what's cooking? part 5: 2017-2027

oh, that looks really good. It's like coq au vin but no coq.

never thought about it that way but yeah, definitely!

I made Asturian fabada today. One of my favorite recipes in the entire world because the effort : outcome ratio is so favorable. Soaked beans, water, blood sausage, chorizo, bacon, garlic, paprika and that is about it.

i hadn't heard of fabada but i did make cassoulet for 15 guests yesterday so i feel like we're on the same wavelength

I was really into 3-hour braises but now the weather is springlike and also we're getting fat so I have to lighten up. ..............idk, I'm not really feeling it. Especially because there are so many foods I can't eat (that fabada looks wonderful btw). The only thing that seems appealing is onigiri and Japanese/sushi/miso/umami flavors.

Also I went to Joe's Steamed Rice Roll to try to hit that craving and it turns out their flour blend is NOT gluten-free--it's a mixture of rice and potato starch and wheat flour. So no rolls for me. /shrug emoji

in orbit you should start making spam and egg (+cheese) musubi for breakfast.

made the mushroom based oyster sauce substitute linked long ago to host some strict vegetarians. it was good but not as good as the oyster for tofu pad see ew, but it really improved veg/tofu fried rice. We put fish sauce vin on fried rice, though, so suppose i need a veg version of that now too.

been also doing the momofuku buns with veg shortening in the dough, rice vinegar based pickles, ginger scallion sauce, hoisin, and sriracha/soy marinated baked tofu that we also firm up in a little oil in a pan. Could eat them every day.

what do people make to use up all this miso? I have a large container after making that mushroom sauce and would appreciate any inspiration.

a container of miso paste?

I use it to marinate fish (using the miso black cod recipe for salmon or tuna). I've been making a thicker cold miso soup to do a pourover for noodles. I never, ever have stock so I add it to things that require something extra.

also miso paste will last for a really long time so don't stress about getting rid of it

i suspected that. It has a best by date about 1 year away. But all recipes require so little!

xp Thanks, yerac. It does look a lot like better than bullion paste. And fish is perfect. Must be some tofu marinades out there as well.

If you can ever find black cod, it's so delicious and rich but using other fishes is also great.

miso basically lasts forever

i hadn't heard of fabada but i did make cassoulet for 15 guests yesterday so i feel like we're on the same wavelength

― call all destroyer, Monday, 3 February 2020 03:29 (two days ago) link

Definitely. The cassoulet recipe I use (http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/michael-lewiss-cassoulet-de-canard-104755) is so complicated I haven't made it in years. Fabada is a much easier substitute. I can be lazy.

got to love a recipe with section titled "First seasoning of the beans"

that's a beast of a recipe!

i use the seriouseats one with chicken legs, salt pork, and toulouse sausage--long time in the oven but the prep is easy and it's pretty economical for feeding a lot of people.

I need to remember that just about any bean dish with enough bacon/pork and other meats is going to be good.

been making indian food to eat when i have to work at night. so far nothing crazy -- chana masala, chicken saag. i had forgotten that it makes me a little more excited about the whole week to plan & execute a decent regular cooking plan. it has been a while since i had this sort of verve. i guess part of it is just WINTER.

meaning that it's winter and there is nothing else to do but design and make hot meals for myself & my partner
it's fun to learn something new too

It is good to remember that chana masala exists and that I nearly always have the ingredients on hand. Trying another new recipe for tonight. Still haven't found one I love out of 5 or 6 so far.

Craving Indian food is a MOOD but I consistently fail at making it good. Like I *know* the steps but it doesn't come out tasting like I want it to. I tried another korma sauce last week and scraped the whole thing into the garbage. Congrats to you, LL, and your cold weather enthusiasm!

Thai curries are dead easy tho so been making lots of rice noodle soups with fresh veg & coconut milk.

this korma recipe from an old horseshoe post is definitive imo: curry chronicles

i love making chana masala, i improvise quite a bit but this recipe is very similar to what i usually do except i usually put asafetida in with the onions, and i tend to put a bit of amchoor powder in for tang as i often don't have lemon to hand but i always have a big bag of that in the pantry. i usually serve with a cucumber raita (grate, salt and then drain/squeeze half a cucumber, mix it a bowl with yoghurt) and mango chutney if i can be bothered (usually don't bother with the chutney tbh)

i made this saag paneer, but with feta recipe the other night and it was decent

that chana recipe looks solid. I am trying this one tonight. it interests me because I've found that cumin flavor dominates most of the chana masala recipes I've made. and this one has none!? cucumber raita is a great idea. doing that.

I think maybe if I can't have yogurt or cream or chickpeas or lentils, I should stop trying to make Indian food.

