What did you cook today?

[Jeff B]

Oh duck! It's been a while. Man, that looks yum!
Reminds me of some Czech duck I had in Prague, with red and white cabbage, and something they call Kneydlik (not sure about spelling).

So, someone recently 'thanked' an old video post of the Wok Therapist I posted on the Carbon Skillet thread. I watched it again and went on to fall into a Wok rabbit hole (we're under another lockdown here...smh). I then placed an order that'll likely take weeks to arrive, and only THEN saw the Wok Suggestion thread.
Regardless, I've been stirfrying, trying to get a hanf of this prep-heavy quick-cook style of cooking. Making do with the 12.5 DeBuyer, in batches.
Wife is uber happy with all the crunchy veg were having, and apparently the soy is just what it takes to get the kids to dig in too!
Here's a snap of last night's dinner (clicking on the shots gives more natural colors):
~
I think y'all can tell what you see here; Chicken breast, garlic, ginger, onion, etc. There was some sugar added to the soy+cornstarch marinade that I think was really unnecessary.
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IMG_20210114_174036131.jpg

Looks delicious Dan!

[Altadan]

Looks delicious Dan!

Thanks Jeff, it really was!

Have you tried Gary Wiviott's hot oil take on Barbara Tropp's hot oil to use in your stirfrys. Actually, there are lots of Barbara's oil recipes to be found online. She believed in infusing oils ahead of time, to make the cooking easier.

And if you haven't read The Food Lab: For the Best Stir-Fry, Fire Up the Grill from Kenjii yet, you might find it informative.

Boom! Well, ok then! I've some reading to do. Thanks Xexo

Looks great, especially your knife work on the garlic and ginger. Absolute precision. I see you're still digging the new cleaver, too.

Definitely still digging it! I've given it a 30-day commitment (following a read-through of the "Cleavers" thread ). The small cleaver weighs only about 215g, or so, like a 240 gyuto, only much shorter! The square tip is very intuitive, almost "child-proof." It's really fun to see how versatile, and straightforward it is. Also, after thinning and reprofiling it a bit, it performs even more to my liking! Check out this video of my Daovua vs. potatoes I cut the second potato (around 1:00) with the tip area, and the food-release was really a surprise!

[Chappychap]

Nice video Dan! I've always wondered about those Daovuas. Seems like they can be fairly nice performers with a bit of nurturing.

[Mike9]

Busy kitchen day yesterday making two pots of soup. Ciopinno was on the menu last night and potato leek for tonight. I like soups like that to rest overnight.

Ciopinno - leek, fennel, garlic, paste, white wine, garden tomato sauce, shrimp stock,bay and thyme, squid, clams and shrimp. It was delicious the fennel adds a sweet note that hard to guess.


Potato leek - leek, onion, garlic, bay, white wine, turkey bone, golds, broth, thyme. It will get blitzed later today with heavy cream and some butter.

[Chappychap]

Busy kitchen day yesterday making two pots of soup. Ciopinno was on the menu last night and potato leek for tonight. I like soups like that to rest overnight.

Ciopinno - leek, fennel, garlic, paste, white wine, garden tomato sauce, shrimp stock,bay and thyme, squid, clams and shrimp. It was delicious the fennel adds a sweet note that hard to guess.


Potato leek - leek, onion, garlic, bay, white wine, turkey bone, golds, broth, thyme. It will get blitzed later today with heavy cream and some butter.

Looks delicious! Fennel is such an interesting ingredient. I must cook more with it. Thanks for the inspiration!

[Mike9]

A funny thing happened last Saturday. I went to the transfer station later than usual and took a different route home. As I was pulling in the driveway I noticed four bags of groceries on the front porch. We called our neighbors and no one had placed an order so I called the store and they use a service. I called the service and they asked me to leave them for two hours. After 2.5hrs I called them back - it's getting dark now - and they told me to keep them.

Two bunches of organic bananas, tangerines, apples, fancy almonds, leeks, fennel, two broccoli, pesto, cereal, organic this and that, some fru fru frozen bars cleaning products, etc. - this was an expensive order. We called our son and DIL who live next door to come over and shop. We divi'd up the goods and everyone's happy.

[Chappychap]

A funny thing happened last Saturday. I went to the transfer station later than usual and took a different route home. As I was pulling in the driveway I noticed four bags of groceries on the front porch. We called our neighbors and no one had placed an order so I called the store and they use a service. I called the service and they asked me to leave them for two hours. After 2.5hrs I called them back - it's getting dark now - and they told me to keep them.

Two bunches of organic bananas, tangerines, apples, fancy almonds, leeks, fennel, two broccoli, pesto, cereal, organic this and that, some fru fru frozen bars cleaning products, etc. - this was an expensive order. We called our son and DIL who live next door to come over and shop. We divi'd up the goods and everyone's happy.

It's so nice when companies do that. Similar to you I always try to do the right thing and be honest if a mistake has happened so they can take what's theirs if they want to, but when they turn around and let you keep it after you offer, it's great. All that said -- sounds like a good haul!

