Hassouni

He, sir.

Can one make a decent risotto with koshihikari rice? Or paella for that matter?

Yup. It's fine, about on par with nurungji from dolsot bibimbap, but tadig/hakkaka is much more scrumptious

I ordered the book, but it was out of stock on Amazon. Waiting for it to ship out....I didn't realize it emphasizes organic everything. That's pretty obnoxious (I try to buy only organic meat, but I don't eat much red meat or chicken anyway, compared to fish)

Except our version is salty and buttery/oily, and I must say, laden with bias, that that makes it far tastier In Iraqi and Persian food, it's considered the highlight of the meal. (The bottom of dolsot bibimbap (nurungji) is pretty good, but not as good, and the nurungji that gets served immersed in hot water is soggy and tasteless.)

Awesome. Isn't a TON of stuff irradiated? ETA: by a ton, of course, I mean many millions if not billions of tons....

Ah, OK, that's more or less how I do it too. I just don't use very much oil. The more, the better, from a tadig production standpoint, no doubt. When I make rice for guests I always use much more oil or butter and get better, more consistent results. Do you mean the crust goes up an inch at the surface, or is an inch thick all the way through? For instance here, the surface is crispy going up an inch, but the actual thickness of the crispy layer is not more than a few grains of rice deep: PS to those unfamiliar with this, it's basically the most delicious thing in the universe, hands down.

Egads, an inch of tadig! You must share these results! Lotfan begu!

My rice cooker will typically not brown rice, I guess the computer keeps the "warm" temperature low enough that it doesn't happen. I made some takikomi gohan with dashi, mushroom stock, and mushrooms, and the bottom browned a bit, but did not get crispy. As for those who have yet to warm up to brown rice, this is where a good rice cooker shines. I can make white rice decently in a pot, but brown, just dump it in and forget about it. Also, Kasma's steaming method for jasmine rice IS awesome

Growing up with an Iraqi mother and Iraqi grandparents, my single greatest comfort food is well made Iraqi-style rice (which is the same as Persian style). The water must be salted and oil or butter MUST be applied. I could eat plate after plate of this, plain, with a shovel, if it weren't a really unhealthy thing to do. So that said, my two go-tos are basmati and short grain koshihikari, in white and brown. I used to have jasmine too, for use in Chinese, Thai, Viet, and other non-Middle Eastern/Indian and non-Japanese and Korean applications, but in an effort to downsize, I don't have that anymore. It may reappear at some point, but for now, I'm fine with short-grain for any Asian applications. I also LOOOOVE Lao/northern Thai style sticky rice, but have never bought it or attempted to make it. I bought a Zojirushi made in Japan neuro fuzzy rice cooker, which has made everything a snap except for proper Iraqi or Iranian style rice. Even adding oil to the rice didn't get the crust (hakkaka/tadig), and the rice came out a bit too wet. Properly made basmati should be the slightest bit wet and should not stick AT ALL. For what it's worth, there are rice cookers on the market that specialize in Persian style rice, but I can't be bothered to have two rice machines. I'm happy making that the old fashioned way, as imprecise as it may be. In Iraq and Iran one's skill as a cook almost entirely comes down to one's rice, so I feel a rice cooker is cheating anyway!

Hopefully not your Persian rice!

Hmm, it shows up for me...can anyone else see it?

First night cooking probably since november, due to miserable schedule the last ten days. Here's my first ever attempt at kuku sabzi, a Persian herb frittata that's apparently what Persian moms make on a busy night. Came out pretty good, if a bit browned, and some delicious and very pretty purple new potatoes roasted with garlic and rosemary and olive oil

3 new malts, bringing my modest collection up to 8, and some new and resupplied rum, making my collection even more unwieldy (approaching 2 dozen now, I think). The best part of all of this is the baller Wray and Nephew 50th anniversary of Jamaican independence fridge magnet!

In honor of hopefully finishing an evil, vile, soul-grating project for work, I made myself: 1. a Rittenhouse old fashioned, except with a mix of allspice dram and falernum instead of simple syrup 2. a Corn n' Oil with Cruzan blackstrap 3. a dram of Sea Wynde, neat. My god, what an absurd rum

foie gras is NOTHING like other liver (which I dislike) and is one of the greatest things I've eaten - it's not even in the same ballpark.

I think I have a big enough callus in the grip-spot that I can take any spine!

I roasted my first duck for Thanksgiving, and it was far too fatty, it seriously hampered access to the meat. If I had to go it again, I'd go slower and lower to render more of it out

bananas (but not plantains), white button mushrooms (most other kinds I like), and much offal (esp liver - HATE the texture) are things i cannot eat without gagging.

Pretty happy with my Tojiro DP 240 Gyutou - cheapest Korin had and it's served me well. It's overdue for a sharpening though....

Thank you, yes! Although I got half a thumbnail sliced off by my mandoline for Dunlop's "lamp shadow sweet potato chips".... The knife really had to be whacked down hard from up on high to get a clean cut in one blow, and the duck being 50% fat, it was kind of messy - but somehow I managed! Will post some pictures in the dinner and C.E. @ home threads....

Well at the Viet store today I bought a gigantic cleaver specifically labeled as "bone-chopping" - it's heavy as hell. Think I'll return the other one.

The Chinese cut poultry through the bone, such that each piece includes bone. Chopping is exactly what's done As seen here:

I tried the Havana Club 7 last night and although it was not mind-blowing (and I did not expect it to be), it was pretty good for the price. I can't wait to try the añejo 3 años in a Daiquiri. Let me know. When I lived in London it was my go-to for mojitos, but never made a daiquiri out of it (because I didn't have a shaker!)

So I'm making some roast duck on Thursday (unorthodox Sichuanese thanksgiving...), and I went out and bought a Chinese cleaver so I can chop it up on the bone. I asked the guy at the Chinese supermarket for a knife for that purpose, and this is what he gave me. Not really sure if it's up to it, it seems kind of light. Can someone please tell me what the package says? I don't read much Chinese, but I can see that cai (as in vegetable) is not on there, so maybe it's OK? Thanks!