Simon Lewinson

I love the Lao Gan Ma hot Chilli oil. It is a great condiment as well, and goes well with mayo as a salad dressing. If you want less heat it can be diluted quite a bit. Simon

One of my quick and dirty meals is a savory rice one pot dish. My whole family loves it and it is an ad lib style recipe where pretty much anything goes. Basic theme is a couple of chopped onions softened, 500g of beef mince fried in and browned, 2 cups rice, a packet of "taco" seasoning and any fresh or frozen veggies - peas, corn, diced carrots etc. add 4 cups stock or water and cook till rice is done. Finish with fresh herbs and parsley. Simon

+3 for Mae ploy. Only one better is to make your own. Simon

Perhaps the single best kitchen gift that I have ever received is a Kyocera ceramic santoku knife. It is unbelievably sharp and and keeps its edge forever. This truly was a Christmas gift from three years ago that keeps on giving. Simon

Fechef, I have bought a chunk of tuna before and slice it very thinly while frozen. My trick is a freshly sharpened Kyocera ceramic knife that just glides through it. Also allows for slices that you can read the newspaper through. Simon

Jerky time! Marinate, dry and eat! I have done this a number of times with venison and as long as the trimmings are not outwardly funky and moldy I see no reason not to eat it. Simon

Lord Google seems to confirm the view that these are gizzards. They are an extremely dense ball of muscle that grinds up the chicken's food.. My thoughts are braise or sous vide to tenderize and to retain the flavour. Simon

I too think that they are gizzards. They look too muscular and light to be kidneys. As for how to cook them - I have no idea. Simon

Huiray, I have tried some menglembu peanuts and they are much better than the local ones but do not seem to be quite "dark" enough in flavour. I will try roasting a few further to see if that gets me to where I want to be.Simon

Huiray, they might indeed be the peanuts that I am chasing. I will see if I can find that brand at the Asian supermarket when I travel to Melbourne next week. Simon

Lisa, will look forward to your feedback. Simon

Lisa, I have tried roasting the raw nuts but they still lack that real peanutty flavour that I have tasted overseas. I have managed to buy some Indonesian sate sauce that is the closest I have found - Enak Eco Bumbu Sate Ayam. If you can get some I would be interested in your thoughts. Simon

Hi all, I have been trying for years to create a sate sauce that has the rally rich peanut flavour that I have tasted many times in Indonesia and Malaysia. I think that the peanuts we have in the western countries are aimed at better yield and easier farming rather than flavour. My limited observations are that the Indonesian peanuts are really small and almost spherical in contrast to our larger and more elongated nuts. Has anybody else experienced this? Any sources of information on the peanut cultivars used in the Asian countries? Thanks in advance Simon

My favourite curry is beef rendang. Slow cooked, melt in your mouth beef chunks thickly coated with a thick, rich coconut curry gravy. Very popular in Malaysia and Indonesia as a celebratory meal with coconut rice. Let me know if you want a recipe - I am getting one from a friend that has just been to Indonesia. Simon

Shel, another thought that I have had is to use a different variety of banana. We are drowned in cavendish bananas here in Australia, but the best flavour wise that I have experienced is the little lady finger bananas that are endemic in Asia. They are much sweeter and have a much more pronounced banana flavour. Simon

Totally logical but I absolutely love the idea! Simon

My experience is that even adjacent bananas in a hand ripen quite differently. I don't know why this is but I have had a banana that is black and liquifying next to one that is still spotty and firm. Simon

Not that I am aware of, but it is possible that speeding up the ripening changes the flavour profile. Like other produce, naturally ripened is generally better but it would be hard to do a quantitative study.Simon

The only issue with opening the bag is losing the ethylene gas that has accumulated as it is lighter than air. This will lengthen the ripening time. Simon

Shel, I agree. Enzymes, ethylene and oil' Father Time are your allies in this quest. I assume thatbyoumare after whatbincsll a "drinking banana", one that has almost liquified, has an intensely sweet banana flavour and is the best for baking things like banana bread. I have found that they are at their sweetest when almost totally black and need to be picked up with extreme care lest they break in half under their own weight. My preferred method is to leave them in a bowl on the counter top covered loosely by cling wrap. This keeps in most of the ethylene and allowsw you to monitor the ripening without excess handling. Simon

I have made thai fish cakes (tod mun pla) with both cooked and raw fish and prefer using raw. I find the texture more cohesive and the flavours are cleaner than with cooked and flaked fish. I pulse the fish with the aromatics and spices till nearly smooth in the food processor. I can post the recipe if you like. Hope this helps. Simon

My latest find is a pre made sate sauce. This one us as good as I have eaten in Malaysia or Indonesia and takes seconds to make. http://bali-goods.com/food-seasoning/se22.html

Diaphragm muscle is used 24/7 to breathe and never rests until the beast is slaughtered. Simon

Exactly! My favourite piece for sous vide is beef cheeks. Fantastic beefy flavour and melting with partially rendered fat and unctuous collagen. Sous vide liberates these fantastic qualities while retaining moisture. Simon

Yep, sous vide is an integrated part of how I now cook. From pork belly and beef cheeks to rhubarb or eggs, my sous vide supreme gets regular exercise. Buy when good, cheap and plentiful then bag, cook and freeze for quick meals works well. The asparagus times sound worthy of further investigation. Simon