Food & Drink

What are you having for dinner? *PICS*

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anatman wrote: I have both potted and in-ground herbs. It was pretty good all round, though pests ate at my mint with a vengeance. Still got enough of that to be stocked with chutney for the rest of the year.
That's the only herb I didn't have a problem with lol. Going to freeze what's left ...fresh mint for tea is so much better than the teabags IMO.
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Homemade dinner with our friends last night. Dot pasta with mushroom and egg, caprese salad and grilled broccolini
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gr8dlr wrote: Good on you and nice looking lo bak go.
Thank you!
hierophant wrote: Looks yummy. Is it low carb? If yes, can you give me the recipe please.
Thanks! Well, 90% of the ingredients are white radish so if you can take what carbs are in that vegetable (and I understand it's relatively low in carbs), then you should be good. This is the basic recipe I use:

Lo Bak Go 蘿蔔糕

1kg white radish, grated or julienne (about 1 large radish or 2 small)
180mL rice flour
40 mL corn starch (appx 2.5 Tbsp)
1 or 2 Chinese sausages (臘腸), diced
6 shiitake mushrooms, soaked (if dried) and diced
300 ml water

• Soak the shiitake mushrooms until soft (overnight in fridge for dried mushrooms), then dice. Cut the Chinese sausage into small pieces. Julienne (matchsticks) or grate the white radish.
• Mix the rice flour and corn starch together, then add in water (300ml) and mix well. Note: add a little water at a time so you can gauge the thickness of the batter – it should be slightly viscous and not too runny so you don’t have to use all the water if it will be runny.
• Add the Chinese sausages into a hot wok or pan (do not add oil), cook for a while and you will see the oil come out. Then add in shiitake mushrooms and dried shrimps. Cook until softened and set aside. IMPORTANT NOTE: ONLY ONE OR TWO MINUTES OF COOKING THE SAUSAGE IS ENOUGH!!! ANY MORE AND IT WILL BURN – JUST WARM TO A RED COLOUR!!!
• Cook radish in wok or pan at med-low, simmering and covered for about 15 minutes and mixing occasionally to prevent burning (Do not add any water), then season with 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of sugar, 1 teaspoon of chicken powder and some white pepper, mix well. Drain any liquid from the cooked radish.
• Add in cooked ingredients, mix well. Turn off heat and add in the flour batter mixture, mixing well.
• Brush a layer of oil in a container (ie, baking pan), then pour in mixture. Steam for about 45 minutes, put a fork or chopstick in it, if come out clean, then it is done!
• Let cool a bit then put in the refrigerator to firm it up. Cut into rectangular pieces and pan fry. Or, just warm it and eat it non-fried as some people prefer.
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anatman wrote: Challenge accepted!

Thanks @DiceMan for the nudge to upgrade my sauerkraut to kimchi so I could make this. Reading up before cooking suggested that the secret to really great Kimchi Jjigae was animal fat.

I ended up using the juices from my slow cooked pork ribs in 50:50 ratio with stock. Substututed back bacon for the pork belly (all I had on hand). I also didn't have dashi, dried kelp, or anchovies--but adding some MSG and fish sauce covered those umami flavors really well. Judging by the groans of delight as the family polished this off, it was a home run.

EDIT: getting images to appear in line is hard work.
Great job! That looks terrific. Also good work on the substitutions - so much of cooking is working with what you have and having a feel for what you can substitute without changing the basic nature of the recipe.

Can you tell me how to do kimchi? Or sauerkraut for that matter? I've never really tried fermenting/pickling/canning things as that's never been I big interest of mine and I'm no good at it.
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DiceMan wrote: Lo Bak Go 蘿蔔糕

1kg white radish, grated or julienne or diced (about 1 large radish or 2 small)
180mL rice flour
40 mL corn starch (appx 2.5 Tbsp)
1 or 2 Chinese sausages (臘腸), diced
6 shiitake mushrooms, soaked (if dried) and diced
300 ml water

• Soak the shiitake mushrooms until soft (overnight in fridge for dried mushrooms), then dice. Dice the Chinese sausage into small pieces. Julienne (matchsticks) or grate or finely dice the white radish.

...
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DiceMan wrote: Can you tell me how to do kimchi? Or sauerkraut for that matter? I've never really tried fermenting/pickling/canning things as that's never been I big interest of mine and I'm no good at it.



