Long time no post... Sorry for that guys.
In any case... I was reading this tip on a Japanese site and I thought I'd give it a try. It's a very simple way to improve the texture of shrimp prior to cooking it.
The secret?
Baking soda dissolved in water. If you have one of them nifty bags of frozen shrimp, take out a few, defrost them under cold running water, and then dissolve a couple tablespoons of baking soda into a bowl of water. Let the shrimp bathe in this liquid for about 20 minutes before you cook them. Once you're ready, just rinse them off, pat them dry and apply cooking method of choice to the now plumped up shrimp.
When I tried this technique, I just quickly pan seared the shrimp and turned them into a shrimp and avocado salad (recipe below). Honestly, despite the fact that the shrimp were previously frozen, then had a definite crunch that was palpable. It was wonderful. Especially in contrast with the creaminess of the avocado. Still, I would do this every time (given enough forethought that is) I cook shrimp from here on out. I don't know how anyone would go back to soggy shrimp cocktail (you know, the kinda flavors-been-boiled-out-and-clammy stuff?) when you can get the crunch right into the shrimp by just soaking them a tad before boiling/grilling/etc. them in baking soda. I mean, come on? Don't you have a box of baking soda in the back of your fridge?
Apparently, when scientists compared the soaked shrimp with shrimp of the same size that weren't soaked, they found that the soaked shrimp was not only more resistant, but that it had more moisture content. The alkalinity of the soaking solution basically slightly hardens the proteins in the shrimp, making it lose less moisture during the cooking process. Cool!
Shrimp and Avocado Salad with Orange and Lime
Serves 2 as a main course or 4 as an appetizer
6 medium sized (20-25 c0unt) shrimp
2 TBLs baking soda
water
2 ripe Avocados
1/2 English Cucumber
1 navel Orange supremed and cut into small pieces
1 bunch Watercress
8 heirloom cherry/cocktail tomatoes
Seasonings:
2 TBLs soy sauce
2 TBLs Ponzu Shoyu*
1 ts Toasted Sesame Oil
drizzle of Chili Oil*
1/2 cup chopped Cilantro
2 limes, juiced
salt and pepper
red pepper (optional)
Peel and devein shrimp, them soak them for 20 minutes in water and baking soda mixture. Rinse and then dry well.
Cut shrimp into thee pieces each, removing the tails. Saute in hot pan until they turn pink, about 1 minute. Place the shrimp into the refrigerator to chill.
Combine chopped avocados, cubed cucumber, orange sections, cilantro, and chilled shrimp in a large bowl and mix with the seasonings reserving 1/4 for plating. Salt and pepper to taste, and add chili flakes if you want some heat. Chill until ready to serve.
To serve, plate in a ring mold or martini glass, top with tomatoes that have been sliced in halves or quarters depending on size, and salted, then toss the watercress in the reserved seasoning mixture and arrange on top.
* Ponzu is a citrus and soy sauce mixture, and is available premixed in most Asian markets, and in some larger markets that have an Asian section. If you can't get it, just mix citrus juice and soy sauce in a 2:1 ratio to approximate the effect.
*Chili Oil is also available in Asian markets. It's not used for cooking but rather as a table condiment. To make your own, just heat up some oil to smoking, and place ground red pepper in a heatproof bowl. When the oil is just about to start smoking, pour into the bowl. It should give off a nice sizzle. For a cup of oil, about 1/2 cup of red pepper would be a good starting point. Add a few drops of toasted sesame oil, and let sit covered overnight. You can use just the red oil for flavor, or if you want more heat, use both the oil and the sediment.
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Monday, February 18, 2008
Cafe Stella, Silverlake
Cafe Stella ($$$$$)
French
3932 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles 90029
Btwn Sanborn Ave & Hyperion Ave
Phone: 323-666-0265
I took my friend Blondie for a birthday dinner last night. While I've read a lot of people's reviews (many of them not so flattering, mind you) of Cafe Stella in Silverlake, I had to try it for myself. Since we were already at Birdy Bar close by, we walked the couple blocks between drinks to get a meal.
It was about 7:30 on a Sunday night. We walked in and the hostess asked us if we had a reservation. Said, no, and she said that they really were booked and a table may take upwards of an hour. But, they do have a no res bar section that we were welcome to where they did serve the entire menu. Ok, no prob. I like sitting at the bar anyways. Belly up to the corner of the bar, and a very nice lady said that her friend's late, so we could borrow the extra stool we had until she got there. Actually, not too bad a start.
A couple glasses of wine (Zin for me... Pinot for Blondie), and an order of Steak Tartare go in. While it took forever for even the appetizer to come (I counted over an hour), the ambiance was fine, and I was with good company, so I didn't really mind. Definitely not somewhere you want to go if you're in a rush.
When the tartare finally came, I tried it, and was definitely pleasantly surprised. It was creamy and not too overly spiced, and I could actually taste the quality of the meat itself. It was simple and delicious. Second only to the Kobe Tartare I had at Tom Colicchio's craftSteak a while back. So far, I was enjoying good company and the food was fine.
Again, the wait was long, but when the entrées came, I was definitely pleasantly surprised. I had Skate served in an olive brown butter, and Blondie had pork chops with a dijon dipping sauce. Both dishes were simple but extremely competently executed. The skate was crispy on the outside and moist on the inside, and flaked perfectly. The pork chop was well rested, juicy, and hot all the way through. Wonderful.
We had another couple glasses of wine and chatted with the bartender (very nice guy), and paid up and left. Cafe Stella is definitely not an "everyday" restaurant given the rather high prices (two glasses of wine each, one app, two entrees, 130 +tax/tip), but I'd definitely recommend it for a date or an occasion. I've eaten at many bistros in the States, and it stacks up as a good authentic recreation thereof. It's got a sort of "gathering house" feeling which is nice, and unlike the experiences of others who've posted reviews on Zagat's and Yelp, I found the service to be good, and not at all "rude." The only complaint I had was again, the time it took for our food to come out. Still, the staff was accommodating enough to make sure that we had enough bread to keep up happy, and even let us try a taste of wine before ordering the glass. If you decide to go, make sure to make a reservation -- I bet that the service would be quicker at a table rather than at the bar.
I'm trying something new with my reviews. I'm going to start posting "inspired by" recipes. This may be my take on something I had, or just something that I was inspired to create on my own with the theme of the restaurant in mind. It's sort of a mini-game for me to play, and you guys to be able to play along with if you want.
So... Café Stella inspired me to make...
