Dinner 2021

[Duvel]

While reading the news about the eruption of Aso-san (on which I stood exactly three years ago), I got a bit sentimental, reminiscing our time in Asia.

 

Then, I spend a great amount of time traveling to Xinjiang, northwestern China. While the visits were of course professional, I enjoyed the local cuisine a lot - next to the ubiquitous lamb skewers especially a dish called Da Pan Ji (大盘鸡, or big plate chicken), an ultrasavoury chicken stew with plenty of Sichuan pepper and other spices, served usually with hand-pulled laghman noodles (for which a commercial product had to fill in). That’s what I wanted - no: needed - for tonight …

 

 

 

I was a huge success. The flavors were there, the smell, the consistency of the meat (even though I used thigh off the bone). And most importantly my family liked it. It‘ll make a return soon …

 

Edited October 20, 2021 by Duvel (log)

[heidih]

And courtesy of @liuzhou  https://forums.egullet.org/topic/161381-big-plate-chicken/

 

 

Edited October 20, 2021 by heidih (log)

[dcarch]

Beauty may be skin deep, but ugliness goes all the way to the core.

 

Have you seen anything as ugly as this nightmarish, monstrous marine life Lophius piscatorius, otherwise also known as monkfish?

 

 
Well looks to the eyes and taste to the palate are two different things. Many say monkfish tastes better than lobsters.

I had it not too long ago in an upscale restaurant. Amazingly good.

 

So I made (sous vided) filet of monkfish with asparagus.

 

 
Monkfish is shaped strange. It has more head than body, not a lot of meat.

 

dcarch

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[Duvel]

51 minutes ago, heidih said:

And courtesy of @liuzhou  https://forums.egullet.org/topic/161381-big-plate-chicken/

 

 

Thanks, I missed that. My version is a bit different when it comes to the details, but all in all we agree on Da Pan Ji …

[KennethT]

24 minutes ago, Duvel said:

Thanks, I missed that. My version is a bit different when it comes to the details, but all in all we agree on Da Pan Ji …

Can you post your recipe?

[Dante]

Fried chicken and andouille gumbo

[heidih]

1 hour ago, dcarch said:

Beauty may be skin deep, but ugliness goes all the way to the core.

 

Have you seen anything as ugly as this nightmarish, monstrous marine life Lophius piscatorius, otherwise also known as monkfish?

 

 
Well looks to the eyes and taste to the palate are two different things. Many say monkfish tastes better than lobsters.

I had it not too long ago in an upscale restaurant. Amazingly good.

 

So I made (sous vided) filet of monkfish with asparagus.

 

 
Monkfish is shaped strange. It has more head than body, not a lot of meat.

 

dcarch

EmailSaveComment9EditDelete

 

 

Once you've been tapped on the arm by the siphon of a geoduck while passing a bin in a fish market - monkfish is at least not interactive. Yes monkfish s really just the back end but I've enjoyed it since the late 70's when I had a fishmonger who often had pristine cuts ready for the pan. The lobster taste like thing worked before the fish became popular as a bait & switch. Like scalone - an Italian friend from San Francisco told me when he was young this was popular to stretch abaline.  https://www.giosfish.com/product-page/scalone

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Our local Shoprite occasionally offers monkfish heads.  So far I have passed.

 

[Captain]

2 hours ago, dcarch said:

filet of monkfish with asparagus.

 

 A beautiful looking dish and I love the colours of the capsicum.

[heidih]

10 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Our local Shoprite occasionally offers monkfish heads.  So far I have passed.

 

Probably a good fish sock candidate? They remind me of Pufferfish which were always dangling from the ceiling of the touristy trinket shops on the island. (dried/preserved in their puffy glory)

[Dante]

Navajo tacos with cebollitas on the side

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Asparagus, baby beets, green goddess

 

Rainy day veal shank, mushroom, barley soup.

[heidih]

59 minutes ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

Asparagus, baby beets, green goddess

 

Rainy day veal shank, mushroom, barley soup.

Soup looks comforting. In your area how easy is it to get veal shank and at what price. Here it usually special request and expensive so I'd do it maybe only for osso buco. Maybe it is partly due to the L.A. anti veal mindset.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Veal shank is freaking expensive here.    This was from a dinner party frozen leftover that I carefully parcel out such as an inch or so for this soup.    It is readily available but you have to call ahead to make sure they hold one intact and not cut into osso buco.  

[JoNorvelleWalker]

After perusing recipes for duck, dinner was bread and cheese.  That is, until I observed the bread was moldy.  Rather like my place of employment at the moment.

 

[heidih]

6 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

After perusing recipes for duck, dinner was bread and cheese.  That is, until I observed the bread was moldy.  Rather like my place of employment at the moment.

 

Isn't that a pisser. I keep my bread in non functional Bosch microwave and every once in a while, not often, a mold spore lands. Really throws plans off.

[Duvel]

14 hours ago, KennethT said:

Can you post your recipe?

Sure. I use this recipe as a base, with a few tweaks:

 

Chop up ~600 g boneless chicken thighs or about 1 kg of bone-in chicken parts.
 

