torakris
-
Posts
11,029 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Store
Help Articles
Posts posted by torakris
-
-
Roasted mabo tofu (three kinds of tofu, ground lamb, onion, Thai bird chiles).
Your whole menu sounds delicious, but the mabo tofu, in particular, caught my eye. What are the three kinds of tofu and what other spices/flavourings do you use?
I am interested in the roasted part.
-
I LOVE LARB!!!!!
Well I have finally made it and am in love!
I used the recipe from Hot Sour Salty Sweet and again have found another winner the balance was perfect!
Lots of lettuce leaves are an absolute must, I also served it with some cucumber slices as well.
My husband raved as well.
Now I need to get in the kitchen and scrub the chicken pieces off the wall, I decided to mince the breasts myself with two knives the way I always watched Martin Yan do it.
-
Jinmyo thanks to you (and now Torakris) I will be able recreate myself those wonderful leek pancakes that I often order from Baby Buddha in the Village. Seems an easy thing to prepare and I am sure with your good tips... I will soon never want to eat them in a restaurant.
Suvir,
I forgot to mention it should be warm water, closer to hot than lukewarm.
Maybe I will make them for dinner tonite with the laab I am going to try.
-
For dinner we had:
Pot-roasted pork in white wine with garlic, fennel, and rosemary a la Jamie Oliver, absolutely delicious!!
roasted alongside was an acorn squash and onions
grilled asparagus and shimeji mushrooms tossed with a thick mustard dressing (also Jamie Oliver, also delicious) and served on (gasp!) iceberg lettuce---the only thing available in the store!
-
Jinmyo could you teach me how to make Chive Pancakes?
Have always wanted to learn.
Um, not really, Suvir. But I can describe making them a bit.
One makes a basic dough, let it rest for about half an hour. Knead until it's no longer sticky, then cut into portions. Roll out the portions. Brush some sesame oil, put a bit of chives (garlic chives, actually), sprinkle some salt. Roll it up and pinch off the ends. Anchor one end with the thumb and coil the rest around. Fold the other end under. Roll it out. Voila: jui cai bing.
Fry on medium heat until crispy and brown on each side.
I make these so that they're about two inches across but they could be any size.
And how does one make this "basic dough"?
Suvir,
Not Jin, but I also make these pancakes with scallions quite a bit. They are positively addicting!
The basic dough I use is about 1 cup flour to 1/2 cup water, you can make as much as you want just keep it in this 2 to 1 proportion. That's it!
Jin if you are reading this,
Are garlic chives what they refer to as nira in Japanese?
I have always made these scallions or the Japanese long onions (naganegi), but I think they would be great with nira.
Also can you elaborate more on your mint and basil sauce for your hiyayakko.
-
I follow the Cook's Illustrated way and get perfect eggs everytime.
Place the eggs (straight from the fridge is fine) into a pan just large enough to hold them in single layer and cover by one inch with cold water.
Bring to a boil over high heat, remove from heat, put a lid on it and let it sit for 10 minutes. Transfer the eggs to an ice bath and let sit for 5 minutes. Then tap it on the counter and roll it gently back and forth to loosen the shell and then peel.
T - do you ever get eggs that won't peel smoothly that way?
It seems to me that unless I'm peeling the hot egg directly under cool running water, sometimes the shell won't come off smoothly.
I have found this to be the most consistently reliable method, I do occasionally get hard to remove shells, but like others have said it has more to do with the freshness of the egg.
If I am having a hard time I peel it under cold running water, if I can get a stream of water just under that membrane it seems to help.
-
I follow the Cook's Illustrated way and get perfect eggs everytime.
Place the eggs (straight from the fridge is fine) into a pan just large enough to hold them in single layer and cover by one inch with cold water.
Bring to a boil over high heat, remove from heat, put a lid on it and let it sit for 10 minutes. Transfer the eggs to an ice bath and let sit for 5 minutes. Then tap it on the counter and roll it gently back and forth to loosen the shell and then peel.
-
When my husband and I were living in Maui, we lived just down the street from Pacific Cafe (Kihei, Maui), I never realized there were others.
We used to go occasionally, when our budget allowed! I remember Christmas Dinner 1994 we splurged on the $100 special dinner they were serving and alhtough I can no longer remember everything we ate, it was absolutely fantastic!
Now you've got me dreaming about Maui again!!!!