Rib Eye Steak with Porcini Bordelaise and Frites Trufées
2 Servings
One Rib Eye Steak per person, cut 1.5 inches thick
1 8oz. tub duck fat (available at gourmet markets including Whole Foods)
Sauce:
1/2 bottle good bold red wine such as a Cabernet, Shiraz/Syrah, or Zinfandel
1 oz. dried porcini mushrooms reconstituted in 1 cup warmed red wine and chopped fine
2 medium shallots, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 Tbls prepared beef or veal demi-glace
1 small handful of chopped Italian Parsley
1 Tbls unsalted butter, room temperature
salt and black pepper to taste
Potatoes:
2 large Russet potatoes, cut into steak fries, and then soaked in water for 30 minutes
3 Tbls unsalted butter
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Drizzle black truffle oil
Remove steaks from fridge and pat dry, and let come up to room temperature, about an hour.
Preheat a heavy skillet on high heat to sear the steaks well. I like to heat an oven to 500º F and place a heavy cast iron skillet in there for 10 minutes, then blast it for another 5 on high heat on the stove top. This will make a huge difference in the crust that forms.
Meanwhile, melt the entire tub of duck fat in a pot wide enough to hold both steaks but not too wide that they'll be sitting in shallow fat. Once the entire tub is rendered down, leave on very low heat... you should just see a bubble every now and then.
Salt and Pepper the steaks, then add fat to the pan and sear 2-3 minutes per side without moving so a good crust forms. Take the seared steaks out of the pan and submerge in the warm duck fat. Remove fat from heat, and let steaks rest there. About 25 minutes will give you a rare steak (for a 1.5 inch thick cut), and 35 will be closer to medium. To ensure correct temperature, just use an instant read thermometer -- 120º for rare, 125º for medium-rare. Because the meat is resting in warmed fat, it will forgive a little more than if you were heating the meat directly. Just let the meat sit for a couple minutes before serving.
While the steaks are resting, prepare the sauce. In a sauce pan, melt 1 Tbls butter and add the shallots and garlic. Sweat them over medium heat until translucent. Add in the wine, the reconstituted porcinis and their soaking liquid as well as the demi-glace. Reduce by about half, and adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper. Finally, mount the sauce with the remaining butter until shiny. Add in the chopped parsley just before serving.
Frites:
Dry the soaking potatoes very well. Heat oil to 325º F and fry until cooked through. They should be a pale color at this point. Remove frites from the oil and raise the temperature to 375-400º F and fry a second time to get a crispy crust. Drain, then toss in a pan with melted butter and drizzle of truffle oil. Salt to taste.
Serve the steak and fries with the sauce.
Happy Eating!
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Selecting Chicken and making broiler chickens taste much better
I thought I'd quickly explain how you should select chicken at the market, since I just talked about pork and trichinosis. Unlike other meat products, chicken is the animal that you're most likely to pick up a bug (E. Coli... Salmonella...) from. While I've been know to eat raw-ish (!) chicken at certain Japanese restaurants I trust, I wouldn't do that with a store-bought bird. Now that I've sufficiently scared you off...
There are three things to look for when selecting chicken parts. The fresher the chicken, the better the flavor, and the less the risk of getting sick.
a) how it looks through the plastic
b) how firm the meat feels
c) whether there are drippings in the tray
Simple enough. The chicken should look fresh and bright colored when you've look at it. It should be slightly shiny. The "slightly" is important here, since old chicken is very shiny. When felt, the meat should feel firm to the touch. If it feels mushy, it's a sign of meat that's aged. You really shouldn't buy chicken in a package that has drippings collecting in it. If you see that, it's been at least 2 days since the chicken was fabricated or more. Still, given the possibility that the product was repackaged (common practice), look and feel the meat if you can. If you don't feel that it's fresh, move on... there are plenty of other things that you can get.
The best policy here though, is to get to know a butcher or poultry purveyor that you trust. Even the butchers at most supermarkets will be happy to help you out if you ask them nicely.
If you've read this far, I'll share a trick to make the average supermarket broiler chicken taste and have a firmer chewier texture much more like a full-flavored free-range bird. The secret is salt and plain yogurt.
1) rub your chicken pieces well with Kosher salt.
2) place in the fridge on a plate sprinkle a bit of sake or white wine, then cover with another plate and weight it down. leave for 2-3 hours, and wipe off excess moisture with a paper towel.
3) place chicken in a covered container with enough plain yogurt to just cover the pieces. let marinate for at least 3 hours. In this state, the chicken can be held for 1-2 days (salt and yogurt increase the shelf-life of the chicken)
4) when ready to cook, simply rinse the chicken under cold water, and dry well and cook as usual.
There are three things to look for when selecting chicken parts. The fresher the chicken, the better the flavor, and the less the risk of getting sick.
a) how it looks through the plastic
b) how firm the meat feels
c) whether there are drippings in the tray
Simple enough. The chicken should look fresh and bright colored when you've look at it. It should be slightly shiny. The "slightly" is important here, since old chicken is very shiny. When felt, the meat should feel firm to the touch. If it feels mushy, it's a sign of meat that's aged. You really shouldn't buy chicken in a package that has drippings collecting in it. If you see that, it's been at least 2 days since the chicken was fabricated or more. Still, given the possibility that the product was repackaged (common practice), look and feel the meat if you can. If you don't feel that it's fresh, move on... there are plenty of other things that you can get.
The best policy here though, is to get to know a butcher or poultry purveyor that you trust. Even the butchers at most supermarkets will be happy to help you out if you ask them nicely.
If you've read this far, I'll share a trick to make the average supermarket broiler chicken taste and have a firmer chewier texture much more like a full-flavored free-range bird. The secret is salt and plain yogurt.
1) rub your chicken pieces well with Kosher salt.
2) place in the fridge on a plate sprinkle a bit of sake or white wine, then cover with another plate and weight it down. leave for 2-3 hours, and wipe off excess moisture with a paper towel.
3) place chicken in a covered container with enough plain yogurt to just cover the pieces. let marinate for at least 3 hours. In this state, the chicken can be held for 1-2 days (salt and yogurt increase the shelf-life of the chicken)
4) when ready to cook, simply rinse the chicken under cold water, and dry well and cook as usual.
Making Pork Juicy
Here's a quick Kitchen Cheat for you guys.
Don't you hate dry, chewy pork chops? There's are a couple of simple ways to get it to not dry out.
1) Brine the pork for several hours in a 3% salt brine. The basic brine here, is one teaspoon of salt to 200 ml (3/4 cup) of water. Most measuring cups have the metric equivalent, so just look at that. Place your pork chops (or roast or whatever) in enough brine to completely submerge it. I find that a zip bag works wonders for this purpose. Just do this in the morning before leaving the house and remove them from the bag when you get home and pat dry with paper towels.
In addition to getting moisture in the meat, it will also get the salt uniformly into the center of the meat as well. This means that the meat will be much more flavorful. Using this theory, you can add anything to the brine that you want to scent/flavor the chops. I like to use some brown sugar, bay leaves, and thyme. One thing to remember here. Don't put anything acidic in the brine, or you'll "cook" the meat, the results not being as good. If you want citrus in the brine, use the zest and not the juice.
