Dinner! 2007

[Shelby]

David, you've made me drool this morning.  I envy the fresh strawberries!

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Hey you just gave me an idea. I think I'll be having strawberry shortcake for breakfast today!

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SURE rub it in!

[Shelby]

Last night we had:

Tomato salad

Shrimp cocktail

And steamed crab legs

[percyn]

"Indian Alphonso Mangoes - These have been allowed back into the US after being banned for 18 years."

Never heard of these........what is the taste difference and where do you find them?

Nonblonde007, the main characteristics of the Alphonso mangoes and other are the fragrance, thin outer skin, intensity of flavor and sweetness.

If you are lucky, you can purchase them for $3-$4 at certain Indian stores. If you can't find them, you can spend approx $10/each and purchase them at http://organicfruitclub.com

[Prawncrackers]

"Indian Alphonso Mangoes - These have been allowed back into the US after being banned for 18 years."

Never heard of these........what is the taste difference and where do you find them?

There was talk of mango not long ago on this thread. I've been eating mangoes constantly for the past month now and i've been told to stop by my wife due to increased flatulence!!!!

Today, i cooked crayfish for the first time in a salad with squid and red peppers.

The crayfish were live which was what caught my eye at the market today. They were okay but a bit on the bland side and not much meat on them. For the price i'd take a sweet juicy prawn over them anyday.

[dockhl]

I 'silk' the prawns first by marinating them in a combination of corn starch and egg whites. I make a coating out of ground szechuan peppercorns, black pepper, salt and flour. You deep-fry the prawns for a couple of minutes.

David~

The prawns look/sound great. When you silk them, do you throw them in water/oil and then drain, and then proceed with coating and the deep frying?

[David Ross]

I 'silk' the prawns first by marinating them in a combination of corn starch and egg whites. I make a coating out of ground szechuan peppercorns, black pepper, salt and flour. You deep-fry the prawns for a couple of minutes.

David~

The prawns look/sound great. When you silk them, do you throw them in water/oil and then drain, and then proceed with coating and the deep frying?

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I take the prawns directly from the 'silk' mixture of cornstarch and egg white directly into the seasonsed flour and then into the oil for deep frying. Using this method seems to help protect the prawns from drying out during frying since they are cloaked in a wrap of silky cornstarch and egg with an outer blanket of flour.

When you silk prawns for a stir-fry dish you also take them from the silking mixture straight to a hot wok. I do like to let most of the silking drip off before I put the prawns in the wok. If you miss that step you might end up with scrambled egg white on your prawns. That isn't a bad thing though, just might make the finished dish look odd. The bits of egg white on the prawns will cook and it just adds a bit of nice little pieces of soft egg to your finished stir-fry. That's not a bad thing in terms of taste.

[dockhl]

When you silk prawns for a stir-fry dish you also take them from the silking mixture straight to a hot wok. 

Thanks.

When I silk chicken or shrimp, I take them from the cornstarch mixture into hot water just until they turn opaque (not cooked) and then drain them. From there they go into the stir fry oil. Makes a huge difference in tenderness and juiciness.

[Tri2Cook]

The crayfish were live which was what caught my eye at the market today.  They were okay but a bit on the bland side and not much meat on them.  For the price i'd take a sweet juicy prawn over them anyday.

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Looks good to me. Being able to get live crawfish is one of the main things I miss from the time I spent in the southeast U.S. I'd give a big pile of prawns for a fresh, spicy crawfish boil right now. Good friends standing around a picnic table covered in spicy mudbugs, potatoes and corn on the cob with a beer in our hands. I'd trade many a "fine dining" meal I've had for it.

[nonblonde007]

Amen!

[Bella S.F.]

I am not familiar with the term "silk" as in silking shrimp or chicken. (David Ross and dockhl's entries) Could someone explain that to me?

Thanks!

[dockhl]

I am not familiar with the term "silk" as in silking shrimp or chicken. (David Ross and dockhl's entries) Could someone explain that to me?

  Thanks!

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Bella~

I actually was referring to a technique called "velveting" , rather than silking (got my terminology confused!). Don't know if David was referring to the same thing or not.

You can read about it here. It is a way to keep chicken and shrimp succulent in stir fries.

