KennethT

@md8232 I wish we had a wow button...

Am I seeing it correctly that there is only a top heating element, but no bottom element?

Last night was more chicken thighs in the CSO - and more experimentation. This time, I did steam-bake at 425F for 10 minutes, then took the tray out, raised, the rack to the upper slot (but the rack is still a U), but the tray back and steam-broil at 450 for 5 minutes, then turned the tray around 180degrees and steam-broil for 5 minutes. Prior to cooking, was a quick dip in some fish sauce followed by just a few minutes in the refrigerator uncovered. Best chicken yet! Unfortunately, no photos.....

I think of Panang curry as being an interesting Thai curry - not just because it's delicious, but I can't think of another Thai curry that is like it. Most Thai curries that I can think of are pretty thin - almost soup consistency, however, Panang curry is thick, so that it coats whatever it touches. With that in mind, the way I make it is not dissimilar to how I'd make Malay or Nyonya curries which typically have a similar texture. There are probably a million ways to make this curry, but this how I've been doing it lately. I usually don't have the time to make my own curry paste, so I use a store bought. If it's possible to get, I prefer the Nittiya brand of curry pastes - it comes refrigerated (it freezes well too) and has the closest flavor to what I've had in Thailand. Unfortunately, it's really hard to come by - when I go to the Thai store, they say they bring it in every few months, and when they do, it's gone in the same day. Of course, this prompts me to wonder why they don't bring in more, but also, I can't make it into that store all that often, so lately, I can never find it. 2nd place, that I've tried, is Maesri - in the can. Although the ingredients between the can and tub versions look the same, for some reason the can tastes fresher, although I've never tried them side by side. Maesri does not add shrimp paste or ground peanuts to its Panang paste, so you need to add them yourself... also, keep in mind that Maesri's Panang paste and red curry paste seem extremely similar... I think the Panang paste has a bit more ground cumin and coriander seed than the red paste, but I wouldn't swear by it. So, I add my own - and I also use some Mace, which is what a Thai cooking teacher told me in Chiang Mai years ago... Finally, a note about coconut milk. I'm not too fond of the canned milks - they typically have stabilizers added, which make it really hard for to use. For a long time, I was using an unbranded frozen coconut milk that I found in the Thai store, as well as the Indian store near me. The only label was that it was made in Thailand and brought in by East Distributors or something like that. It was good, but quite expensive. Lately, I've been using the Aroy-D coconut milk that comes in a shelf stable carton. Evidently, there are a couple different versions made, so make sure you check the label. I've found them on Amazon - a six pack of 250ml cartons - on some of the versions the label says 100% coconut milk - that's the one you want... other versions have stabilizers or homogenizers added. I give it a good shake before I open the carton. Anyway, my recipe is based on convenience sizes - I don't think the quantities are super critical... I typically make this with skinless boneless chicken thighs - I use 4 normal thighs worth of chicken. This goes well with 1 carton of coconut milk, and 1 can of curry paste. Ingredients: Curry paste: about 1t whole cumin seeds, toasted about 1T whole coriander seeds, toasted 1 piece of whole mace, very lightly toasted about a handful of roasted peanuts - unsalted preferably about 1t shrimp paste 1 can Maesri Panang or Red curry paste - probably about 3-4 heaping Tablespoons 4 normal sized boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and cut into 1" cubes (roughly) a few squirts of fish sauce a couple teaspoons veg oil (I use a homemade garlic oil (made from peanut oil) that I keep in my fridge) 250ml (about 1 cup) coconut milk, divided about 1T palm sugar about 10 kaffir lime leaves, ribs removed, torn into pieces. (nb - if your lime leaves are a little tough, you might want to finely shred rather than tear into pieces) Method: 1. Marinate chicken with the fish sauce and oil for about 1/2 hour 2. Grind cumin, coriander and mace in spice grinder until very fine 3. Add peanuts and pulse the spice grinder - if you go too fast or to far, it will turn into peanut butter and muck up your grinder 4. Add shrimp paste and ground spice/peanut mixture to curry paste and mix well. Sometimes you need to mash the shrimp paste a bit to get it to incorporate 5. Pour about 3/4 of the coconut milk into a 4Q saucepan, and then add a bit of water to the remaining coconut milk to bring it back up to about 1/2C 6. On medium - medium/high heat, bring the saucepan coconut milk to a boil and reduce until thick, stirring and scraping the bottom often to prevent scorching. 7. Add the curry paste to the coconut milk and stir to completely incorporate, stirring/scraping constantly 8. Add the kaffir lime leaves and palm sugar and continue to cook until you start seeing the oil bubble out of the edges of the paste. The paste should be considerably drier by now 9. Add the marinated chicken, and stir to completely coat with the paste. Cook until you don't see any more raw chicken (it's probably about halfway cooked through by now) 10. Add the remaining coconut milk/water and stir to combine. Simmer until chicken is cooked through. 11. Taste to adjust seasoning. If more salt needed, add fish sauce. If more sweetness needed, add palm sugar.