FYI: This is a great technique for chicken too! Breasts greatly benefit from a brine.
2) If you forgot to brine in the morning, here's a quicker method of getting pork chops juicy.
Use Store-Bought Mayonnaise!
Simply take your pork chops and rub them well with mayo, and place in the fridge, covered, for one hour. When you're ready to cook the chops, simply wipe off the mayo. If you want to guarantee that the juices don't leech out of your chops, lightly dust them with flour before grilling/sauteeing/baking. Easy, right? This is especially good for very lean cuts like loin chops or tenderloin medallions. Don't worry, once the mayo is wiped off, you won't really taste it in the cooking.
One more note:
Remember, commercial pork is very lean, so don't overcook it. Contrary to popular belief, pork should be served at about medium (145°F) or slightly pink in the center. Don't worry, Trichinosis is very rare in the US where commercial pork products are concerned.
Happy Cooking!
Don't you hate dry, chewy pork chops? There's are a couple of simple ways to get it to not dry out.
1) Brine the pork for several hours in a 3% salt brine. The basic brine here, is one teaspoon of salt to 200 ml (3/4 cup) of water. Most measuring cups have the metric equivalent, so just look at that. Place your pork chops (or roast or whatever) in enough brine to completely submerge it. I find that a zip bag works wonders for this purpose. Just do this in the morning before leaving the house and remove them from the bag when you get home and pat dry with paper towels.
In addition to getting moisture in the meat, it will also get the salt uniformly into the center of the meat as well. This means that the meat will be much more flavorful. Using this theory, you can add anything to the brine that you want to scent/flavor the chops. I like to use some brown sugar, bay leaves, and thyme. One thing to remember here. Don't put anything acidic in the brine, or you'll "cook" the meat, the results not being as good. If you want citrus in the brine, use the zest and not the juice.
FYI: This is a great technique for chicken too! Breasts greatly benefit from a brine.
2) If you forgot to brine in the morning, here's a quicker method of getting pork chops juicy.
Use Store-Bought Mayonnaise!
Simply take your pork chops and rub them well with mayo, and place in the fridge, covered, for one hour. When you're ready to cook the chops, simply wipe off the mayo. If you want to guarantee that the juices don't leech out of your chops, lightly dust them with flour before grilling/sauteeing/baking. Easy, right? This is especially good for very lean cuts like loin chops or tenderloin medallions. Don't worry, once the mayo is wiped off, you won't really taste it in the cooking.
One more note:
Remember, commercial pork is very lean, so don't overcook it. Contrary to popular belief, pork should be served at about medium (145°F) or slightly pink in the center. Don't worry, Trichinosis is very rare in the US where commercial pork products are concerned.
Happy Cooking!
Friday, February 15, 2008
And the Grammy's go to...
Ok, I was lucky enough to get to go to the Grammy's this is past Sunday. My buddy EditorCub won tickets at Local Gay Bar, and we drew lots to decide who would accompany him. The show was amazing, and I got to see legends like Tina Turner, Aretha Franklin, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Little Richard perform live. Definitely a once in a lifetime experience it was!
But, this isn't a blog about award shows... it's about the food. The tickets we got came with passes to the industry after party which was to be catered by none other than Wolfgang Puck. To be honest, I wasn't exactly thrilled, given my general lack of respect for him (my friends know me for referring to him as the "whore"), but went, thinking "what the hey?" It was the Grammy's and it was free food, so why not?
For one, I didn't expect it to be amazing food. I know the logistic nightmare of trying to feed thousands of people. Still, I was hoping for Puck's sake that his company could produce decent buffet fare.
We walk into the hall (the party was being held at the LA Convention Center) and quickly get into line at the first buffet table since we didn't get anything to eat during the ceremony itself. We were explained that it was the Latin table, and that there were also English (WTF???), Thai, and Seafood buffets. First off, there were shotglasses filled with what looked to be different kinds of salsas. I picked out the yellow one just to test it. Then salad. Some mystery meat in a glaze... Ok, I'm not getting the Latin part of this really... Oh, wait, then some hot crab guacamole with chips. A bacon wrapped something with a toothpick. And that's all the space for round 1.
The shot glass turned out to be a white fish (tilapia? flounder?) ceviche in a mango salsa. Was ok, but nothing to write home about. Salad was Boston lettuce with almonds and pears with some parmesan on top. Ick, the pears had the consistency (and sweetness) out of a can, the almonds were limp, and the leaves weren't dressed. It needed some sort of binding vinaigrette, and a more aggressive cheese to counter the sweet, like a bleu or something. Mystery meat turned out to be a dried out beef slice with a sauce that tasted... brown... for lack of a better word. The bacon thing. I bit in, and it was sweet and mushy and ew... Puck, what were you thinking? I think it was a fig or a date with cream cheese filling or something like that. Way way way too sweet.
Onto the bar for a palate cleanser. Ah vodka. Ok, next. Seafood.
The seafood bar was basically a table with a mound of ice, tangles of seaweed that attacked you while you were using your tongs (and it wasn't even the nice appetizing kind of seaweed!) shrimp, some crab legs, and mini Tabasco© bottles (product placement, anyone?). I got some shrimp and crab. Got some cocktail sauce. It was just preboiled shrimp from a bag (in this case, I'm sure it was more like a box that was forklifted into the prep area) that you can get in any megamart. Actually, it was watery, so low-end supermarket. Cocktail sauce? Bottled!
Ok... next??? Looking at the English table (why would you do English at a buffet when it's not exactly a country with an exalted culinary past??? "I'll take the pigeon pie please."), and the Thai table, and consulting with EditorCub... we decided that the food wasn't good enough to go back for more, even though it was free. A sad statement to make.
So, I tried to like your food, Woflie... but I guess it was over conceived crap that I would have served to anyone ever. Granted, I know that Puck was probably nowhere near the kitchen for this, but still. It was pretty hardcore shite to be English here myself.
Happy Eating!
But, this isn't a blog about award shows... it's about the food. The tickets we got came with passes to the industry after party which was to be catered by none other than Wolfgang Puck. To be honest, I wasn't exactly thrilled, given my general lack of respect for him (my friends know me for referring to him as the "whore"), but went, thinking "what the hey?" It was the Grammy's and it was free food, so why not?
For one, I didn't expect it to be amazing food. I know the logistic nightmare of trying to feed thousands of people. Still, I was hoping for Puck's sake that his company could produce decent buffet fare.
We walk into the hall (the party was being held at the LA Convention Center) and quickly get into line at the first buffet table since we didn't get anything to eat during the ceremony itself. We were explained that it was the Latin table, and that there were also English (WTF???), Thai, and Seafood buffets. First off, there were shotglasses filled with what looked to be different kinds of salsas. I picked out the yellow one just to test it. Then salad. Some mystery meat in a glaze... Ok, I'm not getting the Latin part of this really... Oh, wait, then some hot crab guacamole with chips. A bacon wrapped something with a toothpick. And that's all the space for round 1.