Sorry for the confusion.

[David Ross]

I use both terms to basically describe the same technique-'velveting' or 'silking' meats or seafood before using them in certain types of Chinese dishes.

For years I wondered why the seafood and chicken at a Chinese restaurant tasted so soft and 'silky.' I was never able to figure it out at home until I read about the technique in one of my Chinese cookbooks. Now I use it quite often and I get the same results that you would find in a Chinese restaurant, soft and 'velvety' meats or seafood with a 'silky' coating. I'll have to try the technique of taking the prawns from the cornstarch and egg mixture to hot water before coating the seafood in flour. Delicious.

[Prawncrackers]

It's a funny thing - 'velveting'. I'm Chinese and i've never 'velveted' anything.... ever! Plus i've never seen or heard of a Chinese home cook use this technique. I'm sure no relative or Chinese friend of mine has ever bothered to do this. Am i alone here? Are there any cooks of Chinese extraction out there who have been taught this in a home kitchen?

Don't get me wrong, i'm not doubting this is an authentic technique but is this mainly a restaurant thing?!? Like, if i was French wouldn't make fresh demi-glace everyday

[dockhl]

Hmm.

Good question ! I thought I saw a reference to it in one of Ah Leung's tutorials. He'd be a good person to ask.

[David Ross]

Staying with my Chinese theme this weekend, tonight I made Fried Rice with Salted Duck.

I had never used Salted Duck before. I found it in my Asian grocery store. It looked a bit odd-a whole duck flattened out and preserved with a salt solution. I figured it was sort of the Chinese version of Duck Confit. And it actually was like duck confit-salty, preserved duck meat that fell off the bone. I heated the duck in the oven to crisp the skin and then shredded the meat and added it to a basic recipe for fried rice.

[Dejah]

It's a funny thing - 'velveting'.  I'm Chinese and i've never 'velveted' anything.... ever!  Plus i've never seen or heard of a Chinese home cook use this technique.  I'm sure no relative or Chinese friend of mine has ever bothered to do this.  Am i alone here?  Are there any cooks of Chinese extraction out there who have been taught this in a home kitchen?

Don't get me wrong, i'm not doubting this is an authentic technique but is this mainly a restaurant thing?!?  Like, if i was French wouldn't make fresh demi-glace everyday 

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I'm Chinese. My parents did, and I was taught to silken/velvet meats. I always do it at home as well as when I owned a restaurant. It really gives meat a nicer texture.

Now, different people do it differently. I, as well as Ah Leung, Ben Hong, and maybe others, silken by mixing cornstarch and oil with the meat. Others pass the meat quickly through oil or boiling water. I've never done the latter, and have never seen my parents or other Chinese people do it.

Which method are you referring to, Prawncrackers?

[jtran]

mustard-mint rotini for a contest. it was incredibly how well the two paired.

for dessert a homemade microwave prepared chocolate-lemon mousse. just amazing.

Edited July 8, 2007 by jtran (log)

[LaCookrasha]

Shelby your asparagus salad has got me drooling Please tell me how to make it. It looks sooooo delicious!!

Awwww thanks!

I just blanch the asparagus in a bit of water and lemon pepper and then toss it in! I use what ever I can find in the fridge lol. Chopped red onion, cherry tomatoes, cheese and creamy Italian dressing. Oh and I also chopped up some mustard greens from the garden.

Shelby thanks for sharing all this with us! I will definitely be making this salad soon.

[Prawncrackers]

Now, different people do it differently. I, as well as Ah Leung, Ben Hong, and maybe others, silken by mixing cornstarch and oil with the meat. Others pass the meat quickly through oil or boiling water. I've never done the latter, and have never seen my parents or other Chinese people do it.

Which method are you referring to, Prawncrackers?

The latter method that you describe where there is this additional cooking step. What is that all about? Is that a faff or what or have i been missing out all this time?

Nice looking duck dish David, i've never before seen anyone roast a preserved duck ('wind duck' or 'lap ap'). This type of duck is usually really salty - like Jewish lox salmon or pucker-your-face salty! Usually small amounts are steamed and served as an accompaniment with plain rice along with other dishes. I'll try roasting it next time, did you prepare it anyway before putting it into the oven, like rinsing he cure off?