Heat a big good gluck of neutral oil, add 1 tbsp sugar and caramelize. Once nicely brown, add all the chicken plus half a tbsp of salt, some MSG and a couple of peeled ginger slices. Fry for a minute, then add a tbsp of Doubanjiang. Fry briefly, then add cassia bark, two large star anise (or three small), one cracked black cardamom pod and 1 heaped tbsp of Sichuan peppercorns. Add 200 ml unsalted chicken stock and about 400 g of large potato cubes and cook for 30 min at low heat. You want a lazy simmer …

 

After 30 min add 3-4 chopped up spring onions and a few chilies (dried facing heaven ones if available) Cook for 15 min more and add 6-8 whole peeled garlic cloves. At this point I adjust the saltiness. Potatoes should be soft by now.

 

After about 15 more minutes you can add some sliced bell pepper or some fried aubergine slices. I do if have either of them - in that case I let the cook for maybe 10 min more until reasonably softened … 

Enjoy !

[liuzhou]

15 minutes ago, Duvel said:

Sure. I use this recipe as a base, with a few tweaks:

 

I would have tweaked that recipe, too. Just as you have done. It isn't very good as it stands. Chicken wings? No way!

Yes. 新疆线椒 (xīn jiāng xiàn jiāo) and Kashmiri chilli are indistinguishable if not identical. I buy Kashmiri chilli - never seen xianjiao.

[liamsaunt]

Husband wanted a burger last night

 

 

Sister and I opted for egg sandwiches on homemade focaccia

 

[KennethT]

1 hour ago, Duvel said:

Sure. I use this recipe as a base, with a few tweaks:

 

Chop up ~600 g boneless chicken thighs or about 1 kg of bone-in chicken parts.
 

Heat a big good gluck of neutral oil, add 1 tbsp sugar and caramelize. Once nicely brown, add all the chicken plus half a tbsp of salt, some MSG and a couple of peeled ginger slices. Fry for a minute, then add a tbsp of Doubanjiang. Fry briefly, then add cassia bark, two large star anise (or three small), one cracked black cardamom pod and 1 heaped tbsp of Sichuan peppercorns. Add 200 ml unsalted chicken stock and about 400 g of large potato cubes and cook for 30 min at low heat. You want a lazy simmer …

 

After 30 min add 3-4 chopped up spring onions and a few chilies (dried facing heaven ones if available) Cook for 15 min more and add 6-8 whole peeled garlic cloves. At this point I adjust the saltiness. Potatoes should be soft by now.

 

After about 15 more minutes you can add some sliced bell pepper or some fried aubergine slices. I do if have either of them - in that case I let the cook for maybe 10 min more until reasonably softened … 

Enjoy !

Thanks.  Interesting - the sugar is fried in oil to caramelize?  I don't know if I've ever seen that done. 

[liuzhou]

14 minutes ago, liamsaunt said:

Husband wanted a burger last night

 

I'm not much of a burger person but I'd throw old ladies and children out of the way to get to some of those fries / chips!

[Paul Bacino]

The Preverbial stuffed GBP ( one of the only GBP my garden plant produce,  so I was honored )--Tomato/Pepper sauce/stir fried rice

 

[liuzhou]

Dinner tonight didn't happen as planned. I went on a seafood hunt this afternoon intending to do something undecided for dinner, but someone called me and asked to meet over a meal. This was from someone who has pushed a lot of business my way over the last few years so I couldn't really refuse. 

 

The seafood can wait until tomorrow. I didn't live this long by not knowing how to safely hold fresh seafood over till next day.

 

They were all alive when I got back from the market. The crab and oysters still are; the shrimp, alas, have gone to shrimpy heaven and been respectfully buried in my fridge.

 

Breakfast should be interesting.

The food at dinner with my contact was edible if uninteresting, but I did end up with a reasonably lucrative contract for the next year. That'll pay for a good few noodles and beer!

Red Crab

 

Oysters

 

They were still alive when I took the picture, but clearly relaxing!

 

Edited October 21, 2021 by liuzhou (log)

[Shelby]

@DuvelThat fig pizza needs to be in front of me right now.  I may need to speed up my arrival date lol.

 

@Paul BacinoI wish I had some sort of white fish that was thick enough to make a dish similar to your cod with spicy tomato sauce.  All of my bass is too thin.

 

@Margaret PilgrimYour shrimp in cognac looks heavenly.  

 

@Ann_TYour roasted potatoes are always so perfect.  I need to dig through the freezer and see if I have any pheasant because now I want piccata.

 

@Kim ShookSo nice of you to take food to Jessica's friend.  The baked spaghetti looks delicious--and smart to make yourself a pan too!

 

@dcarchI haven't had it in a very long time, but monkfish is one of my favorites.  I like it better than lobster.

 

@liuzhouAs per usual I have seafood envy.

 

Had some grilled chicken to use up so I turned it into enchiladas with some of the green sauce that I made a while ago and threw in the freezer

 

 

Cheese stuffed banana peppers and RG beans to go with.

 

 

 

Big sandwiches and fries.

 

 

 

 

Cold smoked ribs finished in the IP and then under the broiler

 

 

My poblano pepper plants produced a few--it's amazing.  We suck at growing peppers.  Threw some in the Mac and cheese.

 

 

 

Italian sausage and pepperoni

 

 

Venison cheeseburgers

 

 

One of the last of the garden cucumbers

 

 

Venison spaghetti red

 

 

Had some Granny Smith apples, so pie for dessert

 

[Duvel]

3 hours ago, KennethT said:

Interesting - the sugar is fried in oil to caramelize?

Yes - I think it is a common technique, especially for the group of “red-braised” dishes to intensify the color. As the sugar doesn’t dissolve in the oil you can nicely watch the process …