Camping, Princess Style

[Smithy]

It's getting too late to type coherently, but I want to post a teaser. Tonight's dinner was a smashing success!

 

[lindag]

8 hours ago, Smithy said:

It's getting too late to type coherently, but I want to post a teaser. Tonight's dinner was a smashing success!

 

Too late or too much Smirnoff?

[Katie Meadow]

10 hours ago, Smithy said:

It's getting too late to type coherently, but I want to post a teaser. Tonight's dinner was a smashing success!

 

The smashed part is clear.

[heidih]

Dave and JAZ's fried shrimp I'd guess.

[Smithy]

23 hours ago, heidih said:

Dave and JAZ's fried shrimp I'd guess.

 

Heidi has the right of it: fried shrimp AND fried potatoes. Never try one new thing when I can try two new things at once, I always say. Why minimize the confusion? 😉

 

So these were the special purchases I had to make in order to try out this frying method (yes, this is the same picture as above):

 

 

 

The white rice flour came courtesy of Amazon and a pickup locker about 10 miles away. Although I still have easy-peel shrimp in the freezer, we had to go to town 20 miles away for gasoline and groceries (really! just a few things! including the vodka! 😂) so I decided to buy these ready-to-cook shrimp. They were 2 packages for the price of one. How could I go wrong? 

 

I briefly considered Everclear instead of vodka...

 

 

...but, remembering Dave's advice to get the cheapest stuff, I stuck with plain vodka.

 

I'm going to round up in one location the lovely instructions @Dave the Cook has posted. Yesterday while I was prepping and cooking I needed 3 separate browser tabs open in order to keep track of them all. Someone who wishes to look at them all again will still need to go to separate posts, but this post can be an index.

 

Dave posted his and Janet's basic batter recipes for fried shrimp and fried fish here, on March 22. He did note that cornstarch could be subbed for rice flour, but since they prefer the rice flour I held out until I could get some. The ingredients for the shrimp fry batter, from this post, are

 

Quote

3/4 cup (90 g) white rice flour, plus a couple tablespoons for dusting the food

3/4 cup (85 g) all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon fine salt

3/4 cup (180 ml) vodka

3/4 cup (180 ml) club soda or mild beer (an American lager is fine)

 

Fried at 375°, This makes a light, feathery coating. We use this batter for shrimp destined for tacos. Even leftovers, which are usually very disappointing when it comes to fried fish, are crispy.

 

Dave went on to post the instructions, and a fine pictorial tutorial here, on March 26. (Try saying "pictorial tutorial" 5 times fast!) It's a great reference. In his instructions and tutorial he talks about dusting the shrimp (or fish) with rice flour. I'd saved an empty spice can whose design I liked. Now I have a new purpose for it.

 

 

Dave had also shown the @JAZ™ method for French Fries here. I had one large russet potato and was keen to try that also, given that I'd be deep frying, and given my desire to make fried shrimp and chips that my darling and I would both like.

 

I'll show the rest of the cooking and dinner in another post.

Edited April 4, 2023 by Smithy
Spelling: corrected "friend" to "fried" (log)

[Smithy]

It doesn't look as though I photographed all MY mise en place, probably because I was following Dave's. There's really nothing extraordinary about AP flour, baking powder, salt or the rice flour that you see in the pictures above. If I were to do this often I think I'd just mix up a bunch and keep it in its own canister, awaiting the frying mood to take us. For liquids I used the vodka shown here, and the Kilt Lifter Scottish-style amber ale that you've also seen. I mixed the liquids with the dry mix while the oil was heating up on the camp stove.

 

 

Note to self: don't judge the batter by its uncooked flavor! I tried some as I was dipping the shrimp, and thought it incredibly bitter. That was worrisome, but I was committed. I'm glad I went through with it.

 

The shrimp went in batches, and I fished them out onto a paper towel-lined baking sheet as they finished so more could go in.

 

 

The potatoes: well, I had one large russet but also was curious to see what would happen with a Yukon Gold, so I treated it the same way and fried them together.

 

 

That funny "crown" you see around the edge of the pot is a collapsible deep-frying basket that we've carried around since we first started mobile camping. I don't think I've ever used it before. It wasn't good at getting out the last of the potatoes, and I used the slotted spoon to collect the rest. You can see the color difference between the russet and the gold. Russet is definitely the better way to go. The fries look flaccid in this picture, but they weren't.

 

After all that was done, I looked at the remaining batter. What was I to do with it? I hated to throw it away but couldn't see keeping it. I looked at the batter. I looked at the "slotted" spoon that has holes, not slots. I looked at the batter. "Spätzle!" I cried, and dribbled the remaining batter through the spoon's holes into the hot oil.

 

 

(Yes, I know that spätzle is a soft, boiled product. It's the principle of the thing.)

 

The dinner table was loaded with crunchy, crispy shrimp and "spätzle" and fried potatoes. Not a green vegetable in sight. We'd done that earlier with salads and cole slaw.

 

 

Finger food all the way. We tried some remoulade sauce (left over from last November, I believe) on the shrimp and fries. He liked it, and emptied the container. I settled for lemon on the shrimp, and was happy.

 

 

Crispy on the outside, delicate and flavorful inside: the shrimp was perfect. We both thought so.

 

 

It did make a mess of the pot and the floor, but that might have been avoided with a little more care and a little more light. I put the lid on the chicken fryer to keep the bugs out, and it can stay there for reuse in a day or two when I try the fish recipe. It's too windy outside today, and we have a fridge full of leftovers anyway.

 

 

I had one of the "spätzle" a little while ago, and it is indeed crispy and delicious even after being refrigerated overnight. It'll be a good snack, or topping on something. We have one shrimp each, and I'm betting they'll still be crisp too.*

 

Yes: it's a keeper method and a keeper recipe. Many thanks, @Dave the Cook and @JAZ.

 

*Edited to add next-day followup: the shrimp didn't stay crisp. but the crispy batter bit did!

Edited April 3, 2023 by Smithy
Added follow-up at end (log)

[heidih]

Congrats!  Love your use of the extra batter for crispy goodies. So interesting on the retained crisp. Your outdoor set-up seems perfect to eliminate the kitchen smell of deep frying esp in your enclosed Princessmobile.

[Anna N]

The Japanese have a name and a love for those bits of fried batter!

 

Here you go

 

Tenkasu (天かす) or Agedama (揚げ玉) is crunchy scraps/crumbs made from tempura batter

Edited April 3, 2023 by Anna N (log)

[Smithy]

8 minutes ago, Anna N said:

The Japanese have a name and a love for those bits of fried batter!

 

Here you go

 

Tenkasu (天かす) or Agedama (揚げ玉) is crunchy scraps/crumbs made from tempura batter

 

How do they use tenkasu/ agedama? I've been thinking of snack, or toppings for a salad, soup, stir fry, pasta maybe.

 

And do the two names have different connotations? 

[Smithy]

36 minutes ago, heidih said:

Congrats!  Love your use of the extra batter for crispy goodies. So interesting on the retained crisp. Your outdoor set-up seems perfect to eliminate the kitchen smell of deep frying esp in your enclosed Princessmobile.

 

I have to add that the shrimp I tried just now didn't after all stay crisp. The tenkasu, however, did...and I have a couple of cups of it! 

[Anna N]

6 minutes ago, Smithy said:

 

How do they use tenkasu/ agedama? I've been thinking of snack, or toppings for a salad, soup, stir fry, pasta maybe.

 

And do the two names have different connotations? 

This might help. I am no expert in Japanese language and/or food but I knew about these little nuggets of crunchiness from my extensive reading about Japanese food.

[Dave the Cook]

Woo!

 

I am very impressed.

 

Any tasting notes re: russet v.  Yukon gold?

[Smithy]

35 minutes ago, Dave the Cook said:

Woo!

 

I am very impressed.

 

Any tasting notes re: russet v.  Yukon gold?

 

The russets were paler, as I suppose should be expected. I'm not sure there was an appreciable flavor difference. The main difference was in texture. The russets had a decidedly fluffy interior compared to their exteriors; the difference between interior and exterior of the golds wasn't as pronounced although they weren't soggy. I'm pretty sure I could tell the difference between them in a blind taste test by the texture.

[Smithy]

Lunch. The tenkasu / agedama isn't going to last long! 

 

[Dave the Cook]

5 hours ago, Smithy said:

*Edited to add next-day followup: the shrimp didn't stay crisp. but the crispy batter bit did!

 

You didn't by any chance keep the leftovers in the fridge, in plastic?

[Smithy]

40 minutes ago, Dave the Cook said:

 

You didn't by any chance keep the leftovers in the fridge, in plastic?

 

Yes. What should I have done instead?

[Shelby]

I put fried chicken and fried shrimp on a paper plate and leave it uncovered in the fridge....that seems to help it stay crispy.

[Dave the Cook]

31 minutes ago, Shelby said:

I put fried chicken and fried shrimp on a paper plate and leave it uncovered in the fridge....that seems to help it stay crispy.

 

That's pretty close to what we do, which is put it on a little rack in a 1/8 sheet pan (similar to this (eG-friendly Amazon.com link)) and cover it loosely with a paper towel. Your tenkasu / agedama were likely okay because there was no moisture coming from the shrimp.

[Kim Shook]

If it is the Cabot one in the black wrap, I know that Costco Cheddar very well.  It is pretty much the only Cheddar we buy.  Your shrimp and chips look and sound great!  And the “spatzle” are very familiar.  When I was in college, my roommate and I would designate one day a month a “Greasy Day” and head off to eat family sized portions of fish and chips at Long John Silvers.  Those little fried squiggles were a favorite and we always asked for extra.  My roommate was an accomplished flirt and they were usually quite generous! 

[Smithy]

1 hour ago, Kim Shook said:

If it is the Cabot one in the black wrap, I know that Costco Cheddar very well.  It is pretty much the only Cheddar we buy.  Your shrimp and chips look and sound great!  And the “spatzle” are very familiar.  When I was in college, my roommate and I would designate one day a month a “Greasy Day” and head off to eat family sized portions of fish and chips at Long John Silvers.  Those little fried squiggles were a favorite and we always asked for extra.  My roommate was an accomplished flirt and they were usually quite generous! 

 

I love the story about the squiggles! To this day, if I'm treating myself to fried chicken at a grocery deli, sometimes I'll ask the server to throw in a few of the loose cracklings. 

 

This is the Costco Coastal Cheddar I'm talking about. We don't have a Costco membership; until a couple of years ago, the nearest Costco was over 100 miles from home. Now that Duluth has a Costco we may reconsider.

 

 

[Kim Shook]

5 minutes ago, Smithy said:

 

I love the story about the squiggles! To this day, if I'm treating myself to fried chicken at a grocery deli, sometimes I'll ask the server to throw in a few of the loose cracklings. 

 

This is the Costco Coastal Cheddar I'm talking about. We don't have a Costco membership; until a couple of years ago, the nearest Costco was over 100 miles from home. Now that Duluth has a Costco we may reconsider.

 

 

Wow!  Real English Cheddar. That doesn't seem to be available to me where I am or to be shipping to me unfortunately.  This is the one that we get at Costco and it is very good, but I'd love a taste of that English Cheddar.  Costco is very careful about what they put their brand on, so I'm confident it is great cheese.  

[Smithy]

7 hours ago, Kim Shook said:

Wow!  Real English Cheddar. That doesn't seem to be available to me where I am or to be shipping to me unfortunately.  This is the one that we get at Costco and it is very good, but I'd love a taste of that English Cheddar.  Costco is very careful about what they put their brand on, so I'm confident it is great cheese.  

 

I think it's wonderful. The label has a warning that there might be some crystallization. I've noticed it: it's the same crystallization / textural bubbles I associate with truly good Parmeggiano-Reggiano when I've been willing to spring for it. 

[Smithy]

It's been windy and blowing hard all day. We couldn't even see the nearby mountains, thanks to the dust, for the first couple of hours. We mostly hid inside or ran errands. I finally got around to putting the Rancho Gordo Royal Corona beans (well, half of them) to the use I'd originally intended: making the Gigantes Plaki Greek Giant Beans I linked before, from the website The Mediterranean Dish.

 

It's dead simple. It would even more simple with canned beans, but since I had the cooked beans and a lot of their liquor it wasn't difficult.

 

 

This would have been better if I'd bothered to make a Good Crusty Bread, but I didn't. We'd polished off the remains of my eggplant parmesan for lunch, so neither of us was terribly hungry. A meatless dinner was just fine.

 

There's a freeze warning for tonight! We ran the batteries down last night even with the thermostat set to a fairly low temperature. Tonight it's supposed to be at least 10F colder. I'm staying up a while longer, to keep the generator running and give the batteries a chance to keep some heat in the place overnight.

 

The weather folks say it's going to be 90F+ by this weekend! 😕

[Smithy]

Cooler weather is moving in, despite the forecasts, and it's more humid than it has been. Whenever I see contrails like this I think of Joni Mitchell mentioning hexagrams in the sky, in her song "Amelia". Some of the contrails looked like fine tatting, with little loops hanging from below the trail at regular intervals. Too bad it didn't come out better in this photo.

 

 

We HAD to go to a grocery store yesterday, and based on the mayhem of driving to Casa Grande (about 30 miles away) to go to the Fry's there, we drove to Maricopa (20 miles in the other direction) to their Fry's. It too was a madhouse: way too many shoppers, way too few checkout clerks, way too little help at the self-serve lines. We have lost our tolerance for traffic and big cities. We're too close to Phoenix for our liking.

 

We didn't buy this, because we really didn't want or need any meat. It caught my eye, though. I took pictures as another example to show how their digital app and their Loyalty program can produce some really good deals.

 

 

Just before our campground neighbors left for their next destination, we became friends and discovered a mutual love of food and cooking. What inconvenient timing! They're from Slovakia, and bestowed upon us a pork schnitzel and chicken schnitzel, ready to cook. Antonia sent me a video tutorial on how much oil to use and how to know when it was ready. They also gave us some Slovakian style potato salad. I sent them off with a package of last year's crop of hand-harvested, hand-parched wild rice from Northern Minnesota. The good stuff.

 

 

I'm not sure what makes the potato salad Slovakian style, and have written to ask. It seems to have peas, maybe grated carrots and grated onions, and a seasoning we can't identify. It's good. It cannot be confused with any potato salad we purchase commercially here in this country. If anyone here knows the secret, let me know. If I hear back from Antonia, I'll let you know.

 

I posted more detail on the schnitzels here, in the eG Cook-Off devoted to the topic. In this topic, I'll simply celebrate our dinner.

 

 

Crisp outside, tender inside. Delicious! We toasted our new friends, and hope to see them along the way again.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

What a treat to meet up with and exchange food with international travelers. 

Edited April 6, 2023 by Margaret Pilgrim (log)