I think the key is to use good Korean dried chili pepper (gochugaru), since it's got a unique flavour profile that really makes or breaks the dish. Unlike sauerkraut, you don't have too be too careful with the salt since you're going to wash it away (don't forget to do that!). More traditional kimchi involves layering the individual leaves, but ain't nobody got time for that--I think it helps in preservation so makes sense in traditional cases where you're making a year's batch of 20+ napa cabbages in one go. Since I was planning on making the jjigae I let it ferment at room temperature for considerably longer than I would have otherwise--to get the wonderful deep fermentation flavours I wanted to pop in the jjigae. EDIT: for the love of god, use gloves when mixing it all together!

The same guy ( Joshua Weissman) has a good sauerkraut video too. Sauerkraut is easier and doesn't require any special ingredients, so it might be a better place to start fermenting. Sauerkraut takes longer to develop (~14 days or more). If it's you're first ferment I'd recommend tasting regularly just to get a good idea of how the flavour develops.
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-=phelan=- wrote: To be honest I'm not sure but it's not the T&T branded one (i found that one to be too "artificial" tasting if that makes any sense). I'll have to take a pic of it next time I'm near the kitchen.
Ok, let me know what brand is good. I don't really like T&T brand in general. TIA!
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I have been looking for Korean chilli pepper for months to make Kimchi, before I hit the Korean store which is far away, can we find Korean chilli pepper at other stores?
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sharkhead wrote: I have been looking for Korean chilli pepper for months to make Kimchi, before I hit the Korean store which is far away, can we find Korean chilli pepper at other stores?
I found some in my local asian supermarket (Fusion in Scarborough), though it took some searching. Look for a package that has this written in Korean on it: 고춧가루 (or use a picture on your phone to compare while shopping).

I'd stick with something decent quality. Don't get the cheapest stuff that might have dyes etc in it, but no need to splurge on the ludicrously expensive (like $50/lb) authentic premium stuff from Korea, either.
Last edited by anatman on Sep 15th, 2020 5:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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anatman wrote:

I think the key is to use good Korean dried chili pepper (gochugaru), since it's got a unique flavour profile that really makes or breaks the dish. Unlike sauerkraut, you don't have too be too careful with the salt since you're going to wash it away (don't forget to do that!). More traditional kimchi involves layering the individual leaves, but ain't nobody got time for that--I think it helps in preservation so makes sense in traditional cases where you're making a year's batch of 20+ napa cabbages in one go. Since I was planning on making the jjigae I let it ferment at room temperature for considerably longer than I would have otherwise--to get the wonderful deep fermentation flavours I wanted to pop in the jjigae. EDIT: for the love of god, use gloves when mixing it all together!

The same guy ( Joshua Weissman) has a good sauerkraut video too. Sauerkraut is easier and doesn't require any special ingredients, so it might be a better place to start fermenting. Sauerkraut takes longer to develop (~14 days or more). If it's you're first ferment I'd recommend tasting regularly just to get a good idea of how the flavour develops.
Oh nice write up.
Time to get jigae with it!
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May 29, 2017
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anatman wrote: I found some in my local asian supermarket (Fusion in Scarborough), though it took some searching. Look for a package that has this written in Korean on it: 고춧가루 (or use a picture on your phone to compare while shopping).

I'd stick with something decent quality. Don't get the cheapest stuff that might have dyes etc in it, but no need to splurge on the ludicrously expensive (like $50/lb) authentic premium stuff from Korea, either.
Thanks for the picture, I'll see if I can find it in nearby stores. With dyes? never thought about it, Thanks for the warning!
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Home-made gnocchi with sauce.

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Last edited by OrangeBerry on Sep 17th, 2020 6:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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zalapski wrote: Nice. What did you use to shape the gnocchis?
I didn't own a gnocchi board and I tried with a fork and it wasn't the consistency I wanted so I had to improvise. Noticed my mandolin and one of the templates had just about the right ridges needed so I used that. Here's a pic.

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anatman wrote: I also made a lot of pesto sauce with the basil (and parsley) harvest. I'm already planning to make pesto pasta with garlic butter shrimp, but could use some more ideas on what to do with the pesto sauce.
Still could use more ideas for pesto sauce uses, though garlic butter shrimp and pesto pasta was really delicious.


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-=phelan=- wrote: Sous vide some duck breast this evening and seared it on the cast iron. Maple glazed it with some garlic seasoning for it along with some basic veggie stir fry (snap peas and celery)
I'm always impressed with asian cuisine, if you don't me asking I would like location where you buy your duck and recipe please
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anatman wrote: Still could use more ideas for pesto sauce uses, though garlic butter shrimp and pesto pasta was really delicious.
How about Salmon en Croute? Salmon filet with pesto, cream cheese, and spinach wrapped in puff pastry and baked. I make this a couple of times a year. It's a bit of effort but good if you want to stretch your legs and impress the mother-in-law or something.

Something like this:

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