stephen129

I live about an hour west of London. There's not really any good sushi restaurants anywhere near me, I have to go to London for acceptable sushi (even a lot of that isn't the greatest quality compared to what I've eaten in Japan and Hong Kong for example). I'm looking to buy fish to eat raw. I did a bit of research and read that Scottish farmed salmon is pretty much parasite free and therefore is safe to eat. Do I want stuff that is frozen first, or do I need to freeze it to completely kill off any thing? I feel like the fish in Waitrose would have been fine assuming it was freshly defrosted, however the guy working there had no idea (people rarely make sushi at home in the UK). I have a local fishmonger who claims I can eat his salmon raw. Luckily salmon is one of my favourites so I'd be happy if that's the only fish I can get. If I travel about 45 minutes away there's an Asian supermarket which has packs of frozen sashimi and unagi kabayaki. The unagi is exactly the same stuff they use in the restaurants. It's not exactly cheap at £12, but a piece of unagi nigiri is usually around £3.50. I also bought a very small jar (50g maybe?) Of salmon roe from Waitrose. It was extremely salty so I carefully ran it under the tap and poured in a bit of mirin and a tiny bit of soy. I ate it with some Koshihikari from Niigata cooked in my new Zojirushi. Possibly one of the best bits of sushi I've eaten in the UK. Also has anyone got any experience of buying fish online? I found this website that claims to sell sashimi grade fish and the prices seem reasonable. https://www.thefishsociety.co.uk/by-fish-type/raw-fish/sashimi/

I'm being super careful with the pot. Washing rice in a sieve then pouring it in, rather than washing it in the pot. Only using rice paddles inside. Putting some water in it to soak before scrubbing it with the soft side of a sponge. I feel like I'm doing everything to preserve the pot? I realise I'm being a bit paranoid, but the thing cost a small fortune.

How long did your pot last?

Another question about my new Zojirushi. My model is a 5.5 Japanese cup model (180ml per cup I think). The manual says the minimum rice it can cook is one cup. Sometimes I'd like less rice than this. Has anyone tried cooking less than a cup? I was thinking 3/4 of a cup.

To the people who have had their Zojirushi for a long time, do they make a replacement pot for your model (if you needed to replace it)?

How long have you had yours for and has it lasted? I'm most interested in how long the inside pot lasts. I have just bought a Zojirushi NS-YSQ10 I am hoping the machine lasts decades, based on previous rice cookers, the most fragile part is the inside pot. I know Zojirushi sells replacement inner pots, I'm wondering if I should buy one now or if they will still be selling the same one decades later.

But that doesn't explain why the menu has both a paella and an arroz de Carabineros.

I'm going to Valencia next month and was reading some menus. I came across a restaurant that has 'Paella de Carabineros' and something else called 'Arroz de Carabineros'. They're exactly the same price. What exactly is the difference? Am I right in thinking that the arroz is a soupy risotto style?

Sorry, forgot to mention. England.

Does anyone have any experience of buying from any online Japanese food shops? I'm looking for things like mirin, eel sauce, Japanese mayo, bulldog sauce, Japanese curry, furikake, seaweed etc. I've bought from Wing Yip before but they're more focused on Chinese cuisine.

Cheese and cranberry sauce toastie Jerk pork belly, roasted onions Bucatini with mascarpone, cream sauce and Portobello mushrooms Braised pork belly, Chinese black vinegar, garlic Teriyaki chicken, carrot and celery salad with crispy herbs, sesame, ginger dressing Steamed sea bass with ginger spring onion, pak choi Bacon cheeseburger, Sriracha mayo

Mushy peas are a traditional accompaniment to fish and chips, it's basically what it sounds like, mashed up peas with some butter, salt, pepper and mint. Think of it like a very coarse pea puree.

Are you a professional out of interest, or just a very enthusiastic/talented home cook? Thanks, Stephen. I'm not a professional. I just enjoy cooking and eating. Honestly, a lot of your food wouldn't look out of place in a 2/3 Michelin starred kitchen.

I was in Madrid last year, my favourite meal was at La Gambinoteca (modern tapas). It was featured on Anthony Bourdain. The foie with bruleed pineapple was good as was the scallops on bread with roasted peppers. Also someone on the menu called 'seafood rice' which sounded a bit boring, turned out to be amazingly flavourful. It didn't have any pieces of seafood on it, but it was clearly cooked in a very good shellfish stock. Mercado San Miguel is cool for foodie stuff. Basically just watch Anthony Bourdain in Madrid if you haven't already. I really regret not going to DiverXO.

Very impressive Max. Are you a professional out of interest, or just a very enthusiastic/talented home cook?

Thanks so much for sharing Basquecook, this is making me want to go to mainland China so much. It's 5am in London and I'm starving thanks to this thread. Luckily I'm off to Hong Kong in a few weeks so I'll get my Asian food fix there.

Ann that looks awesome. I've never tried this tbq sauce you speak of. Am I right in thinking it's a mustardy bbq sauce? Unfortunately in England, even London, there is a serious lack of good American barbecue, but I would definitely eat at your restaurant if you ever opened one up =). I love the idea of smoking my own food, salmon, brisket, sausage etc but I've never got round to it. I've read about liquid smoke, but I've never seen it in the UK. Does it impart a decent smokey flavour?

Hello! It was a prepared one (and not a particularly good one if I'm completely honest, I had to do a lot of work to get the flavours to balance), I've never got round to making my own actually, I find the ingredients fairly expensive. Just a few sticks of lemon grass was £1.50 in the supermarket and the pre-made paste was £1.79 from an Asian supermarket. I often make half-prepared food, for example I'll get a jar of curry sauce and 'pimp' it up with my own spices, flavourings etc. Other times as with the Peri Peri chicken and ragu I cook completely scratch. Depends how I'm feeling tbh. Although I like to go to the effort of making tasty food, I'm not the type to spend 8 hours putting together 8 separate components for one high end restaurant style dish. I like food that has a good taste to effort ratio, like a simple roast chicken with roasting juices mixed in chicken stock, white wine and a bit of marmalade for sweetness. When I say 'molasses' it wasn't the American style molasses which resembles British black treacle. It was a kind of dark brown sugar I had lying around in my house that called itself molasses. It was incorporated exactly like you mention. I just browned it off with the chicken at the start and then deglazed with rum. The dish overall is fairly sweet, it also has lime juice and lime zest in it. It's my own version of this recipe. I don't have a sweet tooth, so often find myself using sugar in my savoury dishes. I love fruit with meat for example.

Thai Green Curry with chicken, purple aubergines and pineapple Nasi Goreng with shrimp, fried egg and kecap manis Fettuccine alla ragu Little gem wedge salad with shallots, anchovies and anchovy dressing Slow cooked minted lamb curry, paratha, mint raita, lime pickle, mango chutney Spatchcocked chicken with homemade Peri Peri sauce and roasted onions Apple Charlotte with cinnamon and cream Asian style salmon with choi sum in chilli bean sauce Caribbean brown chicken stew with molasses, scotch bonnets and rum