KennethT

@chefmdThat's a great idea - but I think they'd have a pretty long lunch.... I've never seen even a close relative of the Viet banh mi outside of Vietnam! I've tried just about every banh mi place in NYC, and no one comes close - they're all just french baguettes that they warm in the oven or salamander to try to crisp and lighten them... but it's still all wrong. I've talked with some of teh Viet owners of these places and they say that they just can't get a supply of the bread - seems like no commercial bakery in NY makes them - and don't necessarily deliver all day, forget a few times a day!

I wonder if it would be possible to par-bake and freeze, or freeze the proofed product just before baking? That way you could make a batch, but only bake 1 at a time so it's fresh...

https://www.facebook.com/groups/104487240267896/ This is the user forum...

@Anna NInteresting. My experiences eating banh mi in Vietnam were that the best ones could be described as having a "light, cotton-y" interior. But it is also necessary to have a shatteringly crisp, tender crust - like an eggshell. When you bite into a banh mi sandwich (made with the banh mi bread), that tenderness is essential so the ingredients don't squish out the other end, which would happen if the crust is too chewy (like a French baguette). Also, the crust needs to be tender so the fact that it is so crisp doesn't end up tearing the roof of your mouth! One thing to keep in mind are the typical uses of banh mi - either for sandwiches, or for just ripping apart into pieces and dipping into sauces or just eating plain as an accompaniment to grilled fish, snails or chicken. I've never seen a loaf sliced or toasted or anything like that, not that my experiences are by any means comprehensive! So, from your descriptions, the original texture of the crumb is what is traditional, although once it sets up is more suitable for western uses. Also, FYI, in Vietnam, the banh mi are typically eaten within hours of being baked. The busiest banh mi vendors will typically get 2-3 deliveries per day - note that the bakeries themselves do not usually sell retail, but sell wholesale to the vendors who then sell them as is for people to take home (usually eaten soon - not kept overnight), or fill them for sandwiches for immediate consumption. I would imagine that they would consider a day-old banh mi to be bird or fish food.

Which one of Fairway's blends did you have problems with? I regularly get their 1L jar of unfiltered EVOO (it's basically the same price per L as the 3L can) and haven't had a problem. I probably bought the last one a couple weeks ago.... If you want, I can take a pic of the label when I get home.

@liuzhou I can't really express how much pleasure I get from reading this - although I have to admit there's a twinge of jealousy - I'd love to have been there with you!

Sorry to see this end so soon! Now it's time to relax!

I know it's OT, but the produce industry uses vacuum to chill lettuce in large quantities. Large packers use a walk-in vacuum chamber where a pallet of lettuce can be cooled from field temp to 40degF in about a half hour, which is much faster than can be done with refrigeration, resulting in a longer shelf life.

Not only is it almost the full moon, this time, it's also a Super Moon - when the moon is closest to the Earth in its elliptical orbit - so it looks larger than normal. After tomorrow, the next time it will be closer will be in November, 2034!

I'm loving this, both pics and your commentary. Thank you for taking the time to share this with us!

Wow - that drawing is amazing - you did it freehand?

yay! More hunting blog! I don't want to rain on your parade or anything, but Mam Nem isn't really fish sauce... it's more of a fish paste-y-sauce and is much thicker and more pungent than normal fish sauce (nu'o'c mam) which is thin and clear. They're certainly not interchangeable if making a dipping sauce. If you take a look at my Central Vietnam foodblog (shameless plug) you'll see us eating things with mam nem a few times. While Red Boat fish sauce (nu'o'c mam) is certainly high quality, it is really expensive. When in Vietnam, I've asked people about it, but no one I've spoken to over there has heard of it - it seems that it is only made for export. Then again, most of the brands used over there are not exported, so take it for what it is. Personally, I always have a big bottle of Squid brand fish sauce (it's Thai, not Viet, but practically the same thing). It's good enough to have straight, but cheap enough where I don't cringe every time I use a whole lot of it. We use a 1 liter bottle every couple of months - and it usually costs us maybe $4-5, unless I get it while in Chinatown and then it would be like $3.

Sorry to hear that. Sometimes tourist traps are unavoidable. Is the Argentinean definition of rare/medium etc similar to that in the US?

Looks great! Can't wait to see the rest of the trip!

There are a few places in NYC that do tableside guac and I will say that it is very popular in those places, and commands a high price. Some people enjoy watching it being made in front of them, like theater. The Guac Guy in those places is never standing around.

Thank you!

Is there a discussion in the book about the purpose of adding ascorbic acid? I just saw the contest #2 in which the recipe called for it. I'm curious because a woman I know on the internet used to work in a bakery in Vietnam, and said that to get similar results to the banh mi there, you need to add ascorbic acid. Does it act as a gluten relaxer? Traditional banh mi have a very tender and crisp crust, and a very light and tender, relatively closed crumb.

How are you supposed to read the books if you don't open the box? ha!

@mgaretzIs it possible that kaklaten is Yiddish or some variant thereof? My father and grandmother would use terms that looked and sounded just like that..

Seconded.... Wish this could go on and on!!! Thank you!

It is the traditional Thai style to serve everything at once, that way you jump around between dishes. Ideally, you would have a few dishes with different flavors - some spicy, some bitter, some sour, etc... and eating the dishes jumping around like that can really balance things out. That works great in Thailand where space isn't necessarily at a premium, so a two top looks like a table for 4 in the US. The problem here is that real estate is so expensive that they make the tables really small and put them together to maximize space. That kind of puts a damper on the whole jumping around thing as the table gets overcrowded and there is no room to put anything. I always thought they should use some type of tiered table with plates on elevated racks over other plates... when you run out of space in 2D, move to 3D....

@liuzhou Is cod local (or relatively so) to China?

Loving this... thanks for taking the time to post!!!

Me too!!!

I wonder how people could tell that their knives were magnetized... most food is non-ferrous... hehe...