Coconut cream might do you well?
I've been trying to organise a large party with an Indian restaurant catering. They've said if we want any dairy-free options it has to be vegetarian/vegan. Not sure why? Other places haven't said this (but I also wonder how diligent they are...)
Really craving some aloo ghobi right now

Oh! Also wanted to add that if you roast cumin in your kitchen it will 100% for sure smell like armpits for almost a week. I had to boil cinnamon/cloves/cardamom/citrus to make it less oppressive. Hot ripe armpits. On the upside I have a lot of roasted cumin leftover.

cumin smells are the least of my worries in my small apartment (i own a cat, who i got when i lived in a much bigger, better ventilated apartment)

I have been pretty happy with all the indian food I have made and kind of have resigned myself that it will never be as good as restaurants because I always skimp on the ghee/butter. I too also add in extra spices (like amchoor) because I can't help myself but it probably messes up the final product a bit. I was also thinking of making my own "house blend" curry powder for ease of cooking but still haven't devoted time to it.

I usually double most of the spices in any Indian recipe I make (aside from the salt)

and oh man, I had these fried DUMPLINGS! yesterday that had a miso/butter/yuzu sauce that was amazing. And I need to figure out how to recreate it. It had thinly sliced hot peppers in it too.

that sounds delicious

my friend started just eating the sauce with a spoon. It was so delicious.

i want my homemade indian food to have all the flavor but not the intense saltiness or greasyness of restaurant food. so far so good. i'm pretty confident in my ability to season things and enjoy making the flavors the way i want them. the chicken saag could have used a little more salt. it is fun to get back into the swing of things in this regard -- i have lots of skills that were sort of sitting there dormant. it's nice to use them again.

two big things that have also helped -- 1) i bought a gigantic bag of basmati rice that is genuinely better than the other basmati rice i was buying and 2) i made and froze 1/4 cup portions of an onion/tomato/aromatics/spice pureed mixture to use however i please. i might use them to make some berbere- spiced red lentil soup too because that sounds good right about now. i think i just want warm spicy food. it's winter!!

also don't get me wrong, i am not low sodium or skimpy with the salt, i just don't want to have to guzzle water while eating because of saltiness.

i love making indian food at home. once you’ve built up your spice cabinet it’s a breeze.

cuminless chana masala is the one we've been looking for. turned out very well, and ate it with black cumin pilaf to compensate. I also used canned tomato puree instead of fresh, which helped with some light sweetness. unfortunately working late prevented picking up raita supplies. will be prepared next time.

i make this a lot & it turns out so good and is v versatile- and it makes a ton of sauce so you can add different meat to it to change up the leftovers even


https://www.theflavorbender.com/sri-lankan-chicken-curry/

Looks similar to the south indian curries in the book i have that organizes by region. Curry leaves and peppercorns. Want to try to compare.

made the momofuku cabbage kimchi to try with some ssam recipes and kimchi pancakes. the korean grocer was closed on sunday, so I had to buy a bottle of cincalok instead of saeujeot. of course it sprayed fermented krill all over myself and one corner of the kitchen. I cleaned thoroughly, and this happened late at night while I was the only one awake. Still, I'm waiting for someone to find missed fermented seafunk in a strange place today.

I went through the usual phases of new seafunk acceptance. I was a bit repulsed after it sprayed all over my bare arms. immersed in it for 10 minutes, I was certain I shouldn't be playing these dangerous seafunk games. should have stuck to my simple bottle of squid, etc. I mixed a heaping teaspoon into the chili dressing and cleaned up. Tasted the dressing afterward for sugar level and liked it. Woke up this morning to add the cabbage and was loving it. there's also 20 cloves of garlic in it, though, and we used to change clothes after visiting my grandparents house because the garlic scent was so powerful throughout their home.

since we were talking about dorie greenspan on the chocolate chip cookies thread i got everyday dorie out of the library. i've made 3 of the recipes so far. last night i made the stuffed cabbage which was excellent. it took many hours though! but now i have like 15 more cabbages to eat throughout the week.

been eating lots of the kimchi. it is mostly good. made kimchi pancakes that were a little too intense. mostly enjoy using the pureed stuff like it's a sauce, and mixing it into smashed avocado for toast. going to do the brussels sprouts recipe and braise some chicken with it to complete this kimchi run.

i had some kimchi bacon cheddar scones recently and I was disappointed. I wanted a lot more kimchi taste.

I've been making kimchee fried rice regularly (using this recipe as a starting point) and it's one of those things that feels like 'oh shit not this again' on random weeknights but I end up loving it every time.

adding it to the list, thanks.

Have been doing variations on the them of lemon nabe (hotpot) - kombu dashi broth with pork, chicken or fish with tofu, mushrooms and vegetables, slices of lemons too. Would like to try it with oysters and pork but my wife is allergic to oysters so will have to wait till she goes away.

that sounds freaking nice. (except for the pork part bcuz i'm pescatarian).