[David Ross]

Now, different people do it differently. I, as well as Ah Leung, Ben Hong, and maybe others, silken by mixing cornstarch and oil with the meat. Others pass the meat quickly through oil or boiling water. I've never done the latter, and have never seen my parents or other Chinese people do it.

Which method are you referring to, Prawncrackers?

The latter method that you describe where there is this additional cooking step. What is that all about? Is that a faff or what or have i been missing out all this time?

Nice looking duck dish David, i've never before seen anyone roast a preserved duck ('wind duck' or 'lap ap'). This type of duck is usually really salty - like Jewish lox salmon or pucker-your-face salty! Usually small amounts are steamed and served as an accompaniment with plain rice along with other dishes. I'll try roasting it next time, did you prepare it anyway before putting it into the oven, like rinsing he cure off?

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Thanks for the nice comments on the salted duck. I didn't rinse it or soak it in water ahead of time. Surprisingly I didn't need to-the duck meat was salty but not overly so. I placed the duck on a rack over a cookie sheet and then poured some water in the bottom of the cookie sheet so that any dripping duck fat wouldn't create a fire in the oven. I turned the oven to broil for the last few minutes to crisp up the skin. I guess I did alright considering I didn't know what the salted duck was when I found it in the market and I sure didn't know how it was traditionally used. Thanks again.

[Shelby]

Hey David Ross! I read through your blog the other day and you inspired me to attempt the cherry clafouti!

I found some fresh rainier cherries (amazing find for here in Kansas) and I pitted them last night. Right now I have them in a bowl with a pomegranate liqueur over them. I couldn't find Kirsch at the liquor store, so I improvised (we'll see how it works).

Never made one of these, so if you don't see me comment, you'll know why

[David Ross]

Hey David Ross!  I read through your blog the other day and you inspired me to attempt the cherry clafouti!

I found some fresh rainier cherries (amazing find for here in Kansas) and I pitted them last night.  Right now I have them in a bowl with a pomegranate liqueur over them.  I couldn't find Kirsch at the liquor store, so I improvised (we'll see how it works). 

Never made one of these, so if you don't see me comment,  you'll know why 

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Thank you so much! I was surprised at the positive response to the clafoutis in my blog. Nor surprised that is was popular, but it was really popular.

Let me know how the Ranier cherries work in your recipe. I think your idea of using a Pomegrante Liquer is interesting. You may want to add a bit of extra sugar as the Ranier's and the Pomegrante are both probably quite tart. What is the name of the Pomegrante liquer? I'd like to experiement with that. Sounds like it might be good for a summer cocktail with lemonade and vodka!

[Prawncrackers]

David, you're on a roll! Inspired by your Salt and Pepper prawns earlier, i made the same. As it's a Sunday i found time to do some Gau Ji (fried dumplings) too:

[David Ross]

David, you're on a roll!  Inspired by your Salt and Pepper prawns earlier, i made the same.  As it's a Sunday i found time to do some Gau Ji (fried dumplings) too:

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Good Lord those prawns and dumplings look very delicious. Fly some over to me please! Very nice.

[Shelby]

Hey David Ross!  I read through your blog the other day and you inspired me to attempt the cherry clafouti!

I found some fresh rainier cherries (amazing find for here in Kansas) and I pitted them last night.  Right now I have them in a bowl with a pomegranate liqueur over them.  I couldn't find Kirsch at the liquor store, so I improvised (we'll see how it works). 

Never made one of these, so if you don't see me comment,  you'll know why 

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Thank you so much! I was surprised at the positive response to the clafoutis in my blog. Nor surprised that is was popular, but it was really popular.

Let me know how the Ranier cherries work in your recipe. I think your idea of using a Pomegrante Liquer is interesting. You may want to add a bit of extra sugar as the Ranier's and the Pomegrante are both probably quite tart. What is the name of the Pomegrante liquer? I'd like to experiement with that. Sounds like it might be good for a summer cocktail with lemonade and vodka!

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Ok, I'll add some sugar to them --thanks!

The pomegranate wasn't expensive at all *blush*. It was like 12 dollars. The brand is Chateau Pomari. We had a little taste of it after dinner last night. It's really good! Would be really good over ice cream, too.