No problem... I'll do it when I get some time.... maybe I'll put it in RecipEgullet

Panang curry with boneless chicken thigh using my home grown kaffir lime leaves. The leaves are so aromatic and tender! Not the leathery things I get at the Korean or Indian store... Sorry about the photo - we dove into eating it and almost finished before I thought of taking a pic.

Maybe use a little less oil? Most commercial fryers are only half filled since the level goes up with increased volume(the food) and even higher with all the bubbling. Also, can you use it for a giant crawfish boil?

I love garlic chives... try a stir fry (or even better google "fry roast") with big slices of ginger and garlic chives...

watch out for that hot mug handle though!!! I think it would be a lot more efficient and faster to heat the water in a small pan on the stove top, rather than in an oven. I'm sure that would take forever. Heat the water in the pan, pour into the cup and put in the tea bag and steep.

@rotuts I do the same thing with a towel when I'm not using the CSO - so far, no problems with algae. And by the way, green is definitely NOT good when it comes to machines' internal mechanisms!!! ha!

@Shelby Lots of different choi grow really easily indoors. A while back (probably a year or two at least) I grew 3 yu choi in my southern facing windowsill garden for a long time. I would only harvest the outer leaves, cutting near the base of the plant, and the plant continued to grow new ones for several months - maybe 6 months before it finally bolted? From 3 plants, we had enough for a large serving for 2 people once a week continually.... I need to get back to that again, now that my indoor garden is getting up and running.....

My sentiments exactly! Good for you to be able to go out in a safe way!

@JoNorvelleWalker Is carom the same as ajwain? I think they're also used in the dough for samosas.

Interesting... there's a method of hydroponic growing called the Kratky system and is the easiest form of hydroponics with no pumps and basically no effort at all. One of the guys in one the hydroponic focused groups on Facebook taht I belong to has been doing an experiment growing hers in a kratky setup using mason jars on his windowsill in his kitchen... so far, it's been working just fine....

What is the difference between bryani and biryani? I have only seen biryani, and only seen made with meat - I've seen chicken, mutton, goat and fish versions... from Hyderabad (the most famous), Punjab (also Pakistan) and elsewhere... the recipe you discuss seems very different from every Hyderabadi biryani recipe I've ever seen, of which there are many (all of which are relatively similar). ETA: I would assume that the Yogi Cook Book is completely vegetarian (if not vegan), no? Just because most really hardcore yogis stress ahimsa (roughly translated as non-harming) but is often (not necessarily correctly) thought to mean that you must be vegan to be a yogi - although there are many gurus who would disagree with that.

That's basically the Rick Bayless pickled red onion, but I think he blanches them in boiling water for like 10 seconds, drains, then salts and let sit.... then lime juice. I used to make them whenever I'd make cochinita pibil...

Finally got to repot 2 of the 5. The ones I repotted are both in the citrus family which means they like to dry out a bit between waterings as they are more susceptible to root rot than many other plants. This mix of coco coir and hydroton (expanded clay pebbles) in a Radicle Bag air pot should allow great drainage and superior airflow in the rootzone. The coco coir is reused from a previous crop and still has some small roots throughout. So I add some enzyme which dissolves dead cellulose to my nutrient mix which will help decompose the dead roots, leaving more air spaces for new roots.

@PedroG had talked about using rice bran oil for high temp searing of SV'd foods years ago also.... I miss his posts around here!

Looks great. Quite a bit more expensive that the CSO, but looks a lot better... I'd love to hear how you enjoy using it after you get it.... maybe a dedicated thread for it????

Note to self: I need some deeper bowls!

Homemade Thai Chicken noodle soup using some of the stock I made last week. Some crispy fried garlic, garlic oil and sawtooth coriander (not to mention roasted chili flakes on the side) are all traditional. The rau ram is not necessarily traditional in Thai noodle soups, but is tasty nonetheless - and brings is into Saigon territory a bit.

When you take the gate away, do you get a gigantic landslide?

I don't think the motor changes speed - like a computer power supply fan would - I think it's either on or off, in which case, the easiest way to control it would be a relay. I haven't taken mine apart so I don't know for sure, but it would make sense. If I could, I would test it by turning on the fan mode and try to hear a slight click when the fan turns on, which would indicate relay, but mine is currently hiding in the bedroom, which it does when we're not using it (lack of kitchen space and all that)...

For someone technically minded, it shouldn't be a difficult fix. I doubt the logic control is bad - I'd assume it would either be the motor (easy to test) or the relay on the board that brings power to the motor. That, or just a plain ol' bad connection somewhere...