[Altadan]

Busy kitchen day yesterday making two pots of soup. Ciopinno was on the menu last night and potato leek for tonight. I like soups like that to rest overnight.

Ciopinno - leek, fennel, garlic, paste, white wine, garden tomato sauce, shrimp stock,bay and thyme, squid, clams and shrimp. It was delicious the fennel adds a sweet note that hard to guess.

Potato leek - leek, onion, garlic, bay, white wine, turkey bone, golds, broth, thyme. It will get blitzed later today with heavy cream and some butter.

You're talking my wife's love-language right there!
While I do most of the cooking around here, she takes care of breads, jams, desserts, and the soup!
Tonight we had some broccoli soup (a first for me), with onion, cream and butter, and a side of garlic-bread (made from her own multi-grain sourdough!).
As it turned out, our supply of gas just ran out this afternoon, but we were happy campers

[stevem627]

Dan, don't worry with brocolli (and several other things) you will have plenty of gas later.

We love brocolli soup, and soup in general. Soup is a great way to clear out unused products before they go bad and make something delicious.

[Bob Z]

Last nite was Cioppino night, with some fresh baked bread. Knife used was a Daovua kiri cleaver. I only had costco large scallops, cod and clams in this one but some shrimp woulda been nice too. Only two of us so I try not to get carried away with adding goodies.

[Mike9]

You're talking my wife's love-language right there!
While I do most of the cooking around here, she takes care of breads, jams, desserts, and the soup!
Tonight we had some broccoli soup (a first for me), with onion, cream and butter, and a side of garlic-bread (made from her own multi-grain sourdough!).
As it turned out, our supply of gas just ran out this afternoon, but we were happy campers

Don't worry you'll have plenty of gas from that broccoli soup -

And yes I scored points with my wife for the potato leek soup. I warmed it up and blitzed it then had to cut it with some beef stock I had open then seasoned with worcestershire, salt, roasted garlic powder and pepper. It's a gonna be a good as an Italian friend says LOL.

[ronnie_suburban]

Back on the Thai-style curry trail tonight, this time masaman and assorted poultry leftovers . . .


Mise En Place & Shibata Kashima R-2 Gyuto 210mm
Maesri masaman curry paste, gapi, leftover scallion tops, shredded chicken, basil & kaffir lime leaves, fish sauce, zucchini, coconut milk, bamboo shoots, extra firm tofu, chicken stock, peanut oil, duck fat (didn't end up using either of these fats -- not even sure why I put them out), leftover duck breast, palm sugar and Thai bird chiles. My goal here was something relatively quick and easy into which I could incorporate the leftover duck breast and some shredded chicken that I picked after making stock recently. On that front, mission accomplished. Both proteins worked well. I was surprised by how well the curry resuscitated the chicken, which is usually pretty lifeless.


Plated Up
With rice cooker'd jasmine rice.

[Chappychap]

Back on the Thai-style curry trail tonight, this time masaman and assorted poultry leftovers . . .


Mise En Place & Shibata Kashima R-2 Gyuto 210mm
Maesri masaman curry paste, gapi, leftover scallion tops, shredded chicken, basil & kaffir lime leaves, fish sauce, zucchini, coconut milk, bamboo shoots, extra firm tofu, chicken stock, peanut oil, duck fat (didn't end up using either of these fats -- not even sure why I put them out), leftover duck breast, palm sugar and Thai bird chiles. My goal here was something relatively quick and easy into which I could incorporate the leftover duck breast and some shredded chicken that I picked after making stock recently. On that front, mission accomplished. Both proteins worked well. I was surprised by how well the curry resuscitated the chicken, which is usually pretty lifeless.


Plated Up
With rice cooker'd jasmine rice.

Great meal! I like how you amped up the masaman. I must remember to get bamboo shoots, I keep forgetting about those.

I was on side duty tonight as Mrs. Chappy wanted to cook the scallops along with the pommes purée I made a while back. We had sine shishito peppers to use up, which I charred then tossed in a soy, sake, sugar and katsuobashi. Thanks to Anryu.

[stevem627]

Ronnie you always have great posts that are inspiring. Fantastic products in most everything you make. I also love the handle on the shibata. Great taste and tastes.

[ronnie_suburban]

Great meal! I like how you amped up the masaman. I must remember to get bamboo shoots, I keep forgetting about those.

Yeah, the canned shoots are easy because they can store dry until you open them. And I love the funkiness and crunch they impart. I can't take any credit for the curry paste enhancements, though. I was just following Pailin's guidance on those (again). It took me a while but I was able to find Thai bird chiles, kaffir lime leaves and galangal (which I hope to use in some soups soon). I now have nice stashes of all three of these Waring-vacuum-bagged in my freezer. I have to thank you again for pointing me to that device. It's great to continually dip into those supplies without cutting or diminishing the bag at all. It just makes a ton of sense for those applications.

I was on side duty tonight as Mrs. Chappy wanted to cook the scallops along with the pommes purée I made a while back. We had sine shishito peppers to use up, which I charred then tossed in a soy, sake, sugar and katsuobashi. Thanks to Anryu.

