[Architekt]

(09-22-2013 10:11 PM)Menace Wrote:  

Thedude what about Thai curries. Is it possible to make with the pastes sold in the stores? I can't get the meat to taste like it does in a restaurant.

You're using the wrong meat... Need some good quality cat in there

[DrugAdvisor]

@Pacific

If you're stir frying, try the Chinese way of marinating the sliced meat before hand (ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, whatever else) then stir in some corn flour and stir well.

The sliced meat coated with the corn flour will give a smoother texture when cooked, and also locks in the moisture.

Almost all the Chinese restaurant use this method of prep before stir frying.


P/S: big ups to thedude for sharing these great recipes!

[Edmund Dantes]

(09-22-2013 10:16 PM)Architekt Wrote:  

(09-22-2013 10:11 PM)Menace Wrote:  

Thedude what about Thai curries. Is it possible to make with the pastes sold in the stores? I can't get the meat to taste like it does in a restaurant.

You're using the wrong meat... Need some good quality cat in there

Don't forget the MSG. You need plenty of it.

[Menace]

Damn, you guys straight up anti-Asian in here! I bet if I asked for a borscht recipe, I'd be flooded with suggestions.

[Veloce]

(09-23-2013 01:29 AM)DrugAdvisor Wrote:  

@Pacific

If you're stir frying, try the Chinese way of marinating the sliced meat before hand (ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, whatever else) then stir in some corn flour and stir well.

The sliced meat coated with the corn flour will give a smoother texture when cooked, and also locks in the moisture.

Almost all the Chinese restaurant use this method of prep before stir frying.


P/S: big ups to thedude for sharing these great recipes!

A solid technique that Chinese cooks do is actually shallow frying the cornstarch coated protein before stir frying. They'll heat up a generous amount of oil and fry the protein, remove it with a slotted spoon, dump the oil, add a little new oil and then get the vegetables/noodles/rice in the wok and stir fry, add the protein back in, some soy and other flavorings. Gong bao (kung pao) chicken uses this technique.

[Veloce]

(09-23-2013 01:56 PM)Menace Wrote:  

Damn, you guys straight up anti-Asian in here! I bet if I asked for a borscht recipe, I'd be flooded with suggestions.

Okay, let's talk about dashi then. If you were to generalize European cooking, I'd say it's fat-and-stock based. Nearly every dish begins with olive oil, lard, or butter. To that a mixture of vegetables is added (mirepoix, soffrito, etc)

If you were to generalize Japanese cooking, it's based on Dashi. Vegetables and fish are simmered in it, sauces, stocks and broths are made from it.

We do a ponzu broth, which uses dashi as its base, that we cook vegetables in and serve with pan roasted salmon. One of the more popular dishes here

Dashi

Water 7600g100%
Kombu (dried seaweed) 192g2.5%

Katsuoboshi (dried bonitoflakes192g 2.6%

Cook Water and kombu at 140 degrees for 1 hour. Cool, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Strain. Heat broth to 185 degrees, add bonito flakes, and steep for 10 seconds. Strain, Cool. Water can be substituted by meat or seafood stock.


Ponzu Broth

8 C Dashi
6 T Soy Sauce (Shoyu) or Tamari
6 T Yuzu Juice
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp togarashi (japenses spice blend)

Whisk everything together. Slowly cook any mixture of turnips, yams, daikon, bok choi, ong choi, spinach, any asian mushrooms (shiitake, maitake, shimeji, matsutake) in this broth and serve with seafood. Tasty stuff.

Edit: you should be able to find 100% of the ingredients listed in any Japanese or asian market

[Veloce]

(09-22-2013 10:11 PM)Menace Wrote:  

Thedude what about Thai curries. Is it possible to make with the pastes sold in the stores? I can't get the meat to taste like it does in a restaurant.

Thai cooking varies wildly from region to region, but most dishes have the same base ingredients: Galangal, lemongrass, Kafir leaves, coconut milk, chillies, fish sauce, palm sugar, sometimes fresh turmeric, etc...

I don't have any curry recipes for you but we do Thai style mussels at the restaurant. Here's the recipe (it's pretty damn good):

Thai Mussel Broth

1/2 cup chicken stock
1 stalk fresh lemon grass, smashed into segments
3 kaffir lime leaves, fine julienne
1/4 cup white wine
1 T rice vinegar
1 red fresno chili, finely sliced, just until the white pith
2T fish sauce
1T brown sugar
1 clove sliced garlic
¼ C coconut milk

Bring everything just to a simmer and then quickly chill.