-
The fruit stems from a old Asian custom. When dining in the chinese style, dishes are served in a family way. The chef shows his hospitality by sending food until you are full. When the oranges are served - you should be so full that you cannot eat another bite of anything. The proper way to thank the chef for his hospitality is to hurl the orange slices into the kitchen and say "Banzai!". This will make the Chef very happy.
Funny, but since when have the Chinese been saying "Banzai"?!
-
I just bought Donna Hay's New Food Fast, last week and think it looks great! To me this is the kind of book anyone can use to make really (10 minutes!) quick meals using REAL food.
I haven't used it yet because my friend borrowed it the day after I got it and I haven't seen her since!
As a busy mom of 3 litttle ones, I am always looking for shortcuts and I think that Jamie Oliver and soon Donna Hay are life savers for me. They make gorgeous food that tastes great and you rarely spend more than 30 minutes in the kitchen.
I also like the fact that their recipes are so unlike regular recipes in that they don't call for measured ingredients, rather handfuls of this, a lug of that, etc. You don't even feel like you are using a cookbook! and the best thing is when you go to make it again you don't even need to bring the cookbook into the kitchen with you.
-
Before I came to egullet this morning I was going through my e-mails and in a mailing from Jessica Biscuit Cookbooks was info about this book, which I had never heard of until then.
My first thought was that this could become a very popular book, since the majority of people I know hate cooking and to them homemade is a box of pasta, a jar of sauce, a green bottle of cheese. The thing that does scare me it that this could lead to a slew of new cookbooks that take the emphasis off "real " food and put in on the convenience foods.
If convenience foods are things like dried pasta, canned beans, and frozen veggies than count me as a convenience food freak, but you will never find bottled salad dressings, bottled sauces, boxes of "helper's", pre-made frozen meals in my house. I love food too much to settle for these things that don't even come in a close second.
I have one friend that absolutely hates cooking and makes the same things over and over. Monday is always pasta with meat and frozen veggie sauce, Tuesday is chicken and spinach curry, thursday is sauteed salmon with brown rice and simmered pumpkin, etc. They are not bad foods but I really feel for her family that has been eating these 7 meals for the past 4 years. I have another friend whose special dish is mixing a block of cream cheese witha jar of salsa and she brings this to every potluck gathering she attends.
I don't want to come across as a food "snob" but i like good food and this book will never find its way to my shelves, but i have a feeling my sister will be raving about it when I visit in December. But honestly if cooking from it can get her husband and 3 kids to eat anything other than pizza than maybe it has done something good.
I realy liked the article and would love to see more honest reviews like that!
-
Last night I had one of those super cheap-o dinners. My husband had a late meeting so it was just me and 5 children (my 3 and 2 I was babysitting for). We had
bow tie pasta 500g $.55 (68yen)
with tomato sauce with bay leaves and garlic and tuna
3 cans of (400g) whole tomatoes $.55 each(68 yen each)= $1.65
garlic and bay leaves about $.50
can of tuna about $1.00
dessert
apple crisp
with apples given to me by a friend
about $1.00 for the topping
Grand total = $4.15
-
Has anyone ever seen the recipe for brownies layer (topped?) with Andes mints? I saw one a ways back but didn't save it...Always thought it would be a nice combo.
Not exactly brownies with Andes mints, but Fine Cooking's Aug/Sept 2002 has a recipe for Peppermint Brownies that look heavenly. The mint is actually infused into the batter with a combo of peppermint tea leaves and peppermint extract, they are then topped with a semi-sweet and white chocolate glaze.
-
Oh, a topic very dear to my heart. I am also a stay at home mother with a family of 5 and it seems that my husband's salary is less and less every month. I try to keep our monthly food bill under $500 US, and preferably under $400 and let me tell you in Japan it is really hard.
You really have to tailor it to your country, your season, and the sales at your supermarket.
For me , the things that are cheap in the US are outrageous here, examples:
10 kilos of rice $40+ (and this is our staple!)
100 grams of beans $4.00
2 kg whole chicken $12 (I can buy 2kg of breast for $5.00 and 2kg of thighs for $7!)
ground beef 100g for $2.50
So I focus on what is cheap here and shop only at sales, I have also found that planning a menu a couple of days to a week in advance helps avoid wasting food and enables me to use leftovers creatively.