The shot glass turned out to be a white fish (tilapia? flounder?) ceviche in a mango salsa. Was ok, but nothing to write home about. Salad was Boston lettuce with almonds and pears with some parmesan on top. Ick, the pears had the consistency (and sweetness) out of a can, the almonds were limp, and the leaves weren't dressed. It needed some sort of binding vinaigrette, and a more aggressive cheese to counter the sweet, like a bleu or something. Mystery meat turned out to be a dried out beef slice with a sauce that tasted... brown... for lack of a better word. The bacon thing. I bit in, and it was sweet and mushy and ew... Puck, what were you thinking? I think it was a fig or a date with cream cheese filling or something like that. Way way way too sweet.
Onto the bar for a palate cleanser. Ah vodka. Ok, next. Seafood.
The seafood bar was basically a table with a mound of ice, tangles of seaweed that attacked you while you were using your tongs (and it wasn't even the nice appetizing kind of seaweed!) shrimp, some crab legs, and mini Tabasco© bottles (product placement, anyone?). I got some shrimp and crab. Got some cocktail sauce. It was just preboiled shrimp from a bag (in this case, I'm sure it was more like a box that was forklifted into the prep area) that you can get in any megamart. Actually, it was watery, so low-end supermarket. Cocktail sauce? Bottled!
Ok... next??? Looking at the English table (why would you do English at a buffet when it's not exactly a country with an exalted culinary past??? "I'll take the pigeon pie please."), and the Thai table, and consulting with EditorCub... we decided that the food wasn't good enough to go back for more, even though it was free. A sad statement to make.
So, I tried to like your food, Woflie... but I guess it was over conceived crap that I would have served to anyone ever. Granted, I know that Puck was probably nowhere near the kitchen for this, but still. It was pretty hardcore shite to be English here myself.
Happy Eating!
Sunday, December 02, 2007
Another day another piece of sushi...
So, I've just finished Week 6 of sushi school. I realize that I haven't really given any more than the first couple days experience to everyone... Sorry for that, but there's so much information, that my head is kinda still spinning, and it's not over.
Here are a couple things of importance that I've learned.
1) I suck. Really, I've got a great brain for food, but my hands aren't precise, and in a precision-centered world like sushi, there's no iffs ands or buts about being able to do it or not. I've been rolling for a month now, and I still end up with "hot dogs" that aren't even. It sucks. I suck. But I'm still learning some very important information here.
2) Rice isn't my friend. A continuation of the above. I don't know if it's because my hands are naturally on the warm side, but even with copious amounts of temizu (hand lubricating vinegar water), I can't get the rice not to stick everywhere. I'm just so frustrated at this... Ugh.
3) Fish must be respected. While there are general principles to remember here, all fish are different and need to be fabricated differently. Head off, guts out... I know that unless I actually go to work for a sushi/japanese restaurant after this course, I probably won't retain most of the knowledge here. It's really a use it or lose it kind of proposition. Perhaps I need to make sure to keep my skills up by practicing or opening up a sushi catering company.
4) The customer's life is in my hands. Sanitize sanitize sanitize... I must make sure that my nails are cut down and clean, that my hand towel is regularly rinsed and bleached... that there is enough fresh temizu around. Then, I have to remember to pre-prep all the fish, meaning that I have to salt and vinegar marinate everything to draw out parasites and kill everything on it. To not do so would literally be taking my customers lives into my hands. Also... NEVER eat river fish raw. They're literally filled with parasites. Just don't do it. EVER. The one exception is salmon, however, even that is dangerous unless you deep freeze it first to kill everything in it. Current US regulation is that salmon must be frozen for 1 week (!) in a commercial (not home) freezer before being served as sushi or sashimi.
Well, boys and girls, I'm off to cook more rice (eek) to practice some more hot dog... er... roll making techniques.
Happy cooking!
Here are a couple things of importance that I've learned.
1) I suck. Really, I've got a great brain for food, but my hands aren't precise, and in a precision-centered world like sushi, there's no iffs ands or buts about being able to do it or not. I've been rolling for a month now, and I still end up with "hot dogs" that aren't even. It sucks. I suck. But I'm still learning some very important information here.
2) Rice isn't my friend. A continuation of the above. I don't know if it's because my hands are naturally on the warm side, but even with copious amounts of temizu (hand lubricating vinegar water), I can't get the rice not to stick everywhere. I'm just so frustrated at this... Ugh.
3) Fish must be respected. While there are general principles to remember here, all fish are different and need to be fabricated differently. Head off, guts out... I know that unless I actually go to work for a sushi/japanese restaurant after this course, I probably won't retain most of the knowledge here. It's really a use it or lose it kind of proposition. Perhaps I need to make sure to keep my skills up by practicing or opening up a sushi catering company.
4) The customer's life is in my hands. Sanitize sanitize sanitize... I must make sure that my nails are cut down and clean, that my hand towel is regularly rinsed and bleached... that there is enough fresh temizu around. Then, I have to remember to pre-prep all the fish, meaning that I have to salt and vinegar marinate everything to draw out parasites and kill everything on it. To not do so would literally be taking my customers lives into my hands. Also... NEVER eat river fish raw. They're literally filled with parasites. Just don't do it. EVER. The one exception is salmon, however, even that is dangerous unless you deep freeze it first to kill everything in it. Current US regulation is that salmon must be frozen for 1 week (!) in a commercial (not home) freezer before being served as sushi or sashimi.
Well, boys and girls, I'm off to cook more rice (eek) to practice some more hot dog... er... roll making techniques.
Happy cooking!
Monday, October 29, 2007
Day... er.... Wait a minute.
Ok, I was originally planning on doing a daily run of events from Sushi School for everyone. I realize that there's so much to cover and so much for me to learn, that it'd be exhaustive for me to be able to to that. As it is, I'm sitting here at 7AM about to run out the door, about to write about Day 3, and it's already the Monday after that, or Day 6. I'll try to go over some of the more important things in detail, but in the meantime, I'm going to have to summarize and gloss over quite a bit. There's a LOT to cover!
Have a great week, guys, and Happy Cooking, as always.
Have a great week, guys, and Happy Cooking, as always.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Day 2 -- Deep Basics, Flavor, Rice, Stock
Day 2.
I walk in knowing from the syllabus that we're covering the basics of Japanese cuisine today. I made sure to leave as much of my preconceived notions as I could at home, since we're covering things that any person who grew up in Japan knows at least something about. Wanting to get the most out of the course, and to learn a specific "philosophy," I chose to go in and forget that I know these things.
6 Flavors:
There are six basic flavoring ingredients in Japanese cuisine.