For each person, you'll need 12 ounces of mussels and about 1 1/2 cups of the curry broth. Scrub the mussels well, remove the hairs that stick out of em, combine them with the broth in a pot, cover and bring to a simmer. Check the mussels after a few minutes; the minute they all open they're done. Discard any mussels that don't open. add about 2 pinches of roughly chopped thai basil and cilantro to the broth, toss everything together, add a squeeze of lime juice, and voila. The leftover broth is good sopped up with some bread or poured over steamed rice.

Edit: I use fresno chilies (basically red jalapenos) because they've got great taste and aren't TOO spicy. Our clientele is white. If I was making this recipe at home you better believe I'm using Thai bird chilies and plenty of them.

[Aliblahba]

This is all rich people food. I'll stick with my cornbread and pinto beans. And don't ask cause I ain't sharing my recipes. Ya'll can starve.

[Enigma]

I've been waiting for this thread!

A few things so far that I definitely want to try my hand at.

I'm not following some California boy's crab cake recipes though

[2Wycked]

Any tips on tacos?

[Veloce]

(09-24-2013 04:03 PM)2Wycked Wrote:  

Any tips on tacos?

What kind? American style hard shell tacos, fish tacos, shrimp tacos, or authentic Mexican street tacos?

[2Wycked]

(09-25-2013 11:16 AM)thedude3737 Wrote:  

(09-24-2013 04:03 PM)2Wycked Wrote:  

Any tips on tacos?

What kind? American style hard shell tacos, fish tacos, shrimp tacos, or authentic Mexican street tacos?

I should have been more specific. I was thinking soft-shell chicken tacos, as those are my favorite to make at home. Authentic Mexican street tacos sounds interesting, as well.

[bacon]

Salsa Verde con Aguacate (green avocado salsa)

ingredients

6 Tomatoes
2 Jalapeno Peppers
1 Avocado
1/4 of onion
1/2 clove of garlic
5 branches of Cilantro
Salt to taste

preparation
 
In a griddle over medium heat put to roast 6 tomatoes, 2 jalapeno peppers, 1/4 onion and 1/2 clove of garlic.
Move these ingredients regularly to brown all sides. This process will take about 3 minutes.
Transfer the ingredients to a blender gilded. Also add 5 sprigs cilantro and salt to taste. Blend all ingredients.
With the sauce in blender incorporates 1 avocado. Blend for about 5 seconds, yes just 5 seconds to keep the sauce avocado chunks.

[bacon]

(09-24-2013 04:03 PM)2Wycked Wrote:  

Any tips on tacos?

I eat these tacos alot in Mexico here is recipe I found

Barbacoa de Res (Shredded Beef Tacos)
Total Recipe Time: 5 to 5-1/2 hours Marinade Time: 6 hours or overnight

1 beef chuck shoulder pot roast (4 to 5 pounds)

Marinade:
3 large onions, finely chopped
5 plum tomatoes, finely chopped
2 cups beef broth
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
4 jalapeño peppers, seeded, cut into strips
2 tablespoons white vinegar
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano leaves
1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Serving Suggestions:
Tortillas

Toppings:
Chopped onions, chopped fresh cilantro, salsa, guacamole, lime wedges

1. Combine Marinade ingredients in large bowl. Add beef pot roast; turn to coat. Cover and marinate in refrigerator 6 hours or as long as overnight, turning occasionally.
2. Preheat oven to 325°F. Remove pot roast from marinade; reserve marinade. Place pot roast in stockpot. Pour marinade over pot roast; cover tightly. Braise in 325°F oven 4-1/2 to 5 hours or until pot roast is fork-tender.
3. Remove pot roast; keep warm. Strain cooking liquid into medium saucepan; skim fat from cooking liquid. Bring to a boil; cook until liquid is reduced to 3 cups.
4. Shred pot roast with 2 forks; add to saucepan. Cook and stir until heated through. Season with salt and ground black pepper, as desired. Serve with Serving Suggestion; garnish with Toppings, as desired.

