Duvel

@weinoo was showing his attempts to make flour tortillas via a tortilla press. @blue_dolphin was showing her results, “complaining” they were not round. I was wondering whether there is any advantage (texture wise) of using a press rather than rolling it out, which would allow for adjusting the shape, rather than the one shot approach of a press ...

Oh sorry ... I got the advantages for corn tortillas from a preparation perspective. I was referring to the recent posts on flour tortillas, specifically ...

As this is not a food I had any appropriate contact with: what is the difference texture wise between pressing the dough in a tortilla press and rolling it out with a rolling pin ?

That was my assessment as well, based on the look and the description on cooking them (just browsed through). I have to admit I never really “got” Abalones ...

The little one has a regular cold, my wife made a mistake and took a 350 g piece of roasted salmon (plus side salad & pasta) to work, so basically I could cook dinner just for me ... Spicy it is 🥳 Gong Bao Ji Ding (宫保鸡丁), no other things needed. Yeah, except that highball, but it really was a bit spicy ...

I use Gin frequently instead of juniper (especially the straightforward types like Beefeater) in braises. Most probably because the flavors seem fresher (which could be a turnover thing 😉) ...

It is a tasty burger. My favourite sweet soy flavoured burger is this one, though ...

I think that was implied 😉

Another „everyday“ bread - same ratios as above, a little higher finishing temperature (220 oC instead of 210 oC). A bit more caramelization (of course), everything else remained the same ...

„Everyday“ bread - straight yeast, 60% wheat, 20% rye, 20% spelt @70% hydration. Baked in an enameled cast iron ...

Trout, rubbed inside with garlic, thyme & organo and roasted in the oven. Accompanied by roasted cauliflower with sesame yoghurt sauce and a chickpea stew ...

Sure. The technique to create the flaky texture is described here nicely, but I use slightly different ingredients and proportions: 500 g flour (type 550, so strong flour) 240 g water instant yeast (for 500 g flour) 6 g salt 6 g baking powder 25 g neutral oil plus some more for brushing Combine all ingredients, make a smooth dough and let rise for 30 min. Divide into 8 pieces, roll out each on into a flat strip, brush oil on top and fold (see above reference). Roll up tighly and flatten. The will look like this - you can see the snail structure: Let rest for 15 min, then roll out some more to about 12.5 cm. Let rise for 15-30 min more, then bake on a baking steel at full whack for 4 min (or pan fry from both sides for 2 min).

The “layer” under the fried chicken is chicken leg as well (kind of spam or chicken ham) ? If that sauce would have some bite, e.g. real Mala I’d give a try. But we know that bold flavors is not a hallmark of McD China (or anywhere) ...

I so love peeling those ... happy childhood memories !

Sunday night is pizza night, but ... I bought a rather large piece of „Dicke Rippe“ (pork breast tip), that needed to be cooked. So, why not combine ? I braised the pork in soy/wine/aromatics to make a very aromatic version of red cooked pork and made some „mo‘s“, which were cooked on the pizza steel ... Structure of the bread came through nicely. Topped with cucumber (not going into the „traditional“ debate here), cilantro and some chili crisp ... There is no way to make this as good looking as it tasted. Little one agreed ! Enjoyed together with „Alice in Wonderland“ (1951 version) 🤗

Same set-up indeed ... I would also not expect too many issues, however with a 7 year old in a hotpot frenzy or a global EHS responsible after his second 4-go of sake it is better to err on the safe side 😉

I have both. The one used for the Sukiyaki is an electric model, but the one I frequently use for the hotpot is an electric induction burner with different pans (including the yin/yang shaped one I prefer). To prevent at least major mishaps on the table, I have fixed an electric cord running from the wall outlet to the leg of our table (with a lot of cable binders and some slack for the cable between the binders), and connect any tabletop appliance to that cable. In case of a trip it won‘t affect the burner/electric pan.

Yes, that works too. The meat slicing machine at the butchers could make thinner slices, but he was probably concerned with the integrity (making whole slices) and also very likely never had a request like that. When I buy sliced pork belly for hotpot I tell them that I want to wrap a terrine with it in lieu of cured bacon and they easily get it thin enough. I decided that for next time I‘ll get a fattier cut and do the slicing myself (and probably from semi-frozen, and my slicing machine is actually for bread ☺️) ...

I can’t remember the last time we had Sukiyaki. Maybe 3 or 4 years ago - in any case, it came up in a conversation by chance yesterday and I decided to put it on the menu tonight ... It took a lot of persuasion to have the butcher cut the beef with the machine. Still it wasn‘t thin enough - and I should have gone for the more marbled (and cheaper) beef neck. The meat was ever so briefly fried in beef tallow in the pan, sprinkled with a soy/sake/mirin/sugar base and dipped in beaten egg ... The pan was filled up with dashi, more base added and all the remaining meat and other ingredients added ... Veggies & tofu ... Once most of the ingredients were finished, the enriched stock was used to cook some Udon, which were enjoyed sprinkled with Shichimi Togarashi and the remaining egg.

They certainly look great - would you mind sharing your (quick) method ?

A lazy Friday night dinner: Okonomiyaki ... (and the appropriate dissection technique, as demonstrated by the little one). Plain Udon ... And Gyoza (commercial).

Cleaning the fridge: Turkey with broccoli ... Stuffed aubergine ... ”Soup” (aka “everything taste good when submerged in chicken stock”)

Speaking of which - there is at least bear’s paw tofu (熊掌豆腐), combining the thrill of the name with the sustainability of a soy bean-derived heritage ...

I do chicken soup in mine. Chicken parts, aromatics, water. 2 cycles of the “brown rice” setting ...

Not yet - thanks for the suggestion !