Sake, Mirin, Vinegar, Sugar, Salt, Soy Sauce
I'm not going into any real details on any one of these ingredients, since each one of them can and have merited entire treatises on them. I will just go into the basics that I think should be mentioned, and that were imparted to me.
Sake:
Sake is brewed from Rice and Rice Mold, and left to ferment for a period of 30-90 days depending on the method being used. Regardless, it falls under the category of "soft liquor" since the alcohol content is usually between 16 and 18%.
Junmai Shu is made of only rice and mold, and is considered more refined. Because of the natural state it is in, it needs to be fermented for 80-90 days.
Jozo Shu is made of the same ingredients as above, but alcohol is added to the fermentation tank to speed the process. The sake made this way is ready in 30-40 days.
Most mass produced sake, thus is Jozo Shu, since it can be made more quickly. When drinking sake, Jozo Shu types (e.g. Sho Chiku Bai, Gekkeikan, Ozeki, and other popular brands), heat the sake to let the artificial alcohol to "burn off." Junmai Shu, on the other hand, can be tasted at room temperature.
Mirin:
Mirin is brewed the exactly same way as sake is, but instead of regular rice, sweet/mochi rice is used. The higher starch content in the rice makes a rather sweet liquor. Mirin is almost used exclusively for cooking and is rarely drunk. Like sake, there is a Jozo and Junmai distinction.
Vinegar:
Japanese vinegar is rice vinegar. Originally (and still today, although rarer), it was made from fermenting sake lees left from liquor making procedures. Most often, rice and mold are combined and a starter culture of acetobacter is added to convert the alcohol into vingegar.
Rice vinegar tends to be milder than white vinegar, and is not as sharp as some other vinegars.
Sugar:
Cane sugar that we're used to in the US and Europe is 30% sweeter than Japanese sugar, meaning that Japanese recipes giving measurements of sugar are harder to adjust. Side Note: So is THAT why the ubiquitous Teriyaki Chicken in a Japanese-American restaurant is so darn sweet? Just food for thought.
Salt:
Knowing the different sodium levels of salt is an important factor in cooking healthy food for your customers. Also, depending on where a salt comes from, it the mineral components differ and may contribute to a change in flavor.
Table salt: 99.98% Sodium. While cheap, there is no benefit from using this salt, since it is just sodium, and has a sharp flavor, from the iodine being added in.
Kosher salt: 99.8% Salt. Larger flakes means that less actual salt is needed when used as a table side condiment.
Sea Salt: 98% Sodium. The almost 2% difference between table and sea salts may seem small, but on the palate, it does make a difference. Also, the added minerals in sea salt makes it more "flavorful." Depending on where the salt comes from, these minerals may be different, and will give the salt a different color and or flavor.
Soy Sauce/ Shoyu:
There are four basic types of Shoyu that is used in the Japanese kitchen. Most of us here think of shoyu and immediately think of Kikkoman... yup, it's a brand, but that's just Dark Shoyu.
Dark Shoyu - used for everyday seasoning
Light Colored Shoyu - used to flavor soups and other applications where color change needs to be prevented, such as in Japanese omelets.
*Note: Light Colored Shoyu is much saltier than Dark Shoyu... You use less which further prevents color changes
Tamari - not to be confused with the sauce made by the brand called Tamari. Tamari has extra ingredients added during the brewing process, and is thicker than regular shoyu. Also, it has a slightly molasses like flavor, so is often used in making teriyaki, and unagi sauces.
White Shoyu - almost never used in a home setting. This is what is used in Kyoto to season Sui-mono or clear soups. It is similar to Light Colored shoyu, but is even lighter in color.
---
Rice
This is really an important chapter when you're talking about sushi school. For all intents and purposes, I'm only going to be talking about Japanese rice, which is medium-short, or short grain. California makes great Japanese style rices which can be used here. I'm not going to go into all of it, or post the video of sensei actually showing how to do it, but I will give you the basic idea. Actually, on second thought, I will take a vid of how it's done and post my own version.
One thing to note. The ratio of water to rice depends on a number of factors, not the least of which is whether the rice is "new crop" or "old crop." New Crop rice becomes available around mid-November. Because it is "new" it has more natural moisture in the grains. 3%, to be exact. Obviously, if you're using new rice, you need less water than with old rice. FYI, new rice becomes old rice around February/March, so adjust back accordingly.
While a gas cooker, or a cast iron rice pot over a raging flame is ideal, I'm going to give measurement ratios for an electric cooker. Never cook Japanese rice in an open pot like pasta or cous-cous. This is steamed rice, and it needs ample time in an enclosed environment to rest and absorb the moisture.
Wash the rice for 1-3 minutes in a tub. There should be enough water to moisten the rice well. Rinse rice several times until the rinse water is clear. Place rice into a colander or strainer, and let sit a minimum of 20 minutes, preferably 30. Given that rice is a dried vegetable, it needs to reconstitute with moisture before cooking much like dried mushrooms and legumes.
Measure out approximately 1.25 times the amount of rice in water, add to the rice cooker with your washed rice, and turn the switch on. The cooking time should be a total of 45 minutes. That is, 20 to cook, and 25 to steam once the machine is off. In a fancier rice cooker, this step is actually taken into account, but it doesn't hurt to let it sit an extra couple minutes to make sure the rice is steamed thoroughly. Set a timer, and go with that, rather than the beeps of your fancy rice cooker. That works just fine. Rice comes out consistently good.
-----
Stock, or Dashi
The basis of many Japanese dishes and soups is Japanese stock or Dashi. Unlike Western stocks, dashi doesn't take too long to make. It is the first pressing or Ichiban Dashi that I will be giving directions for.
Put one gallon (adjust to needs) of water in a pot over medium heat. Add a 5-inch square piece of Kombu (kelp). Slowly bring the pot to a boil. You want the process to take at least 10 minutes to extract the flavor from the kombu. At the point that the water has come to a full boil, remove the kombu, add a half cup of cold water to lower the temperature slightly, and add a heaping handful of bonito flakes to the pot. Immediately turn off the heat and let sit. When all the bonito flakes have sunk to the bottom of the pot, your dashi is ready to strain and be used. Line a strainer with paper towels, and carefully strain the dashi. This is the primary dashi that you will be using for many things.
You can take the used bonito flakes and kombu and reuse them for a weaker dashi called secondary or niban dashi. This is often used to simmer vegetables, or for miso soup in restaurants that need the primary dashi for more refined dishes.
There's a lot that I'm not necessarily covering, but that's day 2 for you guys. As you can see, the pace is a tad breakneck, and I'm sure glad that I do have the advantage of knowing some (very little, really) of these things coming into the class.
Happy Cooking!
I walk in knowing from the syllabus that we're covering the basics of Japanese cuisine today. I made sure to leave as much of my preconceived notions as I could at home, since we're covering things that any person who grew up in Japan knows at least something about. Wanting to get the most out of the course, and to learn a specific "philosophy," I chose to go in and forget that I know these things.
