Simon Lewinson

I agree with this - my two children were taken to restaurants hundreds of times, almost from birth, and I remember taking them outside on the rare occasion when they were disruptive or unsettled. It is not hard to do this, but in this case it was beyond the intellect of the parents to reason that 40+ minutes of crying was unacceptable. I would not have lasted anywhere near that long before strenuously advising the parents to adjust the behavior of their errant offspring and conjecturing that leaving the scene might be a valid strategy. Simon

A couple of years ago my children bought me a Kyocera ceramic Santoku - the black "professional" one and it almost never stays in the knife block. The only thing that it is not brilliant for is boning out meat. Since I have been using it I cannot stand using a "normal" blade as it is nowhere near as sharp. Simon

That sounds exactly like the churro vendor I saw in Pueto Vallarta a couple of years ago. It was linke a big wok with an extruder wit a nozzle and crank handle. He cranked on it and sliced off lengths with a large knife then picked them out of the oil and doused them in cinnamon sugar. Yours sounds like a savory variation. Simon

All the time. The way my son ate when he was living at home it made it easier to feed him specialty foods within a budget. Simon

_john, thanks. I will give that a try. I am surprised how little information is available on the interweb about conpoy. Simon

Commercial XO sauce contain about 5% conpoy. Mine was about 20-25%. Simon

Have you smelt or tasted them side by side? When I made the XO sauce I tasted the dried scallops and they are nothing like a prawn. I would not compare them to each other when fresh either.Simon

I am wondering about the cooking but think I might try a few in my dehydrator. Going by the colour and aroma of the conpoy I would think that the temperature used was moderately high, and I was thinking of starting off around 45C till dryish then turning it up towards 55c or so to finish the process. Simon

Deryn, thanks. The adductor muscle us the white, fleshy bit that we eat. Where I live in Australia (4 hours inland) the only real choice is frozen sea scallops. Do you have any idea on how they are cooked before drying? I think that cooking would lose liquid and thus flavour. Simon

Hi all, is it practical to make your own conpoy (dried scallops)? I have recently made a batch of XO sauce and want to try some more variations but the problem is getting conpoy at a reasonable price. I have had to pay $18 for 100g and I can buy great frozen scallops for <$20 per Kg. I would expect that the drying would result in a dry weight of about 20% but this would be half the cost of buying conpoy. Has anybody tried this or know of a good method? Ar they cured or cooked before drying? Thanks Simon

Slice really thin, marinade with miso and Chilli then BBQ Korean style. Could use this with noodles or stir fried veggies. Simon

Sounds like a load of crap to me. Red, green and Massaman are thai curries! Am I the only person that thinks that these curries are made with curry pastes not powder? Also, cayenne is not an Indian ingredient per se, but rather a style of Chilli that is not really used in Indian cuisine.

Describe it please, colour, texture, taste? The pickled gourd I have eaten is a light tan, slightly crunchy and has a delicate, sweetish and savory flavour. It comes in long, thin strips.

Pickled gourd.

Bubbles = steam = 100 degrees C at sea level. This temperature is at the bottom of the pot, and there can be quite a steep temperature gradient, decreasing towards the surface. As the bubble rises it will shrink and lose heat to the surrounding liquid. With a viscous substance such as chili, I find that a layer forms at the bottom of the pot that is much thicker and that concentrates the heat into smaller areas that create the bubbles with less energy input. Simon

What about a good, concentrated stock? Loads of umami and depth of flavour.

MSG?

Huiray, here is a photo of the sauce. I used some in stir fried brown rice tonight and it added a wonderful complexity and depth of flavour Simon

For the purpose of dividing the dough evenly I can't see any issue. You could form three circles of one inch diameter and cut into quarters... If accuracy of portions is what matters and the dough is reformed before baking then the thickness is irrelevant and I would use scales to weigh them. Without the rest of the recipe I can't add more but if the wedges are baked as is then the recipe is probably incorrect. ** edit ** Saw the link. Could be an error or the recipe is not too critical on thickness. I am leaning towards an error. Simon

Huiray, I can't get a good photo of it in the jar but it looks just like the photo on Keropokman except that is a really deep mahogany hue. I will try to get a photo when I open up a jar of it. Thanks for the compliment. Simon

I use the bought XO sauce but after tasting the difference will not be buying any more. The difference is amazing! Hmmm, sous vide ginger and soy chicken breast with XO fried rice for dinner sounds good.

The inspiration came from http://www.foodcanon.com/2013/12/home-made-xo-sauce-recipe.html and http://www.keropokman.com/2013/05/recipe-homemade-xo-sauce.html. My final recipe was: 200g shallots, sliced finely 100g dried scallops 80g dried prawns 30g dried large red chillis, seeded and chopped 30g dried shiitake mushrooms, chopped finely 40g prosciutto, chopped finely 10 cloves garlic, crushed 2 tsp grated ginger 250ml oil 30ml sesame oil 60ml soy sauce 80ml oyster sauce Soak dried scallops in warm water for 2 hours. Drain and reserve liquid. Tear scallops into threads. Soak dried prawns in warm water for 2 hours. Drain and chop finely. Soak dried mushrooms in warm water for 30 minutes, drain and reserve liquid. Soak chillis in warm water for 1 hour, drain and blend using a small amount of water. Heat oil in wok and fry shallots till golden. Reserve shallots and most of the oil. Fry garlic and ginger till fragrant. Add blended chilli and fry for 3-4 minutes. Add prawns and fry till fragrant, adding some of the shallot oil as needed. Add prosciutto, mushrooms and scallops and continue to fry over moderate heat. Add reserved liquid, stirring continuously and add shallot oil as necessary to prevent burning or sticking. This can take 30-40 minutes until mixture is dark and well caramelized. Add fried shallots, sesame oil, oyster and soy sauces and stir till combined. Test for seasoning then put into sterilized jars. Store in fridge. Simon

Tonight I made a batch of XO sauce using a fusion of recipes from the internet. To say that this is a labour intensive recipe is an understatement, with nearly three hours spent in the kitchen. Was it worth the effort I asked myself, and after tasting the finished product the answer is a resounding yes! The complexity and depth of flavour eclipses any of the sauces that I have tasted in restaurants or purchased in jars.

Nasi goreng generally requires a spice mix that contains chillies, shallots, garlic, kecap manis and fried belacan (fermented shrimp paste). This mix is then fried and forms the core of the flavour profile of nasi goreng. The exact recipe varies widely and I have not been able to replicate the best examples that I have eaten in Indonesia. Here in Australia I can buy a pre made spice paste that is a great start. I would look in an Asian grocery store for a packet and start there. Simon

Hopefully not for searing a steak..... Simon