Nice, sounds like a great meal. Are you a fan of any katsuobashi in particular? I've been tempted to buy whole pieces and a shaver box but I just don't use it often enough. So, I just keep a bag of standard issue bonito flakes around.

[gladius]

Stir fry today! A new wok arrived yesterday and my wife requested stir fry with pork pot stickers.

I made two batches: one with pork...



the other with chicken (leftover)...

[Chappychap]

Stir fry today! A new wok arrived yesterday and my wife requested stir fry with pork pot stickers.

I made two batches: one with pork...



the other with chicken (leftover)...

Looks great! I see in the corner you have the shoyu recommended in 'Japanese Farm Food' by Nancy Singleton - looks like it's a hit in your house!

Hope the new wok is fun to use.

[Chappychap]

Great meal! I like how you amped up the masaman. I must remember to get bamboo shoots, I keep forgetting about those.

Yeah, the canned shoots are easy because they can store dry until you open them. And I love the funkiness and crunch they impart. I can't take any credit for the curry paste enhancements, though. I was just following Pailin's guidance on those (again). It took me a while but I was able to find Thai bird chiles, kaffir lime leaves and galangal (which I hope to use in some soups soon). I now have nice stashes of all three of these Waring-vacuum-bagged in my freezer. I have to thank you again for pointing me to that device. It's great to continually dip into those supplies without cutting or diminishing the bag at all. It just makes a ton of sense for those applications.

I was on side duty tonight as Mrs. Chappy wanted to cook the scallops along with the pommes purée I made a while back. We had sine shishito peppers to use up, which I charred then tossed in a soy, sake, sugar and katsuobashi. Thanks to Anryu.

Nice, sounds like a great meal. Are you a fan of any katsuobashi in particular? I've been tempted to buy whole pieces and a shaver box but I just don't use it often enough. So, I just keep a bag of standard issue bonito flakes around.

The Waring is one of my favourite tools now. Couldn’t agree more on how nice it is to dip in and out of ingredients, and prevent them go to waste. Ginger keeps really well vacuum sealed in the fridge too, in case you haven’t tried that yet.

I hear you on the shaver box too. I would love to buy one but feel similar; it’s a lot of space for a single use item. I keep meaning to research if there’s a way I could shave it with something less single use and bulky... maybe a Benriner?

On the package-bought, I haven’t shopped around enough yet. I made the mistake of buying it in relative bulk, but found I just didn’t get through it. I also hadn’t realised that after opening it’s best to refridgerate it, so the freshness went down.

I’ve just bought the small bag the author at Just One Cookbook points to in her Aazon storefront here: https://www.amazon.com/shop/justonecookbook

I think at the very least that’ll be an upgrade on the previous one, just due to freshness.

UPDATE: just googled shaving it with a mandolin. TLDR; terrible idea

[ronnie_suburban]

Stir fry today! A new wok arrived yesterday and my wife requested stir fry with pork pot stickers.

Wow, that was fast! The stirfrys look great.

[ronnie_suburban]

Had some unused hatcho miso marinade leftover from last week's short ribs and decided it might be nice on some pork belly . . .


Marinated & Rinsed Pork Belly
I marinated the belly overnight, for 12 hours, after which I rinsed it and dried it. You can see from the color of the rinsed pork that the marinade really took.


Sear
Seared the belly in a touch of peanut oil and deglazed with some dashi, after which I released the rest of the fond with a coarsely chopped onion.


Dashi Mise En Place
Softened kelp and bonito flakes get steeped for a few minutes in 170F water, then strained out.

For a side dish, I decided to riff on Just One Cookbook's Japanese Mille-Feuille Nabe recipe . . .


Braised Cabbage Mise En Place & Santoku Of Unknown Origin
Sansho peppercorns, ginger, scallions, sake, napa cabbage, dashi and soy sauce. This knife -- purchased by a friend who was visiting Japan and brought back to me as a gift -- is probably the most used knife that I've never documented (mainly because I don't really know its origin). But it's a great all-arounder and one I tend to leave on the board all day, every day. Unlike some of my other J-knives, no one else in the family is too intimidated to use it, which is nice.


Cabbage Pot
In many examples of Japanese-style mille-feuille nabe I found online, not only are the cabbage sections positioned in the pot much more artistically, but slices of raw pork belly are placed between the cabbage leaves. Since we were having pork belly as our main course, that seemed unnecessary. In any case, the cabbage sections are positioned to tightly fill the pot and about 5 cups of dashi + the other ingredients are poured in, after which it all cooks, covered, on the stove top until the cabbage is soft. I added the sansho peppercorns (in a little cotton pouch), since I had them on hand and wanted to add a mild kick to the dish. There was also a very potent sauce for this (forgot to shoot it) that included equal parts of fresh-squeezed lime juice and soy sauce, a splash of mirin, a few drops of toasted sesame oil and a generous shake of togarashi.


Plated Up
With leftover jasmine rice. Very happy I made these dishes. They were just right for a gray, snowy, wintery day . . . hearty and comforting, and some tasty flavor combinations that aren't on the hot rotation in our kitchen.