6 Flavors:
There are six basic flavoring ingredients in Japanese cuisine.
Sake, Mirin, Vinegar, Sugar, Salt, Soy Sauce
I'm not going into any real details on any one of these ingredients, since each one of them can and have merited entire treatises on them. I will just go into the basics that I think should be mentioned, and that were imparted to me.
Sake:
Sake is brewed from Rice and Rice Mold, and left to ferment for a period of 30-90 days depending on the method being used. Regardless, it falls under the category of "soft liquor" since the alcohol content is usually between 16 and 18%.
Junmai Shu is made of only rice and mold, and is considered more refined. Because of the natural state it is in, it needs to be fermented for 80-90 days.
Jozo Shu is made of the same ingredients as above, but alcohol is added to the fermentation tank to speed the process. The sake made this way is ready in 30-40 days.
Most mass produced sake, thus is Jozo Shu, since it can be made more quickly. When drinking sake, Jozo Shu types (e.g. Sho Chiku Bai, Gekkeikan, Ozeki, and other popular brands), heat the sake to let the artificial alcohol to "burn off." Junmai Shu, on the other hand, can be tasted at room temperature.
Mirin:
Mirin is brewed the exactly same way as sake is, but instead of regular rice, sweet/mochi rice is used. The higher starch content in the rice makes a rather sweet liquor. Mirin is almost used exclusively for cooking and is rarely drunk. Like sake, there is a Jozo and Junmai distinction.
Vinegar:
Japanese vinegar is rice vinegar. Originally (and still today, although rarer), it was made from fermenting sake lees left from liquor making procedures. Most often, rice and mold are combined and a starter culture of acetobacter is added to convert the alcohol into vingegar.
Rice vinegar tends to be milder than white vinegar, and is not as sharp as some other vinegars.
Sugar:
Cane sugar that we're used to in the US and Europe is 30% sweeter than Japanese sugar, meaning that Japanese recipes giving measurements of sugar are harder to adjust. Side Note: So is THAT why the ubiquitous Teriyaki Chicken in a Japanese-American restaurant is so darn sweet? Just food for thought.
Salt:
Knowing the different sodium levels of salt is an important factor in cooking healthy food for your customers. Also, depending on where a salt comes from, it the mineral components differ and may contribute to a change in flavor.
Table salt: 99.98% Sodium. While cheap, there is no benefit from using this salt, since it is just sodium, and has a sharp flavor, from the iodine being added in.
Kosher salt: 99.8% Salt. Larger flakes means that less actual salt is needed when used as a table side condiment.
Sea Salt: 98% Sodium. The almost 2% difference between table and sea salts may seem small, but on the palate, it does make a difference. Also, the added minerals in sea salt makes it more "flavorful." Depending on where the salt comes from, these minerals may be different, and will give the salt a different color and or flavor.
Soy Sauce/ Shoyu:
There are four basic types of Shoyu that is used in the Japanese kitchen. Most of us here think of shoyu and immediately think of Kikkoman... yup, it's a brand, but that's just Dark Shoyu.
Dark Shoyu - used for everyday seasoning
Light Colored Shoyu - used to flavor soups and other applications where color change needs to be prevented, such as in Japanese omelets.
*Note: Light Colored Shoyu is much saltier than Dark Shoyu... You use less which further prevents color changes
Tamari - not to be confused with the sauce made by the brand called Tamari. Tamari has extra ingredients added during the brewing process, and is thicker than regular shoyu. Also, it has a slightly molasses like flavor, so is often used in making teriyaki, and unagi sauces.
White Shoyu - almost never used in a home setting. This is what is used in Kyoto to season Sui-mono or clear soups. It is similar to Light Colored shoyu, but is even lighter in color.
---
Rice
This is really an important chapter when you're talking about sushi school. For all intents and purposes, I'm only going to be talking about Japanese rice, which is medium-short, or short grain. California makes great Japanese style rices which can be used here. I'm not going to go into all of it, or post the video of sensei actually showing how to do it, but I will give you the basic idea. Actually, on second thought, I will take a vid of how it's done and post my own version.
One thing to note. The ratio of water to rice depends on a number of factors, not the least of which is whether the rice is "new crop" or "old crop." New Crop rice becomes available around mid-November. Because it is "new" it has more natural moisture in the grains. 3%, to be exact. Obviously, if you're using new rice, you need less water than with old rice. FYI, new rice becomes old rice around February/March, so adjust back accordingly.
While a gas cooker, or a cast iron rice pot over a raging flame is ideal, I'm going to give measurement ratios for an electric cooker. Never cook Japanese rice in an open pot like pasta or cous-cous. This is steamed rice, and it needs ample time in an enclosed environment to rest and absorb the moisture.
Wash the rice for 1-3 minutes in a tub. There should be enough water to moisten the rice well. Rinse rice several times until the rinse water is clear. Place rice into a colander or strainer, and let sit a minimum of 20 minutes, preferably 30. Given that rice is a dried vegetable, it needs to reconstitute with moisture before cooking much like dried mushrooms and legumes.
Measure out approximately 1.25 times the amount of rice in water, add to the rice cooker with your washed rice, and turn the switch on. The cooking time should be a total of 45 minutes. That is, 20 to cook, and 25 to steam once the machine is off. In a fancier rice cooker, this step is actually taken into account, but it doesn't hurt to let it sit an extra couple minutes to make sure the rice is steamed thoroughly. Set a timer, and go with that, rather than the beeps of your fancy rice cooker. That works just fine. Rice comes out consistently good.
-----
Stock, or Dashi
The basis of many Japanese dishes and soups is Japanese stock or Dashi. Unlike Western stocks, dashi doesn't take too long to make. It is the first pressing or Ichiban Dashi that I will be giving directions for.
Put one gallon (adjust to needs) of water in a pot over medium heat. Add a 5-inch square piece of Kombu (kelp). Slowly bring the pot to a boil. You want the process to take at least 10 minutes to extract the flavor from the kombu. At the point that the water has come to a full boil, remove the kombu, add a half cup of cold water to lower the temperature slightly, and add a heaping handful of bonito flakes to the pot. Immediately turn off the heat and let sit. When all the bonito flakes have sunk to the bottom of the pot, your dashi is ready to strain and be used. Line a strainer with paper towels, and carefully strain the dashi. This is the primary dashi that you will be using for many things.
You can take the used bonito flakes and kombu and reuse them for a weaker dashi called secondary or niban dashi. This is often used to simmer vegetables, or for miso soup in restaurants that need the primary dashi for more refined dishes.
There's a lot that I'm not necessarily covering, but that's day 2 for you guys. As you can see, the pace is a tad breakneck, and I'm sure glad that I do have the advantage of knowing some (very little, really) of these things coming into the class.
Happy Cooking!