I also try to put a limit on how much I spend at one meal, I usually cap dinner at $10 and so if on one day we only spend $5, the next day I feel OK to go up to $15.
It can be really frustrating at times because I love to cook and eat and would like to prepare more "gourmet" foods, but I I always stock a couple pricey stples that I find important, romano , good cheddar, and a gorgonzola, kalamata olives, sun dried tomatoes, dried porcinis, etc.
-
nikujaga (very popular Japanese dish of beef 'niku' and potatoes 'jaga'imo simmered in soy based sauce, I added carrots, onions, and shirataki and blanched snow peas for garnish)
torakris, I've never been able to find a truly good use for shirataki (yam paste noodles). Flavourless. Any suggestions? I find people regret their presence in dishes.
I really like shirataki, but it is flavorless and I find it works best in sauces with assertive flavors.
The most common uses for it here are in nikujaga and sukiyaki and a couple other nabes (hotpots). I like to throw it into my Korean style chiges as well.
One of my kids favorite ways of eating it is to simmer tarako (sacs of cod roe?) with some soy, aske, mirin or sugar, break up the sacs and toss in some shirataki, it ends up looking not much different from pasta.
-
Southeast Asian dinner --
Chicken soup with cilantro, scallions, onion, shallots and garlic (Laos).
Grilled eggplant braised with ground beef (Vietnamese).
Country-style pork ribs, first marinated in hoisin and fish sauce, then grilled (Vietnamese).
Stir-fried Savoy cabbage with pork, dried chiles and ginger (Yunnan).
Sticky rice (Laos).
Butter-rum tart served with ricotta cheese flavored with rum and sugar (not Southeast Asian).
(The recipes are great, but Hot Sour Salty Sweet has to be the most physically unwieldy cookbook ever printed.)
Sounds great!!
This has got to be one of my favorite cookbooks! Though I don't have counter space big enough for it!
Definitely worth the price, although it was bought for me by a TV station here in Tokyo (long story).
My absolute favorites are the grilled eggplant salad and Yunnanese potatoes, I never seem to make enough of either.
Last nights's dinner was very child friendly due to the fact that I was watching my friend's kids:
nikujaga (very popular Japanese dish of beef 'niku' and potatoes 'jaga'imo simmered in soy based sauce, I added carrots, onions, and shirataki and blanched snow peas for garnish)
homemade nukazuke (rice bran pickles) with cucumbers, carrots, and celery
Japanese rice
squid sashimi topped with a raw egg yolk, a splash of tsuyu (a concentrated sauce used mainly for dipping noodles) and shredded nori
sliced nashi (Japanese pears) and kaki (persimmons) for dessert
-
Since this has now turned into a rather ordinary project, I will discontinue the diary, unless there is an unexpected public outcry.
Thank you for your support.
NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
Don't leave us hanging!
What happened?
How was it?
-
Certainly among the best: Tentake in Tokyo.
telephone: 81.3.3541.3881
having said that, the card I have from Tentake is otherwise in Japanese so I can't give you the address. and it may be a long shot that anyone who answers the phone speaks english.
Tentake's speciality is fugu.
typically, it's a large plate of translucently thin slices
followed by the broth described in previous post.
good luck with this one!
I was hosted, so don't know the price, but would expect typically spendy high end Tokyo. maybe $100 / person.
Here is a link to the above mentioned restaurant.
http://www.x-media.co.jp/gourmet/gnet/shop..._WTN_0475.shtml
It is only in Japanese, sorry.
It seems like a very reasonably priced restaurant with courses starting at 5,900 yen (about $50) and various items a la carte.
-
I made the pistachio cake last night for a small party with some friends and it was the talk of the party! It was one of the best cakes I have ever eaten.
Thank you so much.
I actually made it as a cake in a 9 inch spring form pan and it cooked to perfection in 30 minutes.
My only problem was that I didn't have ground cardamom, so I ground the whole pods in a spice blender, but the outer green shell didn't get very well ground so I poured it through a seive. It tasted great, but how do you grind cardamom yourself? Do you remove the black seeds and just grind those?
