there's a noticeable on/off time. According to the link I provided, Vollrath is the only manufacturer that doesn't use duty cycle and instead has a variable power supply - it states that their method is patented and since the unit's not that old, I assume the patent hasn't run out yet. Then again, many foreign companies dont' care about patents, especially if their sales are not going to the US.
  17. I don't have a Mirage Pro so I'm not sure what it does. I also don't know what a "G4" engine is. My experience is with 240V countertop induction. As I explained before, the inexpensive 3300W model that I have cycles the power. So, if I set it to 400W (12% power output) it puts out a short pulse of 3300W and then idles, then a short pulse, then idles, etc. With sensitive ingredients this can easily cause burning. The 2600W Vollrath unit does not cycle pulses - instead it has a variable power supply which only supplies the coil with the percentage of current that you ask of it. So if I set it at 10%, it gives 260W of power to the pan continuously - not pulses of the 2600W. See https://www.vollrathfoodservice.com/products/countertop-equipment/cooking-equipment/induction-ranges/4-series-induction-range/hpi4-2600 for more information.
  18. @btbyrd@pastrygirl@Deephaven@vyas Relatively recently, I moved from an apartment with a gas range to a building which has no gas service. I do have 240V outlets in my kitchen so I got 2 240V countertop induction burners. One is a relatively inexpensive, but high powered, 3300W Chinese model. You can only control the power in 400W increments via membrane switches. I use this one basically only for boiling water which it does incredibly fast - much faster than on my "high power" gas burner on the previous range and doesn't heat up the kitchen while doing it. The other is a Vollrath HPI4-2600, 2600W. In addition to being able to control the power in 1% increments (1-100), unlike most other induction units, when used on lower power, it doesn't cycle the full power in a duty cycle but truly lowers the continuous power rating. It works so well that it can hold a subtle simmer and even melt chocolate. It can supposedly hold the pan temperature using a sensor in the ceramic top but I haven't really tested it - but it also has a probe that I use all the time which will hold the liquid to within 1 degree F consistently (you can change the mode from power level to control via temperature (F or C). Also, the power (or temperature) control is a knob with a fantastic control algorithm - twist it fast and you can go from 1 to 100 with one flick, but go slow and it's easy to change in 1% increments. It's quite pricey, but it's my go to for everything and now that I've used it for a while (there was a bit of a learning curve when switching from gas) I don't know if I could ever go back.
  19. KennethT

    Dinner 2024

    Not just China's secret weapon - it's widely used in Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore (and my kitchen!)
  20. Weird! So basically, regardless of what it is, it's useless!
  21. Yeah, please keep us updated - I'm curious. All the perilla I've seen - the leaves are more thin and delicate than basil and the smell is totally different. I wish I could smell whatever you've got!
  22. KennethT

    Dinner 2024

    how do you make the langos?
  23. It's hard to tell by looks alone, but from the photo, it looks like all the Thai basil I've grown - even the flowers (which I am constantly picking). But there are many different Thai basil cultivars, so I wouldn't be surprised if the one you're used to seeing looks different. In central Vietnam, I saw a lot of Thai basil being grown that only had little leaves, maybe 2cm long at the most, but I was told that it was Thai basil (hung que) and had a similar but not exactly the same flavor as what I was used to.
  24. KennethT

    Dinner 2024

    It's a little long, but this video compares the results of a couple different methods.
  25. KennethT

    Lunch 2024

    After taking a nice walk in the rain, we stopped at Berlin Doner to grab some lunch to bring home. Carving the chicken shawarma Served on a grilled "homemade" bread. Although it looks white, it has a rye bread flavor - there might be some caraway seeds that would help with that. Interior - doesn't look so good but it's really tasty. With garlic and herb white sauce, hot sauce and a bit of tahini.
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