Monday, October 22, 2007
First Day at Sushi School... Itadaki Masu
For those of you in the know, I signed up with a school here in LA for a two month program to get a certification as a sushi chef. Honestly, I don't know what I'm going to do with the certification. But since my loss of my dear husband David in the past year, I've been floundering. This at least gives me some sense of direction and accountability for my life. Maybe I'll go into catering, or eventually open a place... or just do what I've been sort of doing and go into culinary consulting of some sort. Regardless, I'm excited to have a purpose for the next little while, and I plan on making the most of it.
Why sushi? I think the best reason I have here is that I'm part Japanese, and I wanted to learn something that would perpetuate some aspect of my "native" culture. Yes, I speak Japanese, and can follow a cookbook, but the skill set is very different from a French/Euro-centric cooking set which I have a fair amount of hands on skill in. Yes, the skills are analogous (a cube cut is a cube cut the world around), but often the tools and methodology are different. Just look at traditional Japanese knives. Many are single-edged and thus handed (meaning my pocketbook screamed when I learned of the surcharge for lefty knives). I have several Japanese knives that I owned before starting school and purchasing the knife kit they recommend. I have a small deba (fish cleaver), an usuba (vegetable knife), and a yanagiba (sashimi sliver), but never learned how to properly handle them. Don't get me wrong, I have decent knife skills with "Western style" knives (gyu-to/French chef's, for example), but the feeling is completely different when cutting something with a double edged versus a single edged knife. The best way I can describe it is that while a standard double edged knife goes "straight" into the product being cut, a single edged knife feels like it "curves" into the product... way weird if you're used to the one over the other. Right here alone was a reason I wanted to learn.
Ok, onto my first actual day of school. I got up early (6:30AM!) and got dressed in my uniform, picked up my knife kit, and trekked down the street while it was still semi dark out. Good thing I left early. Not being used to morning traffic, I didn't realize it would take me as long to go the couple, three miles to the school. Then I didn't realize that the gate to the lot was automated, and I was circling like a dumbass waiting for someone to call me back to give me directions on how to get into the lot (drive up... the sensor will open the gate... duh). But all things said, I got there, and was only several minutes late... Housekeeping was going on, and nothing had started yet.
After the obligatory filling out of paperwork and limitation of liability forms and such, the chef/instructor (who will be referred to from here on out as "Sensei" which is the Japanese term for teacher) gave us an overview of his background, and why he's teaching the class. The reason he wants to do this is because he feels that he wants to pass along the skills that he learned to the next generation. Great!
We were informed of the way the course is set up, and wow, it's fast paced! We're apparently covering all the basics of non-sushi Japanese cooking in 12 days. Of course, we're expected to study and practice on our own time, and to hone our skills. Oh, and we were also asked, if we could, to show up on Saturday to help the school cater an event for 800 people. Whoa! We won't be cooking, but may be asked to help prep basic things and to do some grunt work around the exhibition. I'll definitely have to keep that one in mind.
Onto the kitchen. Today was "basic knife skills." Sensei started out with a potato and showed us how to julienne it by hand. Gorgeous movement. We each got a potato, and were told to do the cuts. I guess 30 plus years of experience makes it look easier than it actually is. I got through this one without too much trouble. I know that I need to get better at making the cuts more uniform, but this wasn't too horrible. Nothing I can't do at home with a couple taters and some time. Then onto a couple other cuts like "half moon" cuts and so on so forth. Each time, we were shown once, and then told to do it. When needed Sensei and his assistant would come over to correct us and guide us in the right way. Still, so far, so good. Stuff that I can do but just need to practice to perfect... then we're asked to do a Katsura-muki. What? That on the first day??? Now I'm feeling inadequate. A kasura-muki is when you take a relatively cylindrical vegetable and make a continuous peel of it which is evenly paper-thin. Suffice it to say that I sucked hardcore on this one. I just kept on angling the knife wrong and just didn't seem like I was getting anywhere on this one. Ugh.
Well, that was day 1. Sensei made dishes out of all the veggies we sliced and we all ate in the cafeteria outside the kitchen and then cleaned up before going home.
Yes, I bought potatoes to practice on.
One thing that was brought up during family lunch really touched me. The idea of food to the Japanese given to us by someone whose worked with it all his life. Sensei explained that the term "Itadaki Masu," said like bon apetit before a meal in Japan, refers to the idea that no matter what one eats, that it has to die for us to be able to consume it. It is with the idea of gratitude that he translated "Itadaki Masu" as "thank you for letting me partake of your life." Even though I speak the language and know the culture, I never thought of it this way. I thought this was a simple and beautiful way of looking at things and also one that spoke to the level of respect on needs when eating and especially handling food.
So, in this new quest of knowledge of mine, I start by saying "Itadaki Masu" to all the knowledge and skill that will be shown to me. I hope I can remember to keep the spirit of respect to be worthy.
Happy Cooking and Eating!
Why sushi? I think the best reason I have here is that I'm part Japanese, and I wanted to learn something that would perpetuate some aspect of my "native" culture. Yes, I speak Japanese, and can follow a cookbook, but the skill set is very different from a French/Euro-centric cooking set which I have a fair amount of hands on skill in. Yes, the skills are analogous (a cube cut is a cube cut the world around), but often the tools and methodology are different. Just look at traditional Japanese knives. Many are single-edged and thus handed (meaning my pocketbook screamed when I learned of the surcharge for lefty knives). I have several Japanese knives that I owned before starting school and purchasing the knife kit they recommend. I have a small deba (fish cleaver), an usuba (vegetable knife), and a yanagiba (sashimi sliver), but never learned how to properly handle them. Don't get me wrong, I have decent knife skills with "Western style" knives (gyu-to/French chef's, for example), but the feeling is completely different when cutting something with a double edged versus a single edged knife. The best way I can describe it is that while a standard double edged knife goes "straight" into the product being cut, a single edged knife feels like it "curves" into the product... way weird if you're used to the one over the other. Right here alone was a reason I wanted to learn.
Ok, onto my first actual day of school. I got up early (6:30AM!) and got dressed in my uniform, picked up my knife kit, and trekked down the street while it was still semi dark out. Good thing I left early. Not being used to morning traffic, I didn't realize it would take me as long to go the couple, three miles to the school. Then I didn't realize that the gate to the lot was automated, and I was circling like a dumbass waiting for someone to call me back to give me directions on how to get into the lot (drive up... the sensor will open the gate... duh). But all things said, I got there, and was only several minutes late... Housekeeping was going on, and nothing had started yet.
After the obligatory filling out of paperwork and limitation of liability forms and such, the chef/instructor (who will be referred to from here on out as "Sensei" which is the Japanese term for teacher) gave us an overview of his background, and why he's teaching the class. The reason he wants to do this is because he feels that he wants to pass along the skills that he learned to the next generation. Great!