-
For some info on peoples fugu experiences check out the following sites
http://cygnus.uwa.edu.au/~mccormax/japan/fugu.html
http://www.travelintelligence.net/wsd/arti...s/art_1784.html
I have eaten fugu on numerous occasions, and don't really get all the "hype" surrounding it. It is a very bland fish, almost tasteless and the very few deaths that do occur are usually by people who tried to prepare it by themselves. More deaths occur every year by people eating the traditonal mochi (sticky rice) cakes at New Years. When the New Years holidays are over there is always an article in the newspaper erporting how many mochi deaths there were. However fugu, another common New Years food is never listed in the list of fatalities during the holidays (BTW the #1 is of course car accidents).
Most restaurants that serve fugu, specialize only in fugu and there are about 3,000 establishments in the country. Making it not quite as rare or special as people believe.
During the winter months plates of fugu sashimi can be found in any supermarket along with various body parts to be made into a nabe (one pot meal) right in your own home. I have had both the supermarket fugu and restaurant fugu and admit that the pricier one tastes better, but it is still not really good.
-
In Japan the curly stuff is definitely more popular, it is sold in bunches about the size of my head at even the tiniest mom and pop type shops and flat leaf can only be bought occasionally at the "international" supermarkets. Its popularity is most likely do to the way they use it, mostly as a garnish on the side of the plate or a light sprinkling on type of any "western" type food. It is rarely thought of as a food ingredient.
Because it is so cheap and available I find myself using it more often than I would if I was in the US and find its thicker stems much more suited to long simmerings.
I find the flat leaf fresher tasting and use it normally in preparations that don't call for cooking, except for tabouleh which I prefer the curly type for.
Didn't we just have this discussion a little while ago?
-
Last night's dinner:
Thai style curry using left over soup from lunch, the winter quash soup with lemongrass and coconut milk was dresed up with more coconut milk, more lemongrass and kaffir lime leaf. It was then added to sauteed chicken, onions, and mushrooms and garnished with cilantro and chilesm
Served with jasmine rice and a Thai cucumber salad.
Dessert was the hilight of the meal with a mint chocolate mousse from Nigella Lawson's Forever Summer. No words can describe the sheer ecstacy from this unbelievably simple dessert.
-
torakris, let us know how they turn out, as well as the squash soup and mint chocolate mousse which also sound delicious. I think you will like them. If you use regular coconut milk, please let us know if you can taste the coconut flavor, or if it all melds together the way it did when I used the lite coconut milk.
I think it's great that you get together with your friend every week to try out new recipes and have lunch together. Good break for you, too!
Well I made them!!!
Absolutely wonderful, both my friend and I devoured them loving every bite.
I used regular coconut milk, shaking the can well before using, butter did not really detect a coconut taste. Actually no one taste was prevalent they all just blended. (Can you tell why I will never be a food writer, or any type of writer at that?) I also had almost no juice left over at the bottom of the bowl, maybe just a little more than a teaspoon.
The rest of lunch was equally fabulous. The soup, winter squash soup with lemongrass and coconut milk, complimented the crab well. I felt it could have been helped by a little kaffir lime leaf (coconut milk, lemongrass, galangal yet no lime leaf?)
The small amount leftover is going to be made into a Thai style curry with chicken, mushrooms, onion, chiles and of course a couple lime leaves thrown in.
The mint chocolate mousse was beyond words and all I can say is get Nigella Lawson's new book NOW!
-
Growing up in Cleveland, I had no experience whatsoever with okra until I moved to Japan in my 20's.
Here in Japan it is particularly revered for its sliminess and most recipes actually make the most of it. Of course there are lots of slimy things over here.
There only way I prepare it that it is not slimy, is an Indian recipe I use for "dry" okra (sookhi bhindi) were they are sliced (about 1/2" thick) and then "sauteed" with lots of oil and spices.
ISO sweet and sour sauce recipe
in Cooking
Posted
I have found ketchup does work well in some recipes.
The Japanese make what they call a dry curry (ground meat with no sauce) and it is seasoned with ketchup, worchestire sauce (I know I messed that one up!) and curry powder, it is really good. Usually with minced onions, carrots and green peppers and topped with a fried egg.
There are aslo disgusting things that I can't eat:
A spaghetti they make with sliced sausages, green pepper, and onions and the sauce is ketchup, JUST ketchup!
Then there is the ketchup rice, like fried rice but with only ketchup as the seasoning.
Back to sweet and sour, my favorite is one that a famous chain restaurant (in Japan) sells. It has no ketchup and is based on basalmic vinegar, wish I new exactly how to make it though.