[kosko]

(09-23-2013 05:05 PM)thedude3737 Wrote:  

(09-22-2013 10:11 PM)Menace Wrote:  

Thedude what about Thai curries. Is it possible to make with the pastes sold in the stores? I can't get the meat to taste like it does in a restaurant.

Thai cooking varies wildly from region to region, but most dishes have the same base ingredients: Galangal, lemongrass, Kafir leaves, coconut milk, chillies, fish sauce, palm sugar, sometimes fresh turmeric, etc...

I don't have any curry recipes for you but we do Thai style mussels at the restaurant. Here's the recipe (it's pretty damn good):

Thai Mussel Broth

1/2 cup chicken stock
1 stalk fresh lemon grass, smashed into segments
3 kaffir lime leaves, fine julienne
1/4 cup white wine
1 T rice vinegar
1 red fresno chili, finely sliced, just until the white pith
2T fish sauce
1T brown sugar
1 clove sliced garlic
¼ C coconut milk

Bring everything just to a simmer and then quickly chill.

For each person, you'll need 12 ounces of mussels and about 1 1/2 cups of the curry broth. Scrub the mussels well, remove the hairs that stick out of em, combine them with the broth in a pot, cover and bring to a simmer. Check the mussels after a few minutes; the minute they all open they're done. Discard any mussels that don't open. add about 2 pinches of roughly chopped thai basil and cilantro to the broth, toss everything together, add a squeeze of lime juice, and voila. The leftover broth is good sopped up with some bread or poured over steamed rice.

Edit: I use fresno chilies (basically red jalapenos) because they've got great taste and aren't TOO spicy. Our clientele is white. If I was making this recipe at home you better believe I'm using Thai bird chilies and plenty of them.

The Galangal is hard to track down. Even for me here in Toronto one of the most diverse cities around I can't track the stuff down. Using a shit ton of ginger isn't a good substitute, so maybe that's the problem @menace is running into, as it was the one a ran into also. I took the "L" and just stock up on good quality Thai pastes. It's easier to source a good paste in any city versus the luck of matching up fresh lime leaves and Galangal.

[LeBeau]

Can you suggest something for chicken breasts or thighs?

Trying to figure out diff. combos of spices or marinades that I can re-heat at work and still be tasty without bbq sauce.

[Veloce]

(02-06-2014 12:00 AM)LeBeau Wrote:  

Can you suggest something for chicken breasts or thighs?

Trying to figure out diff. combos of spices or marinades that I can re-heat at work and still be tasty without bbq sauce.

if it's something that you're reheating, you want some sort of chicken stew or braise. Try Chicken Paprikas, a Hungarian recipe my grandparents used to make:

Cooking oil
1 chicken, cut into 8 pieces with the bone on
1 large yellow onion, minced fine
3 tbsp. Hungarian sweet paprika
2 cups chicken stock or water
2 roma tomatoes, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
½ cup sour cream

Season the chicken and sear in a large pan on all sides until golden brown, remove chicken and set aside on a plate. Add the onion, paprika, bell pepper, tomato and sweat for about 8 minutes over low/med heat. Add the water or stock, add the chicken back to the pan, and simmer for 30 minutes covered with a lid or foil. After 30 min, take the lid off and remove the chicken from the pan and put into a deep dish. Add the sour cream, reduce the sauce if need be until reduced to a nice consistency, season with salt and pepper, and pour over the chicken. It's ready to eat then but it's better if it sits for a few hours or even better, overnight.

[Virtus]

These are panty droppers in no particular order

Panera Bread Broccoli Cheese soup

Grilled Fig Salad

Grilled pineapple with rum and long pepper glaze

Slow cook onions, and the results are delicious

Wanna Havana Salad

Forbidden Fruit Salad

Balthazars Braized Beef Ribs

Sausage, Peppers & Onions

(02-06-2014 12:00 AM)LeBeau Wrote:  

Can you suggest something for chicken breasts or thighs?

Trying to figure out diff. combos of spices or marinades that I can re-heat at work and still be tasty without bbq sauce.

a bunch of useful shortcuts

http://busycooks.about.com/od/startwiths...rtwith.htm

[TigerMandingo]

@thedude,

Any tips on making gnocchi? Everytime I do em, they come out super soft and dont really have that much texture. Kinda stick to your gums. Maybe you could tell me what Im doing wrong? I usually do 5 or 6 russets, baked in the oven, then pass em thru a food mill, 1 egg, sprinkle w flour till the dough comes together. The dough looks right and I dont overwork it, yet the gnocchi still come out too soft after cooking. Im lost on this one. Thanks in advance.

[Veloce]

(02-06-2014 10:34 AM)Cunnilinguist Wrote:  

@thedude,

Any tips on making gnocchi? Everytime I do em, they come out super soft and dont really have that much texture. Kinda stick to your gums. Maybe you could tell me what Im doing wrong? I usually do 5 or 6 russets, baked in the oven, then pass em thru a food mill, 1 egg, sprinkle w flour till the dough comes together. The dough looks right and I dont overwork it, yet the gnocchi still come out too soft after cooking. Im lost on this one. Thanks in advance.

Well, chances are you're making better gnocchi than you think. They're SUPPOSED to be soft. "Gnocchi" in italian means "Clouds". They shouldn't be gummy though, that's a sign that you're overworking the flour. It also sounds like for the quantity of potatoes you're using, you should increase your egg yolks to 2 or 3. The extra fat will help prevent the development of gluten when you bring the flour in.

Good gnocchi should be incredibly soft and melt-in-your-mouth, so if you're already there, congrats. The other thing that could lead to them being gummy is undercooking them. There's a common myth that gnocchi are ready when they float to the top of your boiling water; this is false. When you cook gnocchi, tiny air pockets in the dough heat up and expand, giving them greater buoyancy, and this is what causes them to float, however this doesn't mean they're ready. You need the starch in the flour to gelatinize and set so you're not eating raw flour paste, which could be what's leading to the gummy sensation. Once the gnocchi start to float in the water, let them continue to boil for another 30 seconds before straining.

[PizzaSult]

(02-06-2014 12:00 AM)LeBeau Wrote:  

Can you suggest something for chicken breasts or thighs?

Trying to figure out diff. combos of spices or marinades that I can re-heat at work and still be tasty without bbq sauce.

Something real simple I've been doing been doing with chicken thigh fillets recently - get some cajun spice mix and some flour, mix these together. Then coat the chicken thigh fillets in this and shallow fry over a medium heat for a few minutes each side.

Quick, easy and tastes good

[Veloce]

(02-06-2014 07:22 PM)PizzaSult Wrote:  

(02-06-2014 12:00 AM)LeBeau Wrote:  

Can you suggest something for chicken breasts or thighs?

Trying to figure out diff. combos of spices or marinades that I can re-heat at work and still be tasty without bbq sauce.

Something real simple I've been doing been doing with chicken thigh fillets recently - get some cajun spice mix and some flour, mix these together. Then coat the chicken thigh fillets in this and shallow fry over a medium heat for a few minutes each side.

Quick, easy and tastes good

To take it to the next level, get some buttermilk, add a dash of tabasco, and let the chicken marinate in that overnight.

The next day, mix together some AP flour with a dash of Old Bay and salt, dredge the chicken in that, and fry. Marinating the chicken in buttermilk produces a killer result.

[komatiite]

@Dude: tried your steak, tried your crab cakes, those were wicked. Let me pick your mind: I'm a big fan of ribs, but too damn cold to grill. You got any good methods for cooking them inside? Every time I use the oven they come out tasting like crap...

[mikeymike]

idk if this up your wheelhouse thedude but do you know a good hawaiian poke ( spicy chili sauce variety ) or a spicy tuna (without mayo) recipe, Ive got lots of sushi grade tuna but cant get the spicy sauces right.

[germanico]

(09-25-2013 05:04 PM)bacon Wrote:  

I eat these tacos alot in Mexico here is recipe I found

Barbacoa de Res (Shredded Beef Tacos)
Total Recipe Time: 5 to 5-1/2 hours Marinade Time: 6 hours or overnight

Up north we make that with beef tongue.

Its mind numbingly delicious. The way I do it is just leave the tongue all night in a crock pot/slow cooker with plenty of water, and add salt, pepper, a few cloves of garlic and a dash of oil an hour before its done.

Eat the tongue in tacos. (Taco de lengua = someone that bullshits a lot) The stock is great for soup, drop in some diced onions, tomato and chili.

The greatest barbecue stands cook the whole head, and you can choose which part of it you want. Believe it or not, brain tacos are even better than tongue.