We were informed of the way the course is set up, and wow, it's fast paced! We're apparently covering all the basics of non-sushi Japanese cooking in 12 days. Of course, we're expected to study and practice on our own time, and to hone our skills. Oh, and we were also asked, if we could, to show up on Saturday to help the school cater an event for 800 people. Whoa! We won't be cooking, but may be asked to help prep basic things and to do some grunt work around the exhibition. I'll definitely have to keep that one in mind.
Onto the kitchen. Today was "basic knife skills." Sensei started out with a potato and showed us how to julienne it by hand. Gorgeous movement. We each got a potato, and were told to do the cuts. I guess 30 plus years of experience makes it look easier than it actually is. I got through this one without too much trouble. I know that I need to get better at making the cuts more uniform, but this wasn't too horrible. Nothing I can't do at home with a couple taters and some time. Then onto a couple other cuts like "half moon" cuts and so on so forth. Each time, we were shown once, and then told to do it. When needed Sensei and his assistant would come over to correct us and guide us in the right way. Still, so far, so good. Stuff that I can do but just need to practice to perfect... then we're asked to do a Katsura-muki. What? That on the first day??? Now I'm feeling inadequate. A kasura-muki is when you take a relatively cylindrical vegetable and make a continuous peel of it which is evenly paper-thin. Suffice it to say that I sucked hardcore on this one. I just kept on angling the knife wrong and just didn't seem like I was getting anywhere on this one. Ugh.
Well, that was day 1. Sensei made dishes out of all the veggies we sliced and we all ate in the cafeteria outside the kitchen and then cleaned up before going home.
Yes, I bought potatoes to practice on.
One thing that was brought up during family lunch really touched me. The idea of food to the Japanese given to us by someone whose worked with it all his life. Sensei explained that the term "Itadaki Masu," said like bon apetit before a meal in Japan, refers to the idea that no matter what one eats, that it has to die for us to be able to consume it. It is with the idea of gratitude that he translated "Itadaki Masu" as "thank you for letting me partake of your life." Even though I speak the language and know the culture, I never thought of it this way. I thought this was a simple and beautiful way of looking at things and also one that spoke to the level of respect on needs when eating and especially handling food.
So, in this new quest of knowledge of mine, I start by saying "Itadaki Masu" to all the knowledge and skill that will be shown to me. I hope I can remember to keep the spirit of respect to be worthy.
Happy Cooking and Eating!
Friday, October 19, 2007
Veggies for soups and stews...
It's started getting a little nippy at night here in LA of late. Given the rapid change in seasons this year, I caught a hell of a cold over the past week, and I'm now finally getting over it. Given that I was congested and generally miserable all week, I ate a lot of soups and stews that go down easy and just warm you up from the inside.
I made a big batch (7-qts) of home-made chicken stock as a base, (easy... get a whole chicken or family pack of wings, wash, cover with cold water, add couple each carrots and celery, a whole onion and simmer for a couple/several hours until the bones even fall apart, strain and reserve) and have been making soups and soups out of it for a while. Which got me to thinking... is there a good way of making sure that the veggies don't turn into mush while making a good and hearty slow cooked meal?
The answer is absolutely yes. Just because you let a stew or soup simmer for a couple hours to get the flavors together doesn't mean that you have to suffer potatoes and carrots that have no backbone left. The secret is remarkably simple... Start with cold water/stock, and take at least 10 minutes to bring it to a simmer. What? That's it??? Yes. Let me repeat. SLOWLY bring the pot up to a simmer.
The scientific reasoning for this, for those of you who are into that sort of thing (yes, I have been known to be a geek from time to time), is that the texture of cooked vegetables have everything to do with how a substance in them called pectin is handled. Pectin, by the way in its pure form, is the substance used to gel jams and jellies. It's a naturally occurring sugar-substance that is present in all fruits and vegetables in various concentrations. If you slowly bring the temperature of the veggies up as opposed to "shocking" them directly in boiling water, the pectin has a chance to "set up" thus protecting the integrity of the cellular structures. Once they've been tempered thus, you can cook the veggies for a long time while still retaining a crisp texture. Depending on what you like, you can adjust the tempering process to get varied results. If you want veggies that have just a slight crunch, just follow the "bring to simmer over 10 minutes guideline), if you want them really crunchy take longer... Of course, the reverse applies too, so in certain cases where you want your veggies to turn into mush (for bisques and other pureed applications, for example), you want to have the water at a boil before adding the veggies.
See, now you can have a soup or stew with a restaurant type mouth feel, and you won't have to worry about everything turning into mush... Oh, and if you're adding broccoli or cauliflower (or anything that "falls apart"), make sure that you blanch and shock them to keep their color, and add them at the very end of cooking after you take the soup/stew off the heat. They'll remain intact, and won't throw florets all over the place.
I made a big batch (7-qts) of home-made chicken stock as a base, (easy... get a whole chicken or family pack of wings, wash, cover with cold water, add couple each carrots and celery, a whole onion and simmer for a couple/several hours until the bones even fall apart, strain and reserve) and have been making soups and soups out of it for a while. Which got me to thinking... is there a good way of making sure that the veggies don't turn into mush while making a good and hearty slow cooked meal?
The answer is absolutely yes. Just because you let a stew or soup simmer for a couple hours to get the flavors together doesn't mean that you have to suffer potatoes and carrots that have no backbone left. The secret is remarkably simple... Start with cold water/stock, and take at least 10 minutes to bring it to a simmer. What? That's it??? Yes. Let me repeat. SLOWLY bring the pot up to a simmer.
The scientific reasoning for this, for those of you who are into that sort of thing (yes, I have been known to be a geek from time to time), is that the texture of cooked vegetables have everything to do with how a substance in them called pectin is handled. Pectin, by the way in its pure form, is the substance used to gel jams and jellies. It's a naturally occurring sugar-substance that is present in all fruits and vegetables in various concentrations. If you slowly bring the temperature of the veggies up as opposed to "shocking" them directly in boiling water, the pectin has a chance to "set up" thus protecting the integrity of the cellular structures. Once they've been tempered thus, you can cook the veggies for a long time while still retaining a crisp texture. Depending on what you like, you can adjust the tempering process to get varied results. If you want veggies that have just a slight crunch, just follow the "bring to simmer over 10 minutes guideline), if you want them really crunchy take longer... Of course, the reverse applies too, so in certain cases where you want your veggies to turn into mush (for bisques and other pureed applications, for example), you want to have the water at a boil before adding the veggies.
See, now you can have a soup or stew with a restaurant type mouth feel, and you won't have to worry about everything turning into mush... Oh, and if you're adding broccoli or cauliflower (or anything that "falls apart"), make sure that you blanch and shock them to keep their color, and add them at the very end of cooking after you take the soup/stew off the heat. They'll remain intact, and won't